My Better Sleep Journal

[Himm]

Thanks. I have been using the notes tab more often now. I answer the questions found in https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...leep_diary, and will edit the questions and format to suit my needs and preferences. 

I feel so much worse than yesterday. This is the worst I've ever felt since starting CPAP. I think all the OAs are showing that I am accidently laying on and squishing my tube. 

The only good things about last night is that I drastically reduced my leaks by adding a small strip of tape under my nose, and lowering pressure to 11 seems to have helped remove my chest comfort during the day. 

I'm so tired I don't want to do anything but lay on the couch. My body feels so heavy. If today was a work day I would likely call out. Never done that before unless I had a bad cold 

I really hope I feel better tomorrow. Feeling worried. 

   

   

[Himm]

Okay maybe I was being a bit dramatic. Still getting used to my low carb diet. Ate some bananas and almonds and I feel a little better

[UnicornRider]

Leave your pressure there for a couple of days then if your AHI does not drop try increasing your pressure by 0.20 cmH2O.

Several days ago I read an NIH document about the stretching of lung tissue during initial PAP therapy due to pressures the body is not used to. I am still searching for it. I suspect that is what you may be experiencing. That is probably why after ten years of PAP therapy, after I went through Chemo and Radiation therapy, I had severe compliance issues. I had to transition to Bi-Level therapy and increase my therapy pressure as well. I had problems with the after effects of cancer treatments that took a long time to heal. You should be able to overcome the pressure issues much faster than I did.

Thanks for the link to the sleep diary, I am still finding new information in the Wiki.

Hang in there, you will make it through this.

[Himm]

Is the ultimate goal to have 0 AHIs every single night? 

Smallest amount of large leaks yet! I really need to get a firmer pillow. I think it will help with my AHI even more. 

   

[Crimson Nape]

No, that is an unrealistic expectation. Actually, anything around an AHI of 1(ish) and you sleep comfortably is the goal.
- Red

[Himm]

Thank you

[UnicornRider]

Referring back to post #22, I mention, "Your AHI is low enough that from here on out "how you feel" will have more weight than AHI score." We sometimes sacrifice AHI for a better quality of sleep.

So before you load your data in to OSCAR, take a few minutes to really reflect on how you feel, how close to restorative sleep did you get. That way you will not be influenced by the AHI score or anything else you find on your OSCAR Repot.

You are on a good start to this new journey you are on. PAP therapy is not the single simple solution. It will become a way of life, you have taken many of the big steps, changing your dietary habits which is not easy. Many PAP users soon discover that Diabetes often goes along with Sleep Disordered Sleep. My family loves all the wrong foods, high carbohydrate & sugar, junk food. We exchanged McDonalds for salads, learned to love carrots & celery because in the early days when your body is going through carb & sugar withdrawal, the physical satisfaction of crunching baby carrots and celery helps relieve some of the stress we were going through. Getting exercise is important, my brother was able to stop snoring, get off of his cholesterol meds and reduce his Blood Pressure medications when he went from 250+lbs, to ~170 at 6'2", the big thing was we got a couple of dogs that needed to be walked for exercise, and he would walk them three to four times a day for a couple of miles each time. I used to walk them before cancer, I guess it is time for me to get back into walking. But I see you have started an exercise program so I want to encourage that, you are doing well.

 You have taken many of the steps in the right direction, just remember to look forward months and years to visualize what your life will be like. That's why I really like the Notes Tab in Oscar, not only to tract feelings and weight but also some of the things in that sleep diary you showed me. Did you notice that feelings, weight, and BMI are graphed at the bottom of the Overview page in OSCAR? I wish I had started that when I first was introduced to CPAP ~14 years ago.

You are doing well, keep looking towards the future knowing what you do today and from here forward is benefitting the future you.

[Himm]

added a bit more medical tape to hold my P10 stable and large leaks are pretty much gone. 

I still miss seeing a graph with no leaks at all like during my F20 days, but oh well. 

Now for the next problem to solve: Sleeping earlier ?

       

[Dormeo]

Re going to sleep earlier: try getting exposure to morning sunlight:

https://www.verywellhealth.com/morning-s...-you-sleep

[UnicornRider]

Thanks Dormeo,

I shared that with some family and signed up for some of their news letters.