Quit CPAP

[tlippy]

Been using CPAP for one year.  Originally got interested in CPAP because I had so much phlegm (S?) in my throat that I was choking at night.  Went to my GP and she suggested a CPAP test.  Did the routine - one night with a sensor attached to my finger (not an overnight study) and the study came up with a number of 29 whatchamacallits.  A number of 30 is severe.  At first I was happy with CPAP but the last 4 months have become intolerable.  My throat is so dry even with moisture at MAX that my teeth were starting to hurt.  Bought a chin strap thinking I was keeping my mouth open - no difference. 
Now for the rest of the story:  My wife, who has no medical degrees, told me from the start that she has never noticed me grasping for breath.   I've never stopped breathing for a period of time.  Last week I quit CPAP and per my wife's advice. She says I have an allergy to Central Oregon,  ie: Juniper trees and fescue grass. Started taking one Claritin 10mg + one squirt of Nasacort - both OTC.  Viola-after just one week I no longer have any phlegm problem, my mouth isn't dry and I'm sleeping better than I ever have.  My snoring is markedly quieter.   It's always been an allergy.  It's never been lack of oxygen.  I didn't go to Norco for CPAP supplies the first of this month.  I don't know the consequences of just quitting.  I do feel like I've caused Medicare an unjustified expense.  Anyway this is my story and I'm sticking to it.  Thanks for listening

[OpalRose]

What about the 29 whatchamacallits?

[SarcasticDave94]

Although not 100% of the time, but probably very close, not everyone that snores has apnea and vice versa. However, snoring and sleep apnea are related. Snoring is almost always a strong indicator of obstructive apnea.

Unfortunately, unless some new thing has been created, pills do not eliminate apnea, as obstructive apnea is caused by, in most cases, the throat muscles relaxing and restricting the breathing passage.

Regardless, there's two things: you are free to do and think what you want and I'll wish you the best no matter what that direction may be.

[Dormeo]

It sounds as though you’re unlikely to start CPAP therapy again any time soon, but here’s an idea. Why don’t you see whether you could have another sleep study in a month or two? It’d be valuable to see whether your AHI is down in a safe range and to see whether your oxygen levels during the night are acceptable. If all is well, then great; if not, you could return to CPAP and tackle the problems that have made using it it difficult for you.

[C0mbe]

While you are obviously free to make your own decisions... personally, I wouldn’t quit using a CPAP without quantifiable evidence that I no longer had sleep apnea.  Full disclosure: I’ve done that once before, and I wouldn’t do it again.  

I lost a lot of weight, and my wife told me she saw no signs of breathing cessation.  I decided to retest with an at home study and was told by my doc I could quit.  My current doc questions whether that was right.  A decade later, I went back on an xPAP because my sleep had deteriorated to the point where I was struggling to function.  Apnea was negatively impacting my mental health, physical health and relationships.  I wish I had stayed on, but you learn.  

A sleep study is one night, and can be done at home.  At a bare minimum it will give you the ability to make a more informed decision.   Who knows - it may tell you that you still have it, or it may tell you you don’t.  If it turns out the retest was wrong (like we suspect mine was) at least you’ll be able to justify quitting based on real data!

[ajack]

You have 13. Try lowering the pressure to 5. If the machine says you have apnea, it's a fact. Bearing in mind that some events will resolve st 5.

[alwyns42]

A sleep doctor thinks I can quit CPAP by purely looking at a good stretch of past AHI history.  I'm not going to do it even if a sleeptest tells me I can because I recently experience the results of just 2 weeks of quitting.

My question is, I see some people quit because they track their O2 levels and it never drops below 90.  Is that a good enough metric to go by?