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Hi every one my name is Jim and I just came across this forum after recently being diagnosed with having sleep apnea. I underwent a sleep test and the results said …..
My symptom were , a feeling that I have some thing stuck in my throat and that feeling keeps waking me up several times through out the night .
I’m not on any drugs apart for Atorvastatin to lower my cholesterol numbers , and in general good health and 69 years old.
I have a resmed airsense 10 unit along with a dreamwear full face mask and I have put Oscar CPAP analysis reporter on my pc.
Being new to this sleep apnea apart from the anxiety and distress its causing me , I’m trying to find the best settings for my the resmed airsense 10 unit , to hopefully make things better .
These below are the original resmed unit setting that the doctor advised me to use and I still currently use these settings.
[ tube temp – 10° C ]
[ pressure relief – on ]
[ smart start – on ]
[ mask – full face ]
[ ramp time – off ]
[ climate – auto ]
[ ab filter – no ]
[ essentials – plus ]
[ response – soft ]
[ epr – on ]
[ epr type – ramp only ]
[ epr level – 3 ]
[ therapy – mode – autoset ]
[ maximum pressure– 14 ]
[ minimum pressure – 4 ]
One area which I think may be possibly contributing or affecting my sleep apnea , which was not mentioned in the original sleep test report , is the problem I have especially when going to bed at night time and that is my nose always feels blocked , especially the left nostril . To try and help reduce my blocked nose symptoms I currently use a decongestant nasal spray , which seems to help make the breathing through my nose a little easier.
Generally after a few hours of sleeping on my side and not yet been able to fall sleep I always seem to become frustrated and then pull off the face mask in the hope that I will eventually fall asleep . After removing the face mask I do ( I think but not sure ) manage to finally go to sleep.
Constantly not getting a decent nights sleep is making me feel tired and drained of strength and energy . I have my fingers crossed that with the kind help of other forum members here I will eventually be able to find and use he right settings on my resmed airsense 10 machine and doing that will make my now un happy life much better .
The attached OSCAR screen shot is from the evening of 12th of May 2023 .
As a side note , would using the drug Trazodone be of any help in allowing me to get a good nights sleep.
Hi Jim, welcome to the club. Getting acclimated to sleeping with a mask can be tough and uncomfortable but the good news is eventually you'll get used to it. Have you considered trying a different mask that better suits your sleeping position or is more comfortable? Often the cpap vendor or durable medical equipment supplier will give you 30 days to try out a mask to see if you like it or not.
I think the best recommendation I can give you right now is try to push yourself to sleep for the entire night with the cpap.
If you're having trouble falling a sleep I'd focus on making sure your circadian rhythm is on track by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. Also, avoid eating anything within 3hrs of going to bed and you'll want to turn the a/c down to make it cool in your bedroom so you can fall asleep easier.
Hi Chang,
Amazingly, with an AHI of 225, you are able to bring that number down to 1.19 AHI.
Of course, as many of us realize is that a low AHI doesn't always equal restful sleep.
As gainerfull suggested, you may want to consider different mask styles. This is one of the challenges of adapting. Read through the Mask Primer (link is in my signature line).
I am going to suggest some minor changes and the reasoning is to help you feel more comfortable.
First, the flow limitations drive your pressure up sometimes to the max set, which can certainly disrupt sleep. The way to tame flow limitation is to use EPR set to Full Time.
Your doctor has you using EPR at ramp only.
Next, a minimum pressure of 4cm is the lowest you can go. It's not doing you much good. As a matter of fact, that can cause you to feel "air starved".
To get the full benefit of EPR (which helps you breathe out against pressure), your minimum pressure should be set to 7cm.
Minimum pressure 7cm
Maximum - leave as is.
EPR - set to 2 (full time). This should help with Flow Limitations and Hypopnea. Eventually, you can try EPR 3.
Make these changes and work on your mask fit. Try to keep in on all night. Removing it will only delay getting used to it.
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.
(05-12-2023, 08:53 PM)gainerfull Wrote: Hi Jim, welcome to the club. Getting acclimated to sleeping with a mask can be tough and uncomfortable but the good news is eventually you'll get used to it. Have you considered trying a different mask that better suits your sleeping position or is more comfortable? Often the cpap vendor or durable medical equipment supplier will give you 30 days to try out a mask to see if you like it or not.
I think the best recommendation I can give you right now is try to push yourself to sleep for the entire night with the cpap.
If you're having trouble falling a sleep I'd focus on making sure your circadian rhythm is on track by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day. Also, avoid eating anything within 3hrs of going to bed and you'll want to turn the a/c down to make it cool in your bedroom so you can fall asleep easier.
Hi and thank you for your comment .
Its still early days regarding the mask situation , I was thinking about trying a nasal option like the ResMed AirFit P30i , but with currently having an ongoing issue with my blocked nose , may be that AirFit P30i , would not be successful .
I’m going to look up ‘’ circadian rhythm ‘’ and see what that is all about. Currently I last have a meal around 6pm and retire to bed around 10 pm . I currently have the bedroom air conditioner running for several hours before and after going to sleep. The thorn in my side is actually falling asleep while wearing a mask ,
(05-12-2023, 09:24 PM)OpalRose Wrote: Hi Chang,
Amazingly, with an AHI of 225, you are able to bring that number down to 1.19 AHI.
Of course, as many of us realize is that a low AHI doesn't always equal restful sleep.
As gainerfull suggested, you may want to consider different mask styles. This is one of the challenges of adapting. Read through the Mask Primer (link is in my signature line).
I am going to suggest some minor changes and the reasoning is to help you feel more comfortable.
First, the flow limitations drive your pressure up sometimes to the max set, which can certainly disrupt sleep. The way to tame flow limitation is to use EPR set to Full Time.
Your doctor has you using EPR at ramp only.
Next, a minimum pressure of 4cm is the lowest you can go. It's not doing you much good. As a matter of fact, that can cause you to feel "air starved".
To get the full benefit of EPR (which helps you breathe out against pressure), your minimum pressure should be set to 7cm.
Minimum pressure 7cm
Maximum - leave as is.
EPR - set to 2 (full time). This should help with Flow Limitations and Hypopnea. Eventually, you can try EPR 3.
Make these changes and work on your mask fit. Try to keep in on all night. Removing it will only delay getting used to it.
Hi and thanks for your comment.
I wondered about the AHI numbers both shown on the original sleep report and my first OSCAR report, like you say the original AHI was shown on the sleep report as being 225 but this first OSCAR screen shot shows the AHI as being 1.19 . I am wondering if my using a nightly nasal spray to clear my blocked nose ( which is does very well ) has any thing to do with the OSCAR AHI number being a lot lower . When I did the over night sleep test my nose was blocked as usual .
Could it be that having a blocked nose is playing a large part in my sleep apnea situation , when I first received my resmed machine I tried the following scenarios …….
A . I go to bed at night time , do not use the resmed machine , doing this I tend to wake up through out the night with a feeling that I have something stuck in my throat.
B. I go to bed at night time , do not use the resmed machine, but I do apply the nasal spray , doing this seems to allow me to fall asleep and generally not experience any feelings that some thing has stuck in my throat.
C. I go to bed at night time , and use the resmed machine and face mask , and apply the nasal spray doing this I can tolerate the face mask for a few hours before I have to remove it.
Its strange or seems so that scenario B works so well ?
I’m going to have a read through mask primer section .
Thanks for your suggestions , any thoughts on the Trazodone option ?
Chang Wrote: I wondered about the AHI numbers both shown on the original sleep report and my first OSCAR report, like you say the original AHI was shown on the sleep report as being 225 but this first OSCAR screen shot shows the AHI as being 1.19 . I am wondering if my using a nightly nasal spray to clear my blocked nose ( which is does very well ) has any thing to do with the OSCAR AHI number being a lot lower .
It's due to the CPAP machine.
What nasal spray are you using? A decongestant spray like Afrin is not supposed to be used long term, and it will stop working after a while. There are nasal sprays like Flonase and Astelin that you can take long term. You can also explore saline sprays and rinses.
I don't see anything wrong with trying trazodone as a temporary aid in adapting to CPAP therapy. I would be careful about long term use. It works for me. I might take 2 or 3 a month now, but I used to take more. It really helped me adapt.
You will not be able to succeed with your attitude that you "have to take the mask off". Your attitude needs to be that that you have to keep the mask on. Otherwise you will lead a miserable sleep-deprived life and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, or death.
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.
[attachment=50642 Wrote:Sleepster pid='475692' dateline='1683956313']
It's due to the CPAP machine.
What nasal spray are you using? A decongestant spray like Afrin is not supposed to be used long term, and it will stop working after a while. There are nasal sprays like Flonase and Astelin that you can take long term. You can also explore saline sprays and rinses.
I don't see anything wrong with trying trazodone as a temporary aid in adapting to CPAP therapy. I would be careful about long term use. It works for me. I might take 2 or 3 a month now, but I used to take more. It really helped me adapt.
You will not be able to succeed with your attitude that you "have to take the mask off". Your attitude needs to be that that you have to keep the mask on. Otherwise you will lead a miserable sleep-deprived life and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, or death.
Hi and thanks for your comment
The nasal spray I’m using is called ‘’ NASOL ‘’ its a Thai brand that seems to have a good reputation and contains Nafazoline + chlorpheniramine. I can’t find out much more about it relating to long term use. Ive looked for both Flonase and Astelin , but so far I can’t find them for sale here.
The more I hear about sleep apnea the more its becoming apparent that it involves many areas and my poor attitude ( removing my mask to quickly ) is some thing I need to address right away . My only defence is my returning frustration that I’m not seeing the results ( going to sleep while wearing the mask ) and that frustration only adds more anxiety to my daily life.
Your final words ( Otherwise you will lead a miserable sleep-deprived life and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, or death.) are a wake up call that I needed . At my age my dream of having a stress free happy retirement seems to have turned into a nightmare .
05-13-2023, 06:32 AM (This post was last modified: 05-13-2023, 06:33 AM by stanleyjack.)
RE: Well the sleep apnea curse has struck .
I don't have much to add, other than it does take a while to adjust to sleeping with a mask on. I got disheartened as you read stories of folks crying with joy after just the first night on CPAP from sleeping ten hours straight, but that has not been my experience.
Alongside titrating your settings and getting the right mask, a lot of it is really just perseverance and keep putting the mask on.
Kind of reminds me of the bojack horsman scene , just change 'running' to 'cpap'
I believe you reported your event count from your sleep test. Those numbers are virtually worthless without a duration.
Your 225 'count', I'll round up to 240 for easier math.
1 hr = AHI of 240 an event sleep disturbance every 15 seconds
2 hr = AHI of 120 an event sleep disturbance every 30 seconds
4 hr = AHI of 60 an event sleep disturbance every 1 minute
8 hr = AHI of 30 an event sleep disturbance every 2 minutes
All of which are severe
Gideon - Project Manager Emeritus for OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
05-13-2023, 07:47 PM (This post was last modified: 05-13-2023, 07:48 PM by Chang.)
RE: Well the sleep apnea curse has struck .
(05-13-2023, 06:32 AM)stanleyjack Wrote: I don't have much to add, other than it does take a while to adjust to sleeping with a mask on. I got disheartened as you read stories of folks crying with joy after just the first night on CPAP from sleeping ten hours straight, but that has not been my experience.
Alongside titrating your settings and getting the right mask, a lot of it is really just perseverance and keep putting the mask on.
Kind of reminds me of the bojack horsman scene , just change 'running' to 'cpap'
Thanks for you comment
At this stage its difficult not to get disheartened , but I’m going to keep trying and hope that my progress gets better . I've never been one to give up easily.
I never heard of ‘’ BoJack Horsemen ‘’ before , Loved it .
.
(05-13-2023, 07:05 AM)Gideon Wrote: I believe you reported your event count from your sleep test. Those numbers are virtually worthless without a duration.
Your 225 'count', I'll round up to 240 for easier math.
1 hr = AHI of 240 an event sleep disturbance every 15 seconds
2 hr = AHI of 120 an event sleep disturbance every 30 seconds
4 hr = AHI of 60 an event sleep disturbance every 1 minute
8 hr = AHI of 30 an event sleep disturbance every 2 minutes
All of which are severe
Hi and thanks for your comment
Seeing those numbers and the words ‘’ All of which are severe ‘’ is making me very concerned and some what anxious.
