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[CPAP] Help
#11
RE: Help
(02-01-2016, 08:36 AM)ElasticFrust Wrote: I already use sleepyhead (been doing it since the second trial).

Look at your leak rate graph and see if there are long periods of time where the leak rate is high and stays high. If so, air could be leaking out of your mouth. If so, try a chin strap or a full face mask. Contact your doctor and equipment provider and keep them informed as to what's going on.

Do not fear being addicted to the CPAP machine. The fact that you're concerned indicates you haven't yet made up your mind that you will need it in your life for the foreseeable future. Without it you not only get a lower quality of sleep you also raise the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#12
RE: Help
"Dependence". Seems to be an emotionally loaded word the way you use it. Dependence is only a problem if the thing you are dependent on might go away easily.

We are all "dependent" on air, water, food. Air is terribly addictive too. One breath and you are hooked for life! And the withdrawal symptoms!!

I am "dependent" on blood pressure pills, anti-cholesterol pills, diabetes pills, insulin, antihistamines, and the list goes on. APAP machine and oxygen concentrater for instance. These all make my life better and probably a bit longer too. They are all legal and all easily available so I don't worry about being "dependent".

We are all, I think, "dependent" on everyone else. That's a reason for coming to this board - to find advice you can depend on.

How would I know I existed except by contrast to what is not me? So "I" am dependent on "not I" - the Earth, the Sun, all the galaxies.

I have heard it argued that we wouldn't know we are alive unless we had once been dead.

I think that the mythical self sufficient human being is just that - a myth.

It's good to be dependent on some things, and bad to be dependent on some other things, like illegal drugs. You have sleep apnea. You are dependent on a machine for your good health. I'd say that's good considering the alternative.


Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


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#13
RE: Help
for my first few months of treatment i was convinced it wasn't working, just like you i thought i was doing worse than before starting xpap. 7 months into therapy now and i'm convinced my subconscious self was so happy sleeping it tricked my conscious self into thinking it was tired so i'd put the hose back on and get back to sleep ASAP.

i'd still suggest playing around with some comfort settings like others have suggested.
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#14
RE: Help
For the first several weeks I was getting what felt like worse sleep, not better. I kept with it, though, because I knew my very life depended on it. To say that life is better now is a vast understatement.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#15
RE: Help
justMongo- I've set up an appointment... :/
DariaVader- Except extreme fatigue and sleepiness that started as soon as i started CPAP, I haven't been experiencing any of those symptoms.
PaulaO2- It's not that I "test" it for the sake of "testing". Using the machine makes me extremely dysfunctional, even a nap during the day barely helps, I'm not becoming more "functional" after it, except that I can muster all my power not to fall asleep again after I take it (sometimes).
PoolQ- it doesn't feel like al I need is some "fine tuning". "fine tuning" suggests that things are mainly alright but not working exactly as planned and hence you may feel a bit tired or something. Since I started the CPAP therapy I'm way way way worse than I've ever been before!. Symptoms alone fit Narcolepsy more than anything else (by reading, never had it nor was I diagnosed with it), but it seems to be induced by the CPAP (and there is no documentation of anything of that sorts ever happening, so i guess it's not "CPAP induced Narcolepsy" Smile ). The strangest thing of all? It seems the days I had relative high AHI (still less than 5) are days I feel less tired, and more functioning (never full functioning, except the first day of the 2nd trial, which had the highest AHI of them all -4.6).

RobS- I'm actually functioning worse. It's not "I think I'm more tired". Pre CPAP I never fell asleep in a meeting or in the middle of the day. After I started- not only this happens almost every day, some days I can't get out of bed.

Sleepster-I get barely any leaks. I'm keeping with it though.

Thanks everybody for the replies. Even it if did not necessarily helped it's nice to see people with similar conditions try to help me crack the problem. I'm grateful to you all for giving me the feeling that I'm not alone in this.

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#16
RE: Help
ElasticFrust -- suggestion: raise lower pressure limit to 6 cm-H2O.
Admin Note:
JustMongo passed away in August 2017
Click HERE to read his Memorial Thread

~ Rest in Peace ~
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#17
RE: Help
you say your AHI is now under 5 so technically your apnea is being effectively treated. there are settings and fine adjustments that could be made that might help you cope with the treatment better and allow a more restful sleep if your not getting a restful sleep.

i don't know how i can explain my experiences better but i had an AHI of under .5 got between 7-12 hours of sleep (at night) and another 4-6 hours (naps) with little to no leaks, by any definition i can imagine my treatment was effective but like you i was non-functional, far worse than any day EVER, before i started treatment. some people believe in sleep debt some don't. i think i'm a believer now as i slept for nearly 3 months straight before i started feeling any benefit.

posting some sleepyhead graphs could help people here help you.

1 thing i haven't seen you mention is how much are you sleeping with the cpap compared to before?

quick edit:
google: feeling worse after starting cpap
your not alone in this
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#18
RE: Help
The first week I was on CPAP, I woke feeling good and that lasted about an hour before I was craving sleeeeeeeep. I wanted nothing more than more sleep but the time between waking and desperation for sleep slowly expanded to full days. I am still jealous for my sleep and snarl like a rabid dog if wakened prematurely Wink I was sleep deprived for years before getting on cpap, and it didn't make me feel better immediately, although I could tell it was going to. Something similar may be happening with you.

In addition, AHI is not the whole story. There are other events like RERA where you arouse before an apnea can happen, which leave you starved for sleep. There is the matter of O2 and still not getting enough in spite of CPAP. There is getting used to having an octopus on your face all night. There is the changes in sleep architecture that disrupt your known patterns that come when you are able to breathe at night. The best thing is to continue, and to analyze the data to see what you can learn from it about what might not be as good as it can get.

Treating apnea is fairly important for your long term health. Smile
هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه  هههههه
Tongue Suck Technique for prevention of mouth breathing:
  • Place your tongue behind your front teeth on the roof of your mouth
  • let your tongue fill the space between the upper molars
  • gently suck to form a light vacuum

Practising during the day can help you to keep it at night

هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه هههههه  هههههه
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