New to the board - need help with pressure settings

[martijn]

Hi!

Just joined this board today but have been hearing about it for ages on reddit.

I started using the Philips Dreamstation (I know, I know) in 2019. My untreated AHI was 48. I still remember the first night I used it: I only slept for 4 hours and felt incredibly refreshed and energized.

Unfortunately that honeymoon phase didn't last very long, but I still felt better than before (unless I fell asleep without my nose mask on, or took it off in my sleep - then I'd wake up feeling even worse than I did before I started my treatment).

In the past 6 months or so I've noticed a clear drop in results. I'm feeling tired again, and feel the need to nap in the late afternoon. I've gained some weight during the lockdowns (around 10 kilos), I'm suspecting that might have something to do with it.

A while ago I accessed the 'secret' menu in my Dreamstation and changed my pressure to 9-20, thinking 'more pressure, less events'. I got used to the higher starting pressure quickly, but I'm not sure if my situation is improved. 

The last time I spoke with a medical professional was about 2 years ago - they actually did another sleep test with me, but this time it was while I used the Dreamstation. The doctor said my results were good, except for the fact that I almost never got any 'deep' sleep. That didn't sound that good to me? I started taking magnesium supplements and the occasional Zzzquil if I really wanted to have a good rest. I do have dreams regularly, so surely I'm getting *some* deep sleep? Or are those two not linked?

Anyway, I just installed OSCAR and I would really appreciate it if someone would look at my data to see if I can adjust any settings to hopefully improve my treatment. I'm not 100% sure what to screenshot from OSCAR, but I made a screenshot of last Tuesday. And also I made the mistake of installing OSCAR in Dutch (which is my native language) and so far haven't found an option to change that to English. Re-installing the software and trying to choose English didn't do the trick

Anyway, any help is appreciated

[Dormeo]

To my eye, your chart looks good. I'm not sure what your flex setting is, but if you have room to raise it, you might give that a try to see whether it helps with flow limitations and hypopneas.

People can dream in all sleep stages, though we tend to think of dreaming as occurring primarily in REM sleep. No one is quite sure why REM sleep benefits us, but it does. We often wake up a little at the end of a REM period, which enables us sometimes to remember our REM dreams.

Deep sleep is also beneficial; it is when the body does a lot of its repair work. If you'd like to read up on sleep, try Matthew Walker's Why We Sleep. He's a professor at UC Berkeley; the book is quite readable.

The fact that you had little deep sleep on the night of a sleep test does not necessarily mean anything at all. No one sleeps terribly well during a sleep test, and in any case, sleep is highly variable from one night to the next.

It might be time to explore other reasons for your daytime tiredness. Your weight gain could have something to do with it, especially if it happened because you were getting less outdoor time during the day or less exercise during the day. You might also be needing a tad more sleep. Some people come to need 8 or 8.5 hours of actual sleep (i.e., not counting the time it takes to fall asleep or time awake during the night). Also, ask yourself whether sleep-related factors in your life may have changed, e.g., mattress, pillow, noise, light, temperature.

I think it is well worth a conversation with your doctor about your daytime tiredness and sleepiness. He or she might want to run some tests to see whether there are other medical conditions at work, e.g., thyroid problems, low testosterone, autoimmune disease.