4 hours ago
New Oscar user and looking for advice
Hey everyone,
This forum is amazing and I'm learning so much lurking, but I'd love to get some specific feedback on my situation.
I'm 38M, have always been told my tall/slender body type is less typical of CPAP users, but since college have always felt tired and fogged. I had my sleep study 11 years ago and CPAP ever since, which only indicated mild apnea (AHI of ~7) and the CPAP has brought it down to 1-2 AHI. Every annual sleep appointment since, they seem to basically look at the one-page summary report from my CPAP, ask me a few general sleep questions, praise me for my 100% compliance, and tell me that since the machine is bringing it down that the therapy is working and keep on as is. I still regularly wake up feeling tired (despite maintaining 7-8 hours of sleep daily), never refreshed, and often fogged and lacking motivation during the day. I get up to use the bathroom once per night (feels like a weird thing to mention, but I'm aware it is relevant and this seems like the best spot for it!).
Discovering this board inspired me to try Oscar and look at my data, but quite frankly, I'm a little overwhelmed at this point with the data and am hoping for some impressions, as I don't think my doctor has ever looked at the data like this. I realize I have a mild case so maybe everything really is just fine, but if there's potential for improvement in how I feel, yes please!
I've also been dealing with intermittent but regular pain in my face for the past year (side of face/teeth/through to the ear). I've talked to my dentist (many times), doctor, ENT, even had an MRI to rule tons of stuff out. My dentist thinks I'm grinding in my sleep, and it is due to sleep issues. He gave me a mouthguard, which is causing bad jaw pain and a weird bite and headaches in the morning. I've been back to the dentist many times for adjustments, and he insists it is now fitted properly and that the bite changes aren't directly caused by the mouthguard. The main theory is that due to my physiology, I may have a narrow airway and need more airflow, and I'm unconsciously putting my jaw in an awkward position (especially with the mouthguard in) to get more airflow.
Other conditions: I had my adenoids out as a teenager. I had major trouble breathing through my nose before that. The surgeon mentioned afterwards that my tonsils were big too. No doctor has complained about the size of them since, though I do get annoying tonsil stones occasionally. I also have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, which is managed fairly well with Tremfya. My BP has also been borderline (top number 120-140s) for years before and after CPAP.
My pressure is set at what I understand is the default 5-20 (and has never been any different). At my last sleep appointment, I was hoping maybe we'd try something different. I wonder about UARS considering my low AHI and physical profile and potential grinding, but Oscar isn't reporting many RERAs. Due to the jaw comments at the sleep appt, I was instead referred to a sleep/TMJ-specialized dentist, and won't be able to get in for at least a month. So what I'm wondering is:
- Looking at my data, is there likely room for improvement by adjusting settings? Should I try changing it myself despite provider not having any interest in adjusting what they already see as successful therapy? Or am I overreacting and things are fine?
- The brochure I was given for the sleep/TMJ dentist is all about sleep appliances for those that can't tolerate CPAP. After years of being told CPAP is the gold-standard for apnea, this makes me a bit nervous to potentially try something other than CPAP, when the issue isn't that I can't tolerate the machine. Am I right to be wary?
Thank you in advance to anyone that has taken some of their precious time to read this!
This forum is amazing and I'm learning so much lurking, but I'd love to get some specific feedback on my situation.
I'm 38M, have always been told my tall/slender body type is less typical of CPAP users, but since college have always felt tired and fogged. I had my sleep study 11 years ago and CPAP ever since, which only indicated mild apnea (AHI of ~7) and the CPAP has brought it down to 1-2 AHI. Every annual sleep appointment since, they seem to basically look at the one-page summary report from my CPAP, ask me a few general sleep questions, praise me for my 100% compliance, and tell me that since the machine is bringing it down that the therapy is working and keep on as is. I still regularly wake up feeling tired (despite maintaining 7-8 hours of sleep daily), never refreshed, and often fogged and lacking motivation during the day. I get up to use the bathroom once per night (feels like a weird thing to mention, but I'm aware it is relevant and this seems like the best spot for it!).
Discovering this board inspired me to try Oscar and look at my data, but quite frankly, I'm a little overwhelmed at this point with the data and am hoping for some impressions, as I don't think my doctor has ever looked at the data like this. I realize I have a mild case so maybe everything really is just fine, but if there's potential for improvement in how I feel, yes please!
I've also been dealing with intermittent but regular pain in my face for the past year (side of face/teeth/through to the ear). I've talked to my dentist (many times), doctor, ENT, even had an MRI to rule tons of stuff out. My dentist thinks I'm grinding in my sleep, and it is due to sleep issues. He gave me a mouthguard, which is causing bad jaw pain and a weird bite and headaches in the morning. I've been back to the dentist many times for adjustments, and he insists it is now fitted properly and that the bite changes aren't directly caused by the mouthguard. The main theory is that due to my physiology, I may have a narrow airway and need more airflow, and I'm unconsciously putting my jaw in an awkward position (especially with the mouthguard in) to get more airflow.
Other conditions: I had my adenoids out as a teenager. I had major trouble breathing through my nose before that. The surgeon mentioned afterwards that my tonsils were big too. No doctor has complained about the size of them since, though I do get annoying tonsil stones occasionally. I also have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, which is managed fairly well with Tremfya. My BP has also been borderline (top number 120-140s) for years before and after CPAP.
My pressure is set at what I understand is the default 5-20 (and has never been any different). At my last sleep appointment, I was hoping maybe we'd try something different. I wonder about UARS considering my low AHI and physical profile and potential grinding, but Oscar isn't reporting many RERAs. Due to the jaw comments at the sleep appt, I was instead referred to a sleep/TMJ-specialized dentist, and won't be able to get in for at least a month. So what I'm wondering is:
- Looking at my data, is there likely room for improvement by adjusting settings? Should I try changing it myself despite provider not having any interest in adjusting what they already see as successful therapy? Or am I overreacting and things are fine?
- The brochure I was given for the sleep/TMJ dentist is all about sleep appliances for those that can't tolerate CPAP. After years of being told CPAP is the gold-standard for apnea, this makes me a bit nervous to potentially try something other than CPAP, when the issue isn't that I can't tolerate the machine. Am I right to be wary?
Thank you in advance to anyone that has taken some of their precious time to read this!
