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+--- Thread: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed (/Thread-Hi-I-m-new-here-just-diagnosed)
Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - waterboyOz - 11-29-2023
Hi all
I'm new here. I was diagnosed yesterday with OSA with 38 events/hr. I've been madly researching since my diagnosis, as I tend to do with these kind of things. I found this forum and have found a lot of the content you all share to be great information. So I created an account
A bit about me. I've struggled with fatigue for 10+ years and doctors had pointed to my depression as the cause. The fatigue continued even while I was on medication for my depression. I then for years just accepted that a level of fatigue, and everything that goes along with that, is normal for me.
Around 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I thought this might actually be the cause of my fatigue and hoped that it would improve with the Crohn's treatment. I'm lucky to have found an excellent Gastroenterologist. After a bit of tweaking, my Crohn's treatment has been successful in managing my gut symptoms however I found no relief of my fatigue. I joined a "Lifestyle Medicine" shared care group organised by my Gastroenterologist. Sleep was one of the topics. I filled in a questionnaire and found I was eligible for a free sleep study covered by Medicare, so off I went to arrange one.
A local ResMed office arranged an at home sleep study for me. After being told I have OSA with 38 events/hr at my sleep study results appointment I signed up for a hire/purchase plan for an AirSense 11 CPAP machine.
I tried it for the first time last night and struggled to fall asleep with it and ended up taking it off after 4 hours. I'll keep trying. I look forward to the day I don’t wake up tired. I'm also hoping the dark bags under my eyes are from poor sleep and not from my Crohn's... but I'll take just waking up feeling refreshed!
Anyway... I'm off to purchase a SD card. OSCAR has me intrigued. I like to have data
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - UnicornRider - 11-29-2023
Welcome aboard, your displayed enthusiasm ensures you will have one hella ride.
The learning curve is steep, challenging and deep. Depending on your own personal interest and commitment, the education is ongoing.
I suggest you start here.: https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=OSCAR_-_The_Guide
It provides a quick guide to the OSCAR, enabling you to start to read and locate information within the report.
Then Visit the other WIKI info on that site.
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - Deborah K. - 11-29-2023
You have come to the right place! Once you load Oscar and show us your results, folks will be able to offer you lots of help. Don't be discouraged that you don't feel better yet. That is perfectly normal. Your apnea is considered severe, so getting it under control will eventually help you to feel lots better and less tired.It's terrific that you are getting on top of this right away. I can't wait to hear that you are feeling better!
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - PeaceLoveAndPizza - 11-29-2023
My signature has links to various tidbits on the wiki. Give them a quick perusal and you’ll be in a good place with background information on how to share OSCAR charts and the basics of tweaking CPAP settings.
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - CPAPfriend - 11-29-2023
Bring your data back, and let's have a look! Good luck, and welcome to the happiest little corner of the sleep-disordered-breathing internet
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - waterboyOz - 11-30-2023
Thanks everyone
Got my SD card. I’ll be back tomorrow with some data.
Fingers crossed I can get to sleep tonight with the mask on. I think I’ll go to bed a bit later than normal
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - jstro84 - 11-30-2023
Just wanted to chime in in agreement that it's absolutely normal to go through an adjustment period - I'm going on 3 months and still sometimes I take my mask off in my sleep, so oh well.
FWIW if you find the full face mask difficult to sleep in, you can try other masks. I use the ResMed N20 nasal mask and have had good results.
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - waterboyOz - 11-30-2023
So I managed to wear my mask for 5 hours last night. I got up to go to the toilet and couldn't get back to sleep so I took the mask off. I noticed that I have large air leak results. I don't love my mask but will give it a week or so to try to adjust before looking for an alternative. I'm struggling a bit with it. It's like I really concentrate on breathing when wearing the mask and I kind of forget how to breathe normally. Does that make sense???
So here are my graphs. I hope I have formatted them correctly. I'd appreciate any guidance you can give me
.[attachment=56649]
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - Deborah K. - 11-30-2023
Your leaks are quite high and so are your flow limits. If you can raise your EPR level to 3 it might help some. As to the leaks, you could mouth tape. I find that works better than anything else for me.
RE: Hi I'm new here - just diagnosed - BoxcarPete - 11-30-2023
Mask is a full face, I don't think mouth tape is the answer.
Did you try it on under pressure in person before buying it? I would try to find someplace that will let you do that, almost all of your recorded events are associated with the worst leak rates. Physically speaking, leaking air reduces the pharyngeal pressure compared to the machine delivered pressure, so you are allowing your therapy to be robbed from you with leaks like that. Increased pressure from the machine won't likely do much because more air will leak and very little more will get into your airway.