I recently came across this site, and after a bit of um-img and ah-ing, decided to register and sign up last week - so a new kid on the block!
I would really like to have some advice / recommendations from fellow CPAP users out there of a problem I cannot seem to get to the bottom of...
I am not new to CPAP, but just a bit of background...
I was first diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea back in 2002 here in the UK, and what a horrible and primitive treatment experience it was back then. I went through 2 different manual CPAP machines, used with humidifier / without humidifier, 7 different masks (different makes, full face, nose mask, air pillows, etc), visits to the Hospital every 2 months and them setting the pressures up, then down, then up again, etc,etc, etc... It went on and on...and I can never really say I got on with it. Noisy machines, noisy mask, cold air, air leaks...sound familiar? But it allowed compliance / satisfied the Driving Authority and my work (!)
Finally in 2004, they offered me a trial on an Auto CPAP machine...an improvement, but still difficult to use in practice. I could not at that stage have one on the NHS so I bought one from ResMed (AutoSpirit 6) and a ResMed Mirage Ultra mask, which was the cutting edge at the time.
Then in 2005 a small miracle: I lost quite a bit of weight - and when the data recorded on the machine was checked at a visit to the hospital, they gave me the "all clear", and that my apnoeas had reduced to a level that I was considered not in need of the CPAP anymore....big yay I can tell you.
Time moves on, weight comes back on - earlier this year (2017) I was re-diagnosed as having Sleep Apnoea again (!)...groan!
And so much has changed, and most for the better - I was given the ResMed AirSense 10 Autoset (so quiet compared to the "steam driven" ones of the past), c/w the HumidAir Humidifier, and with the AirFit F20 full face mask. Still the cold air and air leaks but this time around there are solutions - reading up on it, ResMed do a "heated pipe", ordered one, brilliant, yes problem solved. Air leaks - always been a problem as I naturally have a greasy skin (I can clinically clean my face before bed and it will get rid of all the grease, but 2 hours later...hisssss!), but now there are mask liners available that do seem to help with this - not 100% but a good step in the right direction.
So now I can just close my eyes, off to sleep and let the equipment do its thing, and I wake up perfectly refreshed in the morning having had a good night's sleep? NO.....
I drop off to sleep reasonably ok, but wake up just as tired as if I haven't slept properly at all...(?) I am aware of having woken up usually a few times during each and every night, and am aware that the machine is pumping quite a bit of pressure through to me each and every time this happens. I haven't got a clue why this is happening, and like the rest of us, all I want is to have a regular good night's sleep.
Anybody been through this, and any ideas what is happening or what to do about it, or try...? Any advice would be so welcome.
Best regards,
Marcus.