03-02-2021, 12:48 PM
One week in+ No joy
A week ago, I started on the path of CPAP therapy. So far, not so good. Leaks, leaks, leaks, and rising AHI. Some background:
I'm 67, male, non-smoker, very healthy, exercise regularly, and am very active, working on our rural property. I don't have the usual apnea symptoms. I rarely snore, I sleep 4-6 hours a night, and wake up rested and ready to go. No day-time sleepiness. No headaches. I had a sleep study done because my cardiologist suspected OSA. I do have very minor breathing issues during the day, as yet, undiagnosed. I did a home sleep study, and posted an AHI of 16, and more concerning, by SpO2 was as low as 76%.
The first night, I took the thing off after an hour. The second night, I toughed it out, but had 32% large leaks. The next night, I had 77% leakage! I kept fooling around with the mask (ResMed AirFit F30i), and got my leaks down as low as 3%, but my AHI keeps climbing. The mask itself is unworkable. It only seals if it is painfully tight. My face hurts all night, and my nose is numb. I tried a completely different mask last night (ResMed AirTouch F20), which was very comfortable, but kept leaking. I kept adjusting it, and it would seal for a while, then leak some more. Apparently, the memory foam doesn't have a very good memory. By morning, the only way it would seal was to push it on very hard with my hand- hardly a practical solution. Last night, my AHI was over 13. It's been climbing every night.
The machine is only set from 7.0 to 10.0, which seems rather low to me. I do know how to change it, but want to see if I can get a better mask first. My DME provider has a choice of three masks. Period. The third one is a nasal pillow, but I need a mask, as I tend to mouth breathe from time to time. A little research online shows dozens of mask choices, but I have no way to try them out.
In one week, I've gone from sleeping well and waking up rested to being tired, grouchy, and I have a sore nose and face. I read somewhere that the drop-out rate for CPAP users is 50%- I can see why! I ordered a sleep oximeter to use to see what's going on with my O2 levels at night. I got flamed pretty hard on another forum for asking about oximeters, so I'll drop it if that's a taboo subject.
That's my story, such as it is. I downloaded Oscar, and can access my daily reports. The oximeter I ordered is supposed to work with Oscar as well. I have an appointment with the pulmonologist in April, but I may contact them sooner to find out about a better DME supplier. Thanks for listening!
I'm 67, male, non-smoker, very healthy, exercise regularly, and am very active, working on our rural property. I don't have the usual apnea symptoms. I rarely snore, I sleep 4-6 hours a night, and wake up rested and ready to go. No day-time sleepiness. No headaches. I had a sleep study done because my cardiologist suspected OSA. I do have very minor breathing issues during the day, as yet, undiagnosed. I did a home sleep study, and posted an AHI of 16, and more concerning, by SpO2 was as low as 76%.
The first night, I took the thing off after an hour. The second night, I toughed it out, but had 32% large leaks. The next night, I had 77% leakage! I kept fooling around with the mask (ResMed AirFit F30i), and got my leaks down as low as 3%, but my AHI keeps climbing. The mask itself is unworkable. It only seals if it is painfully tight. My face hurts all night, and my nose is numb. I tried a completely different mask last night (ResMed AirTouch F20), which was very comfortable, but kept leaking. I kept adjusting it, and it would seal for a while, then leak some more. Apparently, the memory foam doesn't have a very good memory. By morning, the only way it would seal was to push it on very hard with my hand- hardly a practical solution. Last night, my AHI was over 13. It's been climbing every night.
The machine is only set from 7.0 to 10.0, which seems rather low to me. I do know how to change it, but want to see if I can get a better mask first. My DME provider has a choice of three masks. Period. The third one is a nasal pillow, but I need a mask, as I tend to mouth breathe from time to time. A little research online shows dozens of mask choices, but I have no way to try them out.
In one week, I've gone from sleeping well and waking up rested to being tired, grouchy, and I have a sore nose and face. I read somewhere that the drop-out rate for CPAP users is 50%- I can see why! I ordered a sleep oximeter to use to see what's going on with my O2 levels at night. I got flamed pretty hard on another forum for asking about oximeters, so I'll drop it if that's a taboo subject.
That's my story, such as it is. I downloaded Oscar, and can access my daily reports. The oximeter I ordered is supposed to work with Oscar as well. I have an appointment with the pulmonologist in April, but I may contact them sooner to find out about a better DME supplier. Thanks for listening!
