(10-06-2023, 12:13 PM)gainerfull Wrote: Found this looking for WatchPAT posts but saw no one replied to your latest post so wanted to let you know the obstructive events are because your EPAP minimum is set too low so you may consider raising it to 8 and then adding 1cmH20 per night until they entirely disappear optimally.
Thanks for your reply to my old post! I am going to try CPAP again (fell out of compliance) and will try your suggestions.
In the meantime, I visited more specialists for more information:
- According to an ENT & facial plastic surgeon, my nasal airways are ~75% blocked due to nasal valve collapse, very deviated septum & enlarged turbinates.
- Mallampati class III with macroglossia tongue & scalloped edges, meaning my tongue is too large to fit in my mouth
- What I think is happening is: while I sleep, nasal breathing difficulty causes me to switch to mouth breathing, worsening the oversized tongue problem
- In REM sleep, my tongue muscles relax further, causing my oversized tongue to fall back & seal my airway, disrupting my REM & overall sleep
I have been getting by with nasal strips & flonase, but want to start using CPAP again or trying a mandibular advancer or tongue retaining device, because I still am waking up unrefreshed, exhausted & brain fogged. My sleep is not restorative and I think my oversized tongue is causing airway obstruction in REM sleep.
So - I am in the market for a full-face mask that isn't nasal pillow due to worsening nasal valve collapse. I would use nasal strips under this mask with flonase.
I would like to thank the forum, and thoughts or comments about my situation are welcome.