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'allo 'appy people - Printable Version

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'allo 'appy people - Roo2020 - 08-23-2019

Hi guys and gals, I'm a newly diagnosed "appy" person. Thought I'ld drop by and introduce myself as I have a feeling I'm going to need some of your expert assistance going forward.

I'm a 47 M, 3 kids, and 3 businesses....so life is pretty damn busy.

Over the last couple of years I started getting a whole lot of symptoms that most of you will relate to...
  • High blood pressure 180/110
  • Nightmares (drowning, tsunamis, vomiting coins/nails/pins, haunted houses)
  • Severe depression (suicidal at times) .. which has only come on in the last 2 years .. was a very happy person prior to that.
  • Anxiety
  • Waking up gasping/heart rate at a million mile an hour
  • Poor concentration (10-15 minutes tops before I have to walk away from conversation/emails/work etc)
  • Massive weight gain ( 10kg in the last 9 months, 20kg last 2 years) even though I eat less than I ever did! Have always been fit and healthy weight
  • Tiredness when driving (having to put hairs out of my legs to keep myself awake)
  • Completely wrecked in the morning, needing 2-3 hours just to "feel normal" -- but still yawning
  • Kids/wife/friends complaining about my snoring (stayed at friends house recently, and his wife said to "stay in a hotel next time" lol)
  • Wife telling me that I stopped breathing at night

I'm a bit old school and kept brushing it all of...you know, the whole "toughen up princess there's nothing wrong with you"....and put it down to age/stress/kids .......but it got to hard to ignore. So I got the Doc to lock me in for a sleep study.

No surprises I guess. AHI 55 (nearly all OSA), snoring 68% of the time (and not breathing the rest!) O2 nadir down to 75%

This whole process is taking forever, but after 3 months of Doc visits, sleep testing, follow ups etc I'm 3 days away from picking up my first machine (Autosense 10 Autoset)

I'm hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. Just to feel "normal" again for a day will be a good enough starting point.

Thanks for having the success story thread, it filled me with some hope and optimism which has sadly disappeared from my life in recent times. 

Looking forward to the journey!

Roo

RE: 'allo 'appy people - jaswilliams - 08-23-2019

Welcome to the forum

RE: 'allo 'appy people - SarcasticDave94 - 08-23-2019

Hi and welcome to Apnea Board. If you're a normal hoser that Autoset should do well with the right personalized settings.

Coffee to your near future success

Coffee and sleep apnea discussions go well if I were asked.

RE: 'allo 'appy people - Gideon - 08-23-2019

Welcome to the forum.
Some things to get ready.
First, you have a great machine.
I have learned to trust ONLY the full Sleep Studies. The summaries tend to frequently leave important details out. If you post your sleep studies here we will verify the results with you.
Download OSCAR as it will provide details of what is happening down to a breath by breath level when necessary. We frequently catch things that the techs missed. We will also make recommendations on adjustments to your settings. It is your choice to either make them or discuss them with your doctor.
Very Important, Ask to check out (test) the various masks (see the Mask Primer below) so you at least have a good concept of what they are. Getting a good fitting mask is often the hardest part of all this. Why, because your face is different than mine.

Good luck and stay in touch.

RE: 'allo 'appy people - captainsteubing - 08-23-2019

(08-23-2019, 02:11 AM)Roo2020 Wrote: Hi guys and gals, I'm a newly diagnosed "appy" person. Thought I'ld drop by and introduce myself as I have a feeling I'm going to need some of your expert assistance going forward.
Welcome aboard Roo, 
You are definitely in good hands here on the Apnea Board. The knowledge here is light years beyond many that claim to work in the industry. 
I wish you all the best on your journey, and will say that you will start to feel better even though it may take a little while.
All the best, 
Captain Steubing

RE: 'allo 'appy people - Hydrangea - 08-24-2019

Congrats on figuring out you have apnea. And welcome to AB! We're happy to help you get comfy as you jump into it.

RE: 'allo 'appy people - Roo2020 - 08-31-2019

Thanks so much for the warm welcome!

Its been an incredible week, so many ups, and just a couple of downs.

Got the machine on Monday (Airsense 10 Auto) and was given a few masks (have only used the N30i as it is very comfortable and I took to it instantly).

First night: WOW! Slept though the night. Woke up at 6am feeling amazing. Had a coffee and went for a walk. Came home and all my kids were still fast asleep. It feels like its the first time since they were born (13 years ago) that I think that has happened lol

A few days in and I got a cold, and for some reason I unconsciously took the mask off 2 nights in a row. I cant remember doing it. But only got 5 hours and 2 hours respectively on the machine and felt like dirt again. Anyone else here do that???

So, last night (night 5) I consciously made the effort to keep it on. Got an 8 hour sleep in, and seriously feel amazeballs today. Plenty of energy, no sleepiness. 

I'm not 100% sure what data I should be looking at, but have attached the sleep study and last nights data. Based on how I feel, I think everything is working as it should :-)

The only thing that I am struggling with is that I keep waking up after each sleep cycle, then find it hard to get back to sleep. Used some meditation techniques last night which helped (think of nothing...think of nothing...think of nothing). 

Is waking up after a sleep cycle a normal thing with CPAP therapy? 

Cheers!

RE: 'allo 'appy people - alexp - 08-31-2019

(08-31-2019, 02:13 AM)Roo2020 Wrote: A few days in and I got a cold, and for some reason I unconsciously took the mask off 2 nights in a row. I cant remember doing it. But only got 5 hours and 2 hours respectively on the machine and felt like dirt again. Anyone else here do that???

When you have a cold, it's hard to breath through your nose so it's normal to feel like you are not getting enough air and I suppose it's why you took off your mask out of reflex. I have not had a cold since I started CPAP but I plan to wear a full face mask when it'll happen so I can breath a bit through my mouth.

(08-31-2019, 02:13 AM)Roo2020 Wrote: The only thing that I am struggling with is that I keep waking up after each sleep cycle, then find it hard to get back to sleep. Used some meditation techniques last night which helped (think of nothing...think of nothing...think of nothing). 

I had the same problem. I was always waking up after about 90 minutes with some tingling in my arms and legs and felt like I was wide awake. Took me 3 weeks and the problem went away on its own. I think it's just your body getting used to uninterrupted sleep. Think about it, you use to force your body to go through the day with almost no sleep.  So when you wake up after 2 full uninterrupted hours of sleep, he is like "ok let's go, I'm ready" because that's what you've been doing for years. I'm pretty sure it will get better in a couple of weeks.

RE: 'allo 'appy people - OpalRose - 08-31-2019

Sometimes, when your new to Cpap, it’s perfectly normal to wake up.  It’s foreign to have something attached to your face. You may also be removing the mask due to not getting enough air pressure.

I looked at your charts and don’t see a reason for waking and your numbers are good.

The only thing is that a minimum pressure of 5cm may be a bit too low. A ResMed is aggressive to raise pressure, but at the same time could be disruptive for some folk.

It may be better for you to move the minimum pressure to 7cm, with an EPR of 2. This gives you an exhale pressure of 5cm.
Right now with a minimum pressure of 5 and EPR of 3, you are not realizing the comfort and benefit of EPR, as the machine can’t go lower than 4.

RE: 'allo 'appy people - StevesSp - 08-31-2019

Welcome. You know this already, I'm sure, but getting rid of that 20kg that crept on will make a difference to your snoring and apneas too. This is especially true if you put on weight around your neck and face, as I did. It might not fix the apnea completely, but it could mean you need lower pressure to keep your airway open and this both promotes more comfort in use and reduces the occurance and severity of aerophagia (bloating).

I was in denial about my apnea like you, but you had the sense to deal with it BEFORE you had a heart attack. Keep an eye on your blood pressure now that you have a device. You will hopefully see it improve, especially if your weight returns to normal. Also get your cholesterol levels checked. It was the 'Evil Trio' of sleep apnea, high blood pressure and lousy cholesterol that got me. It's been ten years since my heart attack. Now with all three effectively treated, and the bypass operation my cardiologist keeps saying I would need at some point has been avoided, so far!