Waking up during the night - low compliance

[luckydip]

Hi everyone

I'm a newbie to cpap and have had my machine for 2 months or so. I'm using a full face mask and can get to sleep ok but I keep on waking up after 1.5-2 hours gasping for air, exactly like what I was without the machine. I then usually get up,walk around and then get back into bed tossing/turning and eventually fall back to sleep without my mask. I feel the benefits of the machine so I want to try and increase the hours I'm using it. My AHI was 80 and its comes down to under 5.  I've contacted the clinic a few times and they've tried different settings but the issue persists. I've had a follow up call today and they've basically said I've got a month to increase my compliance. I'm trying but I feel there must be something else I can do to try and make this work?

Someone I know I had a similar issue and he said he started using passion flower capsules and this has helped him to relax and get good sleep. 

Any ideas/tips/tweaks appreciated.

thanks

EPR: Full Time 1cmH2O APAP Min 8 Max 20 (cmH2O)


   

       

[Dormeo]

Luckydip, this must be very frustrating! I imagine board members with expertise will be along soon, but one quick question first. When you have that gasp that wakes you up, what is your sleep position (back, side, stomach)? And is that the same position you are in when you get your couple of hours of sleep before you wake up?

[luckydip]

Luckydip, this must be very frustrating!  I imagine board members with expertise will be along soon, but one quick question first.  When you have that gasp that wakes you up, what is your sleep position (back, side, stomach)?  And is that the same position you are in when you get your couple of hours of sleep before you wake up?

I used to sleep on my front before starting therapy but now I always sleep on either side.  I always wake up in this position (with gasp/normally). I've tried sleeping on my back but can't get to sleep so I've found the sides a good compromise!
thanks

[OpalRose]

It looks like you have some mask leaking.  Do you feel that might be waking you?

Be sure your mask is fitted properly, and use the mask fit function on your machine. In the meantime, read the Mask Primer to see if that may help.
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ask_Primer

Other than that, your charts look good, but you are only getting a couple hours sleep, so it’s hard to tell.

[Dormeo]

It's hard for me to see a pattern in those 3 charts, though as OpalRose notes, you do have some major leaks. In the 5/9 chart, it looks as though you had a long period of snoring; in the 2/9 chart, maybe REM sleep starting around 12:35, on the 4/9 chart, FLs. But in each case it seems that you have some sleep after these possible disturbances (and the major leaks), only to gasp awake later. It will take a much wiser head than mine to help.

One small question: do you have the Oscar date set correctly? Your charts seem to go back to February.

[Sleeprider]

At 8-20 pressure with EPR 1, your results are good, but flow limits are might be disrupting sleep. I'm going to suggest taking your minimum pressure to 9.0 and increasing EPR to 3. It's going to mostly be a matter of seeing if that is more comfortable and lets you sleep better.

You didn't include the flow rate chart, and that is where we would see spikes in the breathing rate that you describe as "waking up gasping". Please be sure to include flow rate, and it might be helpful to zoom in on some of those arousals. Screen-shots of 2 minute segments lets us see the flow wave and that can tell us a lot of what is going on at the time of arousal.

[luckydip]

hi guys

I hope all are well. After persevering with the machine I started to get my usage upto around 5 hours every night 

Recently (seems to coincide with the COVID outbreak) I'm back to square one. I'm only using it for around 1.5 hours at night and it feels as if its difficult to breathe. I've tried cooling the room, changing the humidifier settings but no luck. Even when I start to use the machine it feels like there is not enough air coming through.

I'd be grateful if someone can have a look at the charts and recommend any changes.

stay safe!

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Thank

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you

[Sleeprider]

Did you ever try the higher minimum pressure or EPR?

[luckydip]

No, I'll give that a go for the next couple of nights and report back.

thanks