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Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
#1
Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
Another new guy here wondering if APAP is doing me any good. After going from feeling fine the beginning of June to being a zombie by mid June, I had a sleep study in July, AHI was 56.5, started with my ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset on July 31st and have used it every night since. For the first five weeks or so used a full face after trying nasal pillow for one night and realizing I was a mouth breather, but was waking up due to leaks when I moved around. Switched to nasal pillows with a chin strap for a couple weeks but currently back using the full face. After eight weeks using the machine I still wake several times every night and continue to feel incredibly fatigued and groggy during the day.

So thought I'd see what the forum thinks of my settings, etc., any thoughts or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Here are my last two night’s data:

[Image: xlarge.jpg]

[Image: xlarge.jpg]

Thank you for your help!
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#2
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
It looks like you wake up every time the pressure raises a lot. You might want to try putting your min pressure up around 9cm.

That should cut down on disturbing your sleep.
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#3
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
I was really aware of the mask waking me up last night, I think I might try the higher pressure but switch to the nasal pillows, I seem to tolerate the pressure better with them. Thanks for your help!
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#4
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
Well I tried the pillow mask and set minimum pressure to 8, had some mouth leaking and did not feel good the next day.

[Image: xlarge.jpg]

Maybe I should just go back to the full face with the original settings and concentrate on getting used to this thing, did that the following night and felt a little better.
[Image: xlarge.jpg]

Honestly I'm just so confused as to how to proceed, I want CPAP to work and want to feel rested.....
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#5
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
You may be one of those folk who are unable to tolerate pressure changes.

Why not try a straight pressure. Keep your machine in Auto Mode and set to 8min and 8 max.
Turn off EPR, as this may help with Clear Airways.

This should be more restful for you. Your current minimum pressure is too low and it zooms up quickly to try and tackle apneas. Keep it closer to the med number for now so the pressure isn't going up and down and waking you. Auto Mode: 8cm min - 8cm max.

You may need a higher pressure, but this is a good place to start.

Try for a few days. Hopefully this will drop the CA's too.
OpalRose
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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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#6
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
These graphs all share the same thing in common, 6 to 7 short sessions rather than one or two long ones. No one will feel rested breaking up their sleep like that. The suggestions to limit pressure changes are based on the idea of avoiding those therapy breaks.

I think the minimum pressure of 8 looks correct based on the graphs, and while pressure routinely rises over 11, I don't see anything constructive resulting from that pressure increase. I was going to suggest 8-10 pressure, but I agree with Opalrose that a fixed trial might be more helpful. One thing to pay attention to on these graphs is that when you start at low pressure, you have some pretty serious snores until you get ramped up.

Since you claim to have set a minimum pressure of 8.0, I have to assume you are using Ramp...turn it off, or set the minimum Ramp Pressure to 6.0 and set the ramp time to auto. The lower pressure is interfering with your breathing setting you up for a faster pressure increase, and may be causing you to not get as good of a mask fit. Please consider turning off ramp, it is not your friend.
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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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#7
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
Just wanted to say good luck. You can't go wrong trying the things experienced members like SleepRider and OpalRose suggest. That said, I'm sympathetic. I'm at about 7 weeks and my SleepyHead data looks great for the most part, yet I continue to feel worse than I did before treatment most of the time.
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#8
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
Thank you for sharing your suggestions and encouragement, it is truly appreciated.

I turned off the ramp feature, turned off EPR and set pressure to 8/8, will try this and report back (wish me luck!).
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#9
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
Also keep in mind that most people react diferently to pap. We also start feeling the benifets at different times. Some people take about 3 to 6 months to start feeling better. Have paitence.
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#10
RE: Eight weeks in and not feeling rested
(09-22-2017, 06:04 PM)SWsabre Wrote: After going from feeling fine the beginning of June to being a zombie by mid June, I had a sleep study in July

Welcome!

That seems really strange.  I can't think of why the effect of sleep apnea would come on so quickly.  This is not like a cold that you catch, it is a long term process of increasingly worse sleep.  I think it was something like 7-8 years between when I first noticed that I felt tired a lot (must be getting old I thought) and when I got a CPAP machine.  I'd go back to my doctors and press them on this.  An enlarged thyroid or other sudden growth in the throat would explain the sudden onset and possibly why you are not feeling better.
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