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Another Newb... First Night
#1
Another Newb... First Night
Hi Y'all,

I've been lurking around here for about the last 5 days, since my Cpap titration test.  I've learned sooooo much, you all are AWESOME!!!

So, diagnosed with OSA in January.... via home sleep study.  I was actually shocked, not so much that I had it, but that it was 'moderate' (w/ 23.9 AHI).  

Small framed, small neck, a bit underweight... I've always been small, but I've always had 'sleep issues'... always tired, even as a teenager, always snored, even as a child... loudly... my family would ridicule me for being so loud and being so little.  Tonsils and adenoids still intact.  Anyway, in 1990, I fell asleep at the wheel... didn't hit anyone else, but I hit a concrete culvert and sustained injuries to my face and back.  From there, the usual sleepy-ness when driving (I traveled quite a bit for work at one point)... I can remember driving in agony, I can remember sitting at my desk at work in agony... so so sleepy all the time.  In the last 2 years, I've been noticing memory issues, brain fog, daytime sleepiness/naps and ridiculous fatigue, so much so that I just feel lazy.

At 36, I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension...  yep.

So here we are... Here I am... 10 years later...  probably getting to the crux of it all at this point.  So grateful, to be having the chance.

As I stated above, I've been on here reading, investigating, learning...  I have a great attitude, I've been 'excited' (?) to get a machine and get this thing going... I want some relief, I want another 40 years full of life and energy.  

I actually felt like I slept in my Cpap titration test... I did have a few small episodes of claustrophobia, or the feeling that I might suffocate.. but I knew it was a head trick and dismissed it every time it tried to surface.... but after I got home, about 10 minutes in the door, I felt like I had been hit by a Mack Truck.  My sternum ached, my ribs hurt, but all was fine the next day.  Overall, the mask feels good and the air feels good... minus the brief head tricks...  last night I didn't sleep good.  Why?  I'm so tired today, I don't feel like I got a lick of sleep.

Granted... last night was my first night... LOL.  Maybe my expectations were/are set too high.  I know, I know, "just stick with it"... Trust me I will.  I woke up after 4.9 hours of sleep and my AHI was 3.1, so I laid back down and finally fell asleep again... woke up after 6.39 hours with an AHI of 2.4.  That was the best I could do.  I am sooooo tired and dragging a** today.  (But, I'm Compliant!!)  
**I also turned my humidifier and heated hose off.  Maybe I'll give that a go tonight.

Another thing, I know about the differences in the Dreamstation and ResMed Air, according to some of the more popular members who post here.  However, the Dreamstation is the only machine offered at my DME, so I didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Sorry for the long post, was not my intention, but I am happy to have a place to vent.  Thank you all.  Also, I fully intend on downloading the Sleepyhead... at some point today, I will do just that.

Happy to be here,

DreamBreather  Coffee
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#2
RE: Another Newb... First Night
The Dreamstation is still a good machine even though many prefer the Resmed. You can get good treatment from it. It sounds like you had a pretty good first night. Keep it up! If you could tell us what type of dreamstation you have in your profile. Also there's link's below for sleepyhead if you need to download that.
Welcome Aboard.
Download SleepyHead
Organize your Sleepyhead Charts
Posting Charts
Beginner's Guide to SleepyHead
Mask Primer
5
Advisory Members serve as an "Advisory Committee" to help shape Apnea Board's rules & policies.

Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.



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#3
RE: Another Newb... First Night
Welcome, DreamBreather.

It sounds like you are off to a good start. Good luck with your new journey.

Sleep well,
Mitch
Useful Links
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Organize your OSCAR and SleepyHead charts
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Advisory Members serve as an "Advisory Committee" to help shape Apnea Board's rules & policies. Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#4
RE: Another Newb... First Night
Dreambreather,

I say it alot but a good attitude really does go a long way. Being excited about feeling better is in no way questionable. Glad you are optimistic because if you carry that kind of hope you will have great success therapeutically.
Allot of new users of CPAP will experience fatigue. Your body has been through a lot and it has some acclimation and healing to do. It's like going on an extended trip and staying busy, then coming home and getting the makeup rest. It will pass.

Welcome to Apnea Board!
Jesse


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#5
RE: Another Newb... First Night
Thanks Everyone!!!

Thanks



Dreambreather  Coffee
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#6
RE: Another Newb... First Night
(03-23-2018, 09:50 AM)Walla Walla Wrote: The Dreamstation is still a good machine even though many prefer the Resmed. You can get good treatment from it. It sounds like you had a pretty good first night. Keep it up! If you could tell us what type of dreamstation you have in your profile. Also there's link's below for sleepyhead if you need to download that.
Welcome Aboard.

It is the DSX500T11, which translates to be the DreamStation Auto CPAP with Humidifier and Heated Hose.  *I'll update my profile.




DreamBreather  Coffee
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#7
RE: Another Newb... First Night
Welcome! And I'm like you in being more verbose than I intended. Unlike me, you provided a lot of information that is helpful to understand your circumstances and challenges. I'm also like you in not having reached that level of rest that leaves me refreshed and vigorous, even for just a little while. I've been on this regimen for about a month and there may have been a very slight decrease in the negative manifestations yet I perceive (extremely robust imagination!) an overall feeling of well-being.

You didn't mention details about your test and titration and I wonder if you were tested for oxygen saturation; this comes to mind because low O2 seems to be the cause of my persistent drowsiness and frequent need for "naps" -- two- to four-hour+ naps.
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#8
RE: Another Newb... First Night
Hi DreamBreather,

Welcome

Your experience is very similar to many here. We each seem to have carried a sleep debt into our apnea treatment thanks to the untreated apneas of our past. Thankfully, that sleep debt gets reduced via proper apnea treatment via the CPAP machine of some flavor for most of us; I believe your situation to be included in that.

FWIW the DreamStation is a fine machine, experiences tell us that you have to dial the settings in more closely than the ResMed. I had the DreamStation BiPAP about a year ago and it was a great device, but I needed an ASV for handling mixed apnea, and I pushed to get the ResMed. The process of tweaking the machine settings thing is what these gurus are for on the Apnea Board. As you noted, get the SleepyHead on the PC and post some charts, and the gurus will point out some suggestions to edit the settings. BTW there is no law that says you cannot adjust your own machine; I just wanted to kill that myth to make sure you're aware of it.

Anyway, keep at the therapy and if needed, try the machine and mask while reading, listening to audible books, etc. if you'd like. Some are helped by this action just to get used to the mask and the CPAP pressures.

lots-o-coffee
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#9
RE: Another Newb... First Night
I am a new user too, and not liking this CPAP stuff much. Based on my brief 3 day experience I have found that using the Ramp pressure feature (which is off by default on my machine) helped with comfort. I also found that increasing the Expiry Pressure Relief (EPR or perhaps called FLEX on your machine) from 2 to 3 helped as well. I am using a nasal pillow style mask which I was a little skeptical off, but after 3 days it seems quite OK for comfort. The thought of a full nose or full face mask would give me claustrophobia. I hope I do not end up there... I keep telling myself that this will get better with more use.
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#10
RE: Another Newb... First Night
(03-23-2018, 11:19 AM)ShaunBlake Wrote: Welcome! And I'm like you in being more verbose than I intended. Unlike me, you provided a lot of information that is helpful to understand your circumstances and challenges. I'm also like you in not having reached that level of rest that leaves me refreshed and vigorous, even for just a little while. I've been on this regimen for about a month and there may have been a very slight decrease in the negative manifestations yet I perceive (extremely robust imagination!) an overall feeling of well-being.

You didn't mention details about your test and titration and I wonder if you were tested for oxygen saturation; this comes to mind because low O2 seems to be the cause of my persistent drowsiness and frequent need for "naps" -- two- to four-hour+ naps.

Hi ShaunBlake,

I was, and interestingly enough, I specifically asked the sleep lab tech (during titration) about my oxygen and she said "The Cpap seems to be keeping your sats up all by itself"... I was a bit surprised by that... Considering my original sleep study showed that I de-sat all the way to 63%... 

Moreover, I was just released from the hospital 2 weeks ago with 3Litres of oxygen 24/7. (Pneumonia)  Now, i will say, I have made quite the gradual comeback, and my oxygen sats are staying in the upper 90's during the day.  I woke up last night and when I checked, it was 93.

Waking up with the headaches, and the brain fog... has me questioning the oxygen intake (or possible lack thereof) as well.  However, I did read somewhere, on another newbie's thread... where someone, a cpap veteran... stated that 'it takes our bodies a while to adjust to the good after having to deal with the bad for so long' (Obviously, I'm paraphrasing here)... so, I can understand this... I just need to hang in there... even on oxygen, I was getting headaches... probably because it's trying to clear the fog and it hurts. LOL!! I hope so anyway!!!  *I may also have had my headgear on too tight.

I have not received the results of my titration study yet... I should in the next few days... If I find anything of interest, I'll post the results.

Thanks ShaunBlake!


DreamBreather  Coffee
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