12-29-2024, 07:09 PM
My false smiley face CPAP story - any insight?
My CPAP Story:
I have been a sleep apnea sufferer for 20 years. 20 years ago, I got my first cpap machine and the difference was absolutely remarkable. Literally night and day. It was one of those machines were the pressure was set and it stayed that pressure – the automatic adjust machines were not out yet.
My weight fluctuated over the years and I would adjust the cpap pressure myself (I know – not supposed to do that) to accommodate my weight. Eventually, I moved and got a new doctor and upgraded my machine to the ResMed AirSense 10. It would titrate the pressure automatically based on how my sleep was going.
At first everything was fine. However, I did start to gain some weight during that time and did start to notice myself getting more tired and irritable during the day.
I checked my machine:
Smily Face On the Screen
Smily Face On the Screen
Smily Face On the Screen
“Doing great.” Normal amount of events per night.
I called the doctor monitoring my sleep to make sure. “Everything looks ok on my end. The pressure is adjusting to your needs.”
Ok, well, my tiredness must be from something else. Scratch “sleep apnea” off the list. And off I went for the next 10 years. Tired all the time but convinced it was because I was out of shape or my testosterone was off or that I was getting old. I suffered form constant daily fatigue to the point where I had to sometimes come home from work. I figured this was life and I started to get suicidal.
Then, this past year year, I started to grow my beard out. When I grew the beard out, I noticed the tiredness go into overdrive and I became practically bed bound.
Though my machine indicated a normal and “healthy” number of “events” per night, I would have dreams where, though I was not chocking , my breathing was very difficult and labored and my lungs were having to work extra hard to get air.
“Wait a minute” I thought. And that night, I tightened my mask super tight like I had never done before.
BAM. TIREDNESS GONE. At least for 1 couple of days.
As it turns out, it was something to do with my machine and the smiley faces it had been giving me were a lie. The “good grades” were a lie for me. As it turns out, it does matter whether or not my mask leaks microscopically.
The good news is that I’m figuring this out. The bad news is that I can’t seem to get it right consistently. I don’t know which strap setting or ration will get me what I need on a nightly basis. I have to “experiment and hope” every single night. I have a full face mask since I am a mouth breather.
It’s hard. If I go super super super tight, it makes things worse, but if I go too lose, it also makes things worse. I do use the seal test setting before going to bed but sometimes that doesn’t hold.
The “makeup pressure” where the CPAP increases pressure to stop the leak doesn’t seem to do enough. It doesn’t fix the issue. "The fixing pressure" seems to be harder for my lungs to breath in....at least that's how it seems.
I just downloaded Oscar and ordered to the memory foam for my full face mask and hopefully I’ll be able to find out more information and get be back to being my consistent self for the first time in a decade.
Let me know if anyone has a similar story or any insight.
I'll post my oscar stuff when I have it.
God bless.
I have been a sleep apnea sufferer for 20 years. 20 years ago, I got my first cpap machine and the difference was absolutely remarkable. Literally night and day. It was one of those machines were the pressure was set and it stayed that pressure – the automatic adjust machines were not out yet.
My weight fluctuated over the years and I would adjust the cpap pressure myself (I know – not supposed to do that) to accommodate my weight. Eventually, I moved and got a new doctor and upgraded my machine to the ResMed AirSense 10. It would titrate the pressure automatically based on how my sleep was going.
At first everything was fine. However, I did start to gain some weight during that time and did start to notice myself getting more tired and irritable during the day.
I checked my machine:
Smily Face On the Screen
Smily Face On the Screen
Smily Face On the Screen
“Doing great.” Normal amount of events per night.
I called the doctor monitoring my sleep to make sure. “Everything looks ok on my end. The pressure is adjusting to your needs.”
Ok, well, my tiredness must be from something else. Scratch “sleep apnea” off the list. And off I went for the next 10 years. Tired all the time but convinced it was because I was out of shape or my testosterone was off or that I was getting old. I suffered form constant daily fatigue to the point where I had to sometimes come home from work. I figured this was life and I started to get suicidal.
Then, this past year year, I started to grow my beard out. When I grew the beard out, I noticed the tiredness go into overdrive and I became practically bed bound.
Though my machine indicated a normal and “healthy” number of “events” per night, I would have dreams where, though I was not chocking , my breathing was very difficult and labored and my lungs were having to work extra hard to get air.
“Wait a minute” I thought. And that night, I tightened my mask super tight like I had never done before.
BAM. TIREDNESS GONE. At least for 1 couple of days.
As it turns out, it was something to do with my machine and the smiley faces it had been giving me were a lie. The “good grades” were a lie for me. As it turns out, it does matter whether or not my mask leaks microscopically.
The good news is that I’m figuring this out. The bad news is that I can’t seem to get it right consistently. I don’t know which strap setting or ration will get me what I need on a nightly basis. I have to “experiment and hope” every single night. I have a full face mask since I am a mouth breather.
It’s hard. If I go super super super tight, it makes things worse, but if I go too lose, it also makes things worse. I do use the seal test setting before going to bed but sometimes that doesn’t hold.
The “makeup pressure” where the CPAP increases pressure to stop the leak doesn’t seem to do enough. It doesn’t fix the issue. "The fixing pressure" seems to be harder for my lungs to breath in....at least that's how it seems.
I just downloaded Oscar and ordered to the memory foam for my full face mask and hopefully I’ll be able to find out more information and get be back to being my consistent self for the first time in a decade.
Let me know if anyone has a similar story or any insight.
I'll post my oscar stuff when I have it.
God bless.
