Help me change my life, another OSCAR assesment
Hey guys,
I am really in need of some advice, as I cannot function anymore.
OSA is really taking over my life.
In May 2022 I was diagnosed with mild to moderate OSA at a sleep lab.
Since late May I have been using a ResMed Airsense 10 Auto CPAP machine + F20 mask and have had several troubles that I have partially been able to successfully address.
My issue is that the way I feel after sleeping seems to be luck of the draw. Regardless of how I use the machine. Most of the time I am waking up absolutely wrecked, like a Zombie. It’s not that I am necessarily overly sleepy. It’s more the general feeling of utter exhaustion.
Brain fog, headaches, stingy red eyes, and the feeling of a heavy head like I have been partying for 3 days in a row are my main symptoms. This comes with mood swings, concentration / memory issues and zero energy, also very low libido which is affecting my relationship too.
This happens nearly every single day.
My first issue is that I am a mouth breather, not just at night but in everyday life – This now makes sense as it has always been the case since early childhood memories. I had my tonsils removed and my polyps made smaller around the age of 13. Still, every day I feel like I have trouble always breathing through my nose, more like it does not come naturally, so my mouth is open the whole day.
Using nasal spray that numbs my blood vessels helps tremendously and IU do feel a real difference mostly the next day with most symptoms gone, however I am not supposed to use it more than 3 days in a row. Now I have an appointment in 1 month with an ENT to check my nasal passages and see if I can get an operation done, I am guessing that might help.
When I started using the machine, I had severe problems with dry mouth issues which I have been able to address mostly successfully by cranking up the humidity to the max setting and setting it to 29C (84.2F) and 2 x using Xylimelts tablets nightly, otherwise I wake up from dry mouth.
In terms of how long I have been able to use the machine, I have had a little more success. Usually manage around 5-8 hours per night now, but often still feel wrecked the next morning as stated above.
It’s worth mentioning that I have had blood tests done, everything seems to be fine, though my Testo and Iron levels are on the lower side, but apparently within range.
Below are my results from the sleep lab:
DOB (dd/mm/1985): Height (cm): 177 Weight (kg): 82 BMI (kg/m2): 26.2
Summary Sleep Architecture
Time available for sleep (min) = 467.0 Sleep latency (min) = 75.0 Total sleep time (min) = 257.5 REM latency (min) = 77.0 Wake after sleep onset (min) = 134.5 NREM sleep (min) = 172.0 Sleep efficiency (%) = 55.1 REM sleep (min) = 85.5
Respiratory*, Movement and arousal events Total RDI (events/hr) = 7.0 Minimum SpO2 (%) = 91 Total AHI (events/hr) RERA index = 6.8 = 0.2 ODI (desat/hr) = 3.0 RDI in NREM (events/hr) RDI in REM (events/hr) = 2.1 = 16.8
Limb Movement (Movement/hr)= 0.0
Total arousal index (arousals/hr)= 21.9 Limb arousal index (arousals/hr)= 0.0
So, these are my issues, and my questions and worries are:
Am I going anywhere with this? Do I just need to give it more time, months, years?
Or am I even doing something wrong like keeping my EPR settings on or other settings like ramp?
What more can I do to feel rested and normal again in life?
TL;DR: Using CPAP for months, still no improvement and don’t know what else to do. Losing my life.
And here some results from OSCAR:
I am really in need of some advice, as I cannot function anymore.
OSA is really taking over my life.
In May 2022 I was diagnosed with mild to moderate OSA at a sleep lab.
Since late May I have been using a ResMed Airsense 10 Auto CPAP machine + F20 mask and have had several troubles that I have partially been able to successfully address.
My issue is that the way I feel after sleeping seems to be luck of the draw. Regardless of how I use the machine. Most of the time I am waking up absolutely wrecked, like a Zombie. It’s not that I am necessarily overly sleepy. It’s more the general feeling of utter exhaustion.
Brain fog, headaches, stingy red eyes, and the feeling of a heavy head like I have been partying for 3 days in a row are my main symptoms. This comes with mood swings, concentration / memory issues and zero energy, also very low libido which is affecting my relationship too.
This happens nearly every single day.
My first issue is that I am a mouth breather, not just at night but in everyday life – This now makes sense as it has always been the case since early childhood memories. I had my tonsils removed and my polyps made smaller around the age of 13. Still, every day I feel like I have trouble always breathing through my nose, more like it does not come naturally, so my mouth is open the whole day.
Using nasal spray that numbs my blood vessels helps tremendously and IU do feel a real difference mostly the next day with most symptoms gone, however I am not supposed to use it more than 3 days in a row. Now I have an appointment in 1 month with an ENT to check my nasal passages and see if I can get an operation done, I am guessing that might help.
When I started using the machine, I had severe problems with dry mouth issues which I have been able to address mostly successfully by cranking up the humidity to the max setting and setting it to 29C (84.2F) and 2 x using Xylimelts tablets nightly, otherwise I wake up from dry mouth.
In terms of how long I have been able to use the machine, I have had a little more success. Usually manage around 5-8 hours per night now, but often still feel wrecked the next morning as stated above.
It’s worth mentioning that I have had blood tests done, everything seems to be fine, though my Testo and Iron levels are on the lower side, but apparently within range.
Below are my results from the sleep lab:
DOB (dd/mm/1985): Height (cm): 177 Weight (kg): 82 BMI (kg/m2): 26.2
Summary Sleep Architecture
Time available for sleep (min) = 467.0 Sleep latency (min) = 75.0 Total sleep time (min) = 257.5 REM latency (min) = 77.0 Wake after sleep onset (min) = 134.5 NREM sleep (min) = 172.0 Sleep efficiency (%) = 55.1 REM sleep (min) = 85.5
Respiratory*, Movement and arousal events Total RDI (events/hr) = 7.0 Minimum SpO2 (%) = 91 Total AHI (events/hr) RERA index = 6.8 = 0.2 ODI (desat/hr) = 3.0 RDI in NREM (events/hr) RDI in REM (events/hr) = 2.1 = 16.8
Limb Movement (Movement/hr)= 0.0
Total arousal index (arousals/hr)= 21.9 Limb arousal index (arousals/hr)= 0.0
So, these are my issues, and my questions and worries are:
Am I going anywhere with this? Do I just need to give it more time, months, years?
Or am I even doing something wrong like keeping my EPR settings on or other settings like ramp?
What more can I do to feel rested and normal again in life?
TL;DR: Using CPAP for months, still no improvement and don’t know what else to do. Losing my life.
And here some results from OSCAR:
