No Difference after close to 2 months

[mylighthouse]

Hello,

Had surgery last year, they expected I had sleep apnea. Went to sleep center over 3 months ago and it was confirmed.

I have been using the CPAP machine with full mask for 2 months now. Originally started the air pressure at 10-15. Had no problems at all with fit of mask or adjusting to using it. I fall asleep within 20 minutes of wearing the mask. During the night, I still get up 3 times to go to the bathroom. I wear the mask for an average of 9 hours a night.

When I wake up, I still feel very tired and do not feel refreshed at all. All day long I still feel tired and have no energy. Because of this, my Medical Equipment Specialist sent over a request to my doctor to go up on my air pressure about 2 weeks ago to 17. My doctor prescribed the air pressure increase. Since then, I have noticed no change at all in the way I feel. The lady at the medical equipment place told me today that she does not want to go up on the air pressure again, because it could cause Central Sleep Apnea. So she said I need to get together with my doctor and see if I need to go back to the sleep center. She told me I should be feeling better by now. Also, my air pressure, since going up to 17, is maxing out at 16.9 every night.

I am just wondering if anyone has had similar issues and what steps were taken?

Also, my machine is very quiet... cannot hear it running at all. Is that normal? And I start my night out at 10 on the air pressure.... and I cannot ever feel the air on my nose/mouth while wearing the mask. I can feel the air blowing out the holes on the mask. It is just totally different than the full face mask I wore at the sleep center. I could feel the air blowing very strongly over my nose/mouth. I am scared something isn't working right. I feel silly saying that. lol

Thank you for any response I get.

[justMongo]

Let's start with a few questions: Specifically, which Resmed machine do you have?
(I'll guess an Autoset -- but that's just a guess.)

Consider downloading Sleephyhead; reading your SD card; and posting an attachment of a typical night's daily page.
Sleepyhead: [url]http://OSCAR Official Download Page ----> CLICK HERE ./[/url]

And:

[mylighthouse]

Thanks for the reply.

My machine is a ResMed Airsense 10.

[trish6hundred]

Hi my lighthouse,
WELCOME!to the forum.!
It can take quite a while before you notice improvements, so just stick with it.
Hang in there for more responses to your post and much success to you with your CPAP therapy.

[Rip and Rosie]

Welcome.
If you can download SleepyHead as justMongo advised above, you have a good chance of getting appropriate advice.

[PoolQ]

We get lots of information from the data on your machine. Something is obviously not set right for what you need.
The machine is not really for blowing air, it is for maintaining pressure while you breathe. When you inhale you decrease the pressure in the mask and the blow speeds up to bring the pressure back up. It does not pump air in and out of our lungs, most of the time this is quiet.
after all of this there are two main things for PAP therapy: first is the therapy settings and second are all the comfort settings, if you are not comfortable you will not sleep well.

[monikah123]

Have you had your bloodwork done recently? Maybe there's something else there causing your fatigue. Even just being overweight can make you tired. I still have a lot of fatigue myself and am considering some of these issues.

[srlevine1]

I agree with monikah123, you may wish to have a full physical to rule out things like thyroid issues, vitamin issues (low iron which affects oxygenation and energy) and other physiological issues. And, no disrespect intended, to rule out the possibility of sub-clinical or clinical depression which has the same symptoms.

[holden4th]

The thing that stood out for me was the nocturia. Even in the initial stages my night time bathroom events went from three per night to one only. This anomaly alone makes me wonder if whatever CPAP therapy you are getting is working for you at all. For example, if you have major mask leaks and don't realise it then your therapy is seriously compromised.

As others have said, download Sleepyhead and post your results to this forum so that the very knowledgable people here can work their analytical magic. They are seriously good at this, don't have to be visited for an appointment in an office and are free. Most importantly, they are fellow OSA sufferers like yourself.

[mylighthouse]

Hello and thank you to you all for your replies and advice.

I did download Sleepyhead last night, just trying to figure out how to "write protect"... I don't want to mess anything up on my card. Once I get that figured out, I should be able to use it with no problem.

Someone had mentioned depression and possible thyroid issues, I am bipolar and have been treated for that for 8 years.... have been doing great as far as that goes, just saw my psychiatrist 2 weeks ago and let him know about the sleep apnea issue. Also am hypothyroid, but have that under control with meds as well. I have bloodwork done regularly because of the bipolar medicine I am on. They check for diabetes too and do the full lipid panel about every 6 months.

In response to another reply, I do have mask leaks from time to time, but as far as I know, they haven't lasted long before being corrected.

Glad to hear that it may just take some more time for things to improve. I will stick with it.

Also, in response to the possibility of something not being set right for what I need.... yes, I am wondering if that is what is going on.

It sounds like I really need to get this Sleepyhead thing up and running. I will try to figure it out today and see what I can do about it.

Thank you all.
Have a nice day