04-26-2018, 03:51 PM
this isn't working for me.
So ten or so years ago my sleep monitor (spouse) decided she since she had chronic insomnia, she would dedicate her nights to monitoring my sleep pattern. She was concerned about my snoring and episodes of not breathing. I was convinced to get a sleep study which indicated I had moderate to severe sleep apnea. The sleep study itself was a nightmare that involved no sleeping while wired to the wall with a gazillion wires (no wireless in those days, study recorded on VHS tape) and someone watching me all night. No titration was done. I subsequently went back to my ENT who had ordered the study and had a deviated septum surgically repaired, was put on a nasal steroid and after losing 25# of weight by going to hour long exercise boot camps 4-5 nights a week for a year, my sleep monitor was no longer concerned about my nighttime breathing. Here is the thing, I never had any of the hallmark complaints about sleep apnea. I never felt sleepy or tired during the day, I felt I could be active and alert all my waking hours, and sleeping felt great.
Ten years older now, I still felt great with no complaint of daytime sleepiness. Working almost full time at age 67, rowing with the local rowing club, coaching indoor and outdoor rowing year round after work. But the pesky weight has returned. I had another sleep study at the urging of my sleep monitor, now that medicare covers it, and again shows that I have sleep apnea with 28.9 AHI during the sleep study, O2 saturations were below 90% for a good portion of the time. I slept well for the sleep study this time, that is , until I was awakened for the titration. Once hooked up to the cpap, my next sleep came 30 minutes before the study was concluded.
So now since February 1, I have been using a Resmed Autoset 10 which I fought to get on the advice I received here. I have not slept well in three months. I completed the mandatory first 30 nights and the required revisit to my doctor. My prescription is 12 l/cm2 (based on 30 minutes of successful sleep) and I set at 9-14 on the machine. I changed it from the clinician setting of 4-20. I have tried numerous masks, starting with N20 which only works for me if I tape my mouth shut. Likewise for nasal pillows - the one that includes a chin strap that is worthless. I am habitual nose breather since my broken nose at age 4. Damn metal dashboards in 1950s automobiles. At least I didn't go thorough the non-safety glass windshield. My go-to mask is the F20 medium which has the best success early in the night but always ends up with annoying leaks by 2 or 3 am. I've gone back to the F20 large I was issued at my sleep study, but its even worse and obviously the wrong size. I've tried a Mirage Liberty but it leaked terribly. My newest try, last night, was a Dreamwear full face masked which again worked well for about half the night.
So now, after using cpap faithfully for four months, I am tired all day and need a nap when I get home from work. Early in the morning when I am tired of PAP farts and air blowing in my eyes waking me up, I chuck the mask an sleep well for the remaining hour or two before getting up. It takes about half a day for the eye bags do disappear. No, everyone, I did not get stung by a bee. My AHI now usually stays below 5 or 6 and has been as low as 1.3. Quality of life, though, is much better when untreated.
Ten years older now, I still felt great with no complaint of daytime sleepiness. Working almost full time at age 67, rowing with the local rowing club, coaching indoor and outdoor rowing year round after work. But the pesky weight has returned. I had another sleep study at the urging of my sleep monitor, now that medicare covers it, and again shows that I have sleep apnea with 28.9 AHI during the sleep study, O2 saturations were below 90% for a good portion of the time. I slept well for the sleep study this time, that is , until I was awakened for the titration. Once hooked up to the cpap, my next sleep came 30 minutes before the study was concluded.
So now since February 1, I have been using a Resmed Autoset 10 which I fought to get on the advice I received here. I have not slept well in three months. I completed the mandatory first 30 nights and the required revisit to my doctor. My prescription is 12 l/cm2 (based on 30 minutes of successful sleep) and I set at 9-14 on the machine. I changed it from the clinician setting of 4-20. I have tried numerous masks, starting with N20 which only works for me if I tape my mouth shut. Likewise for nasal pillows - the one that includes a chin strap that is worthless. I am habitual nose breather since my broken nose at age 4. Damn metal dashboards in 1950s automobiles. At least I didn't go thorough the non-safety glass windshield. My go-to mask is the F20 medium which has the best success early in the night but always ends up with annoying leaks by 2 or 3 am. I've gone back to the F20 large I was issued at my sleep study, but its even worse and obviously the wrong size. I've tried a Mirage Liberty but it leaked terribly. My newest try, last night, was a Dreamwear full face masked which again worked well for about half the night.
So now, after using cpap faithfully for four months, I am tired all day and need a nap when I get home from work. Early in the morning when I am tired of PAP farts and air blowing in my eyes waking me up, I chuck the mask an sleep well for the remaining hour or two before getting up. It takes about half a day for the eye bags do disappear. No, everyone, I did not get stung by a bee. My AHI now usually stays below 5 or 6 and has been as low as 1.3. Quality of life, though, is much better when untreated.
