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3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Gosh, I hope you get to see the ENT sooner than 8 weeks from now. There's something called silent GERD, aka laryngopharyngeal reflux. Might be worth asking an ENT about that.

I wouldn't rule out hyperventilation syndrome quite yet, especially based partly on the subjective character of your light-headedness. The tingling you experience makes HVS an especially interesting possibility to explore. I also note that deep breaths or gulps of air can contribute to air in the belly.
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Oh I’m not waiting UNTIL September.. I’ve been waiting SINCE September 2021

Welcome to public healthcare in Ontario, Canada  Too-funny
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Oy! Time to bug them for sure.
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
(06-27-2022, 01:24 PM)highwaystar86 Wrote: Oh I’m not waiting UNTIL September.. I’ve been waiting SINCE September 2021

Welcome to public healthcare in Ontario, Canada  Too-funny

Read the whole thread, and the one bit I didn't see anyone discuss is your sleep time. You are logging around 6 hours, but most likely sleeping 5-ish. 

If I sleep less than 8 I feel terrible.

I know this is over simplistic, but have you considered sleeping more?
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Thanks for taking the time to read it. I know you’ve only seen the few screenshots that I have posted through the past 9 months but I sleep 7-8 hours regularly. I wake up without an alarm even because my circadian rhythm is so adapted now. There were difficult nights in the beginning where I couldn’t wear the mask all night and then times now and then where I take it off in my sleep or get to use the washroom and don’t put it back on. But other than that I do get 7-8 hours of sleep
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
(06-27-2022, 02:17 PM)highwaystar86 Wrote: Thanks for taking the time to read it. I know you’ve only seen the few screenshots that I have posted through the past 9 months but I sleep 7-8 hours regularly. I wake up without an alarm even because my circadian rhythm is so adapted now. There were difficult nights in the beginning where I couldn’t wear the mask all night and then times now and then where I take it off in my sleep or get to use the washroom and don’t put it back on. But other than that I do get 7-8 hours of sleep

Alright well I hope you find the solution. I’ll be on the look out for updates.
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
I don't want to disrespect anyone but we should stop with these wild guesses and use Occam's razor.

We know you have allergies. We know it can have severe affects on sleep quality. I just think it's the most likely cause of your problem.

So as a fellow dust mite allergy sufferer I'm observing almost exactly the same as you:
After 6 months of fine tuning my APAP and trying 5 different masks, I still have bad sleep despite perfect AHI score (<1) and low flow limitations.
Some days it's better and I always get hope that it stays this way...but it never does.

So I tried to understand. Why do I feel like a zombie when my sleep is perfect according to Oscar?
It simply must be that Oscar doesn't notice that something is wrong with my breathing. That there are small interruptions in my flow rate that won't be marked as an event.
So I analyzed my flow rate and noticed small disruptions in my breathing every now and then.

I was thinking about what could cause it. I realized I have very much mucus build up due to my allergy. My theory was that the mucus running down my throat (postnasal drip) will cause arousals in my breathing.
This can destroy your sleep quality.

Is that maybe something you have as well?
That could also explain your GERD symptoms because of the mucus constantly flowing into your stomach.

What I did?
I started using antihistamine (Cetirizine) and after some days my throat is like a fucking desert in comparison. For some reasons my ENTs never recommended using it despite every other allergy sufferer I know uses it.
I used steroid sprays before but they were hit or miss.

Also even though my postnasal drip is pretty much non existant right now, I elevated my pillow for better drainage just in case:
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0627/4557/5651/products/51ezMgYj6KL_1024x1024.jpg?v=1644190168


Well last night I thought to myself, that if even with APAP and best results I sleep like sh*t, I will try to sleep without it (as mentioned before I don't have apnea).
If my theory is correct and the postnasal drip is causing my sh**ty sleep, I won't need it.

And what can I say? I feel like a human. Newborn human :-).
I'm tracking my sleep with a Huawai Band and according to it my breathing quality went to 98 of 100. Before it was always around ~60. Even with APAP.

Well I hope it's just not one of those lucky days and it stays this way. But It makes sense. I eliminitated so many other causes over the years and soon nothing else is left.

I hope this helps you and you'll feel better soon.
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
At this point I don't know if it's easier for me to start a new thread with a summary of everything we've discussed here already lol

But, I wanted to post some more OSCAR screenshots and ask about the Flow Rate itself. I mean, it does not look like a smooth flow rate when I compare to other examples.

I took a 2 minute and a 10 minute window screenshot 

       
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
Do not start a new thread. We can always rename this one to better reflect its intent. By keeping all your posts localized, a reader can easily go back and see your history.

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Crimson Nape
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RE: 3 Months on CPAP, still tired despite Dr saying my apnea is controlled
In the more zoomed-in view, we can see a little bit of cardioballistic artifact between breaths and flow limitations during inhalation. I can't remember whether CB artifacts have been discussed in this thread. I have them too; they're nothing to worry about. The are just little oscillations around the zero line caused by your heart beat being telegraphed to your airway.

No one's breathing is smooth and even all night long, so I don't think you should expect to see that. We sometimes pause in our breathing, we sigh, we breathe more deeply when we turn over, our breathing can become quite irregular during REM sleep -- the list goes on and on.
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