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Do you use humidity settings at all? Or, have you tried 'going dry' if you have a modicum of humidity in your air? It's worth a trial, one way or another, to see what happens. Maybe nothing.
Some people use an inhaler prior to bed, some use nasal sprays meant for congestion, some mild saline rinses or sprays for dryness or congestion.
Instead of removing your headgear entirely when you simply have to get up to pee, could you try disconnecting the hose only? Leaving the headgear in place will, even if you elect not to reconnect, still help you to get used to having it on all the while you are in bed, and that may make a difference over time.
Sometimes we cannot contend with our over-active mind. Mine is like that. If I manage anything over 4.5 hours, that's it for me 90% of the time. I have very occasionally fallen back to sleep, but it takes at least an hour of trying hard to stay in my 'nothing box'. Good luck with that if you are a parent or over the age of 40.
About once every 10-14 days, if I have been losing a bit on sleep, I take a melatonin pill. It doesn't really affect the quality of my sleep much, but it almost always extends my sleep between 30-60 minutes. Since the majority of us do more dreaming in the final 60 minutes of our sleep than we do the previous 300 minutes, that final hour is VERY important to quality rest.
(08-12-2019, 12:13 PM)NightOwl42 Wrote: I did an in-home study, took results to a sleep medicine doctor, and he diagnosed mild central sleep apnea, recommended CPAP.
I have a Resmed 9 Autoset with Airfit P10 nasal mask. The mask itself is very comfortable.
Pressure range is set from 4.0 - 8.0.
I'm a side sleeper
For weeks I've been trying to use the device, but it's really challenging:
It takes a long time to fall asleep
I wake up after an hour or two, have to pee, then don't want to put the mask back on.
I simply find using the rig uncomfortable enough that it feels harder to sleep with it than without.
I have a little nasal congestion, and have tried Benadryl (which has drowsiness as a side effect), but that doesn't seem to help.
Suggestions how to get past the discomfort?
Thanks, All.
Your happy with your mask, so we can eliminate that as a problem.
The discomfort could be any number of things...room too cool or too warm, too little or too much humidity, bed pillow not supporting your neck alignment, congestion, etc.
Also your pressure settings may not be optimal for you. Even with mild central sleep apnea (your words), you may not be on the correct machine type.
In order for someone to give more precise advice, could you download the free OSCAR software, then use the links below in my signature line. This will help you organize a daily page, take a screenshot, and then use the attachment feature to post some data here.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
The chart only shows us approximately 2.5 hours. Nothing major jumps out at me.
Flow Limitation is low, no leaks, no Obstructions.
You may be sensitive to pressure changes. Your minimum pressure is set at 4cm and that alone can be uncomfortable, allowing you to feel air starved. Have you tried a higher minimum pressure?
If you look at your graph, the pressure shoots up to 7cm when detecting an event.
It would be easier for you to breath if you moved your minimum pressure to 6cm.
Something else...it just takes some folk longer to adjust to therapy, but you have to do your part. If you have to get up for any reason, leave your mask on. Make a conscious decision to keep it on and continue therapy.
If you want to repost, please include the following graphs: Events, Pressure (not mask pressure), flow rate, leaks, flow limitations and snores if it will fit.
Include left sidebar...minus the calendar and pie chart.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
08-17-2019, 11:30 PM (This post was last modified: 08-17-2019, 11:34 PM by Hydrangea.)
RE: Struggling to use CPAP, suggestions?
4 is a really low pressure. Pediatric, really. Once I got used to my CPAP blowing air at me all night long, I quickly became uncomfortable with the too low of pressure (my "doctor" Rxed me at 5, for pressure).
I raised my pressure to 6, and things were infinitely more comfortable.
So I'd guess you should raise your min pressure to 6, and that should help. That should also help clear your congestion while you're sleeping.
Edited to add:
Oops, I see this was recommended, and that you made the change and it helped. Great!!
08-17-2019, 11:39 PM (This post was last modified: 08-17-2019, 11:40 PM by Hydrangea.)
RE: Struggling to use CPAP, suggestions?
Regarding your aerophagia: do a search of this forum for that word, and you'll find great suggestions. Here's what helps me, as I'm quite susceptible to it.
- Sleep on your back or on your right side (not on your left side).
- Elevate your head.
If I must sleep on my left side, I put an extra pillow under my shoulder/head.
