12-02-2016, 10:35 AM
6 months in: From 109AHI to under 4AHI average
A little background:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...-questions
Why: After witnessing how much a help a CPAP machine was for my wife, I decided to take my doctor up on having a sleep study done.
June 2016
Sleep study. Yay. 45 minutes into it, they hook me up to a CPAP. Apparently a 109AHI and low of 65 pulseox is not a normal thing... who knew.
June/July 2016
CPAP arrives. Frustration sets in. I can't sleep, I can't get comfortable, this machine just isn't working. I thought this would be a magic cure all.
July 2016
Find the apneaboard.com forums. Become my own healthcare advocate in regards to treating my sleep apnea. Learn that I DO have a say in how my condition is treated. Work with my equipment provider and sleep doctor to find the mask (ESON) that is most comfortable for me.
July 2016
CPAP is at 8-20 for pressure. Lots of mask leaks. Most nights my AHI is still averaging 12-21AHI, with the occasional high of 45AHI.
August 2016
Using reports from Sleepy Head, make a determined case to my equipment provider and doctor that I'm maxing out the CPAP. Initially they were insisting I had to give it at least 3 months to get used to it. I disagreed. I showed them my Sleepy Head reports and insisted that we needed to change things up. They agreed. "Upgraded: to BiPAP machine.
August 2016 - September 2016
BiPAP machine "adjustment" period. Currently at 19/23 for pressure (but guessing we'll go to 21/25 soon). 2 months of going back and forth trying different masks due to the increased pressure, as well as different pressure levels. Finally we get a combination that seems like it might work (after trying multiple masks, we ended up going back to the ESON, trying both Medium and Large in order to see which worked better). At this point, most of my nights were under 10AHI on average.
September 2016 - December 2016
What a long strange trip it has been. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It took a number of visits and lots of insistence and work in order to get the help I needed to resolve many of the hurdles which were keeping me from a good night's sleep, however the past 90 days have been great, and getting better with each night.
Over the past 90 days, I have had I believe 1 night above 10AHI, and 3 below 2AHI. My best night was at 1.16AHI. There are a number of little things I'm noting that are different as well. I fall to sleep faster. I can drive for hours at a time where I used to have to stop every 45 minutes or so. I'm more relaxed. My chronic migraines have slowed to an occasional trickle. Most importantly, most of my neck and shoulder pain has seemed to have dissipated.
Summing it all up
Be your own healthcare advocate. Be informed and insistent.
Don't expect a magical overnight cure.
Be an informed patient.
Don't give up.
6 months may seem like a long time, but I know I've had sleep and snoring issues for over 30 years. Put that way, 6 months is nothing.
![[Image: sleep12216.jpg]](https://s13.postimg.org/iiwgpreaf/sleep12216.jpg)
hebergeur dimage
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...-questions
Why: After witnessing how much a help a CPAP machine was for my wife, I decided to take my doctor up on having a sleep study done.
June 2016
Sleep study. Yay. 45 minutes into it, they hook me up to a CPAP. Apparently a 109AHI and low of 65 pulseox is not a normal thing... who knew.
June/July 2016
CPAP arrives. Frustration sets in. I can't sleep, I can't get comfortable, this machine just isn't working. I thought this would be a magic cure all.
July 2016
Find the apneaboard.com forums. Become my own healthcare advocate in regards to treating my sleep apnea. Learn that I DO have a say in how my condition is treated. Work with my equipment provider and sleep doctor to find the mask (ESON) that is most comfortable for me.
July 2016
CPAP is at 8-20 for pressure. Lots of mask leaks. Most nights my AHI is still averaging 12-21AHI, with the occasional high of 45AHI.
August 2016
Using reports from Sleepy Head, make a determined case to my equipment provider and doctor that I'm maxing out the CPAP. Initially they were insisting I had to give it at least 3 months to get used to it. I disagreed. I showed them my Sleepy Head reports and insisted that we needed to change things up. They agreed. "Upgraded: to BiPAP machine.
August 2016 - September 2016
BiPAP machine "adjustment" period. Currently at 19/23 for pressure (but guessing we'll go to 21/25 soon). 2 months of going back and forth trying different masks due to the increased pressure, as well as different pressure levels. Finally we get a combination that seems like it might work (after trying multiple masks, we ended up going back to the ESON, trying both Medium and Large in order to see which worked better). At this point, most of my nights were under 10AHI on average.
September 2016 - December 2016
What a long strange trip it has been. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It took a number of visits and lots of insistence and work in order to get the help I needed to resolve many of the hurdles which were keeping me from a good night's sleep, however the past 90 days have been great, and getting better with each night.
Over the past 90 days, I have had I believe 1 night above 10AHI, and 3 below 2AHI. My best night was at 1.16AHI. There are a number of little things I'm noting that are different as well. I fall to sleep faster. I can drive for hours at a time where I used to have to stop every 45 minutes or so. I'm more relaxed. My chronic migraines have slowed to an occasional trickle. Most importantly, most of my neck and shoulder pain has seemed to have dissipated.
Summing it all up
Be your own healthcare advocate. Be informed and insistent.
Don't expect a magical overnight cure.
Be an informed patient.
Don't give up.
6 months may seem like a long time, but I know I've had sleep and snoring issues for over 30 years. Put that way, 6 months is nothing.
hebergeur dimage
Way to go 
