[Pressure] Finally have OSCAR, thoughts on results?

[weiss27md]

This Daily from OSCAR was last night and also my best night so far.

[Gideon]

I can't argue with those numbers, how do you feel? How easy are you handling the VAuto?

[weiss27md]

I'm feeling okay when I wake up. Not as good as I would like but not terrible. I might add more PS and see if my AHI goes up or down. I'm still waking up atleast once per night.

[weiss27md]

Here was last nights, a little worse.

[weiss27md]

Switched to a N20 mask because I thought it would hold better in place when moving around. But getting worse sleep. For once it is too hot, not my face but my whole body. Room is 70f, tube is 75f and humidity I have on 2-4. Also kind of hard to sleep with soft cervical collar. I think I'll go back to P10 and try stay sleeping on my back. When I try to lay on my side it keeps ruining my sleep. Not sure why I'm getting too hot. I might try to turn down the hose temp to 70f.

[Dormeo]

Can you lower the ambient temperature in your bedroom? If so, I would definitely recommend that. It can really help with the quality of sleep.

You mentioned that you are considering an increase to your PS. It can be useful to make adjustments only after giving the current settings at least a week, since sleep is naturally so variable from night to night.

I'm curious: do you feel at all air-starved when your pressures are at their lowest?

[weiss27md]

No, haven't felt air starved. Have had some mouth leaks but pretty sure that was just air going out as taping my mouth helped. I'll see about lower AC from 70 to 69 at night, see if the wife will agree... I seem to get better numbers when I stay on my back. The soft cervical collar isn't very comfortable, will probably go back to taping. I got the N20 to use over the P10 since it would be more stable when moving but that's not working. I think I might stick with the pressure setting I have now and switch the heat hose with the slimline hose. Humidity in house at night is between 50-55% so I might try 2 on the humidity with no heat.
I appreciate any advice given. Feel like I'm just barely making it through life. Slowly getting more tired everyday for the past several years. Not sure how much longer I'll make it. Probably got 3-4 hours of sleep last night. Was hot even though AC hasn't changed from other nights. Not able to sleep with cervical collar. Kept trying to sleep with and without a pillow. Couldn't get comfortable on back so tried to sleep on side but mask and collar difficulties. Sore legs so harder to sleep on back. Had to wake up twice to pee. I'm 35 but my energy levels are so low, plus it makes me irritable. Trying to get off caffeine too. Just all this stuff compounds off of each other. Diagnosed with GERD 15 years ago plus have bruxism. I wonder if low grade sleep apnea has caused all these issues. Earliest physical issues I had was sinus infections and headaches when I was a child. I would guess I've had low grade sleep apnea for 20+ years.

[Dormeo]

Well, ditch the collar for now; that sounds like a good idea. See what tape can do for you. And I'd suggest continuing the quest for THE mask, if you can afford to. You need one that will work for you in a sleep position that works for you.

Everyone's face is different, so I hesitate to suggest this, but you might want to take a look at the Aloha pillow mask that I'm using. I'm a side-sleeper, and the Aloha just doesn't budge, on my face, anyhow. I used a P10 for a long time, found it pretty comfortable, but it would move around and leak in ways that would annoy me. I route the Aloha through the little loop on the top strap and then add some paper tape to keep it in place. I use a Hose Buddy to keep all the hose stuff up and away from me. I use Pad-a-Cheek strap covers on the straps that touch my face, and that keeps marks to a very manageable minimum.

It has some definite minuses. The vent does not diffuse the stream of cold air coming out, so your wife might not appreciate that. It is fiddly to put together, adjust, and take apart. All that is by way of full disclosure; I am sticking with it for now because for me the pluses outweigh the minuses.

Is the AC in the bedroom adjustable separately from the rest of the house? If yes, do you think your wife would be OK with an experiment where she sleeps in a warmer room for a week or so and you see how a temperature of, say, 65 works for you? If no, could she put an extra blanket on her side of the bed so you could do the same experiment in the same bedroom with her?

And one obvious question in these strange times: have you taken your temperature?

Finally, when things get back to normal, you might want to talk with your doctor about a full workup to see whether some other medical issue is preventing you from feeling rested during the day. Not every doctor sees this as a big deal, but as you know all too well it is. So it's worth pressing for follow-up.

Hang in there, and keep us posted, would you?

[weiss27md]

This is my results from last night.  Slept the whole night without waking up.  I think that's a first.  Any suggestions for improvements?

[Dormeo]

Congratulations on getting a full night's unbroken sleep -- I'm envious! How do you feel today?

I recommend sticking with your current settings for at least another week. If you add more pressure support now, you may see more central apneas. With time, your body may adapt and the centrals may trend downward. At that point you might consider a little more PS. But if you are sleeping well and your AHI stabilizes at around 2 or less, then I wouldn't change a thing if I were you.

Keep us posted, would you?