Some Newbie Issues [w/ Back Pain]

[Cat246]

Good Morning All

I'm new to CPAP therapy, starting with my test machine on July 27, 2017 and purchasing my own machine on August 9, 2017.

I'm thrilled with the therapy!!  I have adjusted very easily right from the first night with the hose.  I feel like a million dollars.  I could be the poster child, ok, poster middle aged women, for CPAP therapy.

I'm kinda tech challenged so I have not downloaded the sleepyhead software but I did create a myair account in an effort to understand and if necessary, identify any issues that I may be having with my cpap therapy.  I've also had my equipment provider look at my stats a few times and from what I can gather, everything seems really good. 

I average 8 hours sleep per night.  I've had 4 nights in the last 14 where I didn't even wake up once to use the bathroom.  My AHI average is 1.5 down from 77.  I don't have any central apneas.  I have the humidifer set at 3 and I use autoramp starting at 5.   My average pressure requirement is 12.7. My mask leaks are minimal.  In fact, there are nights according to myair that I have no mask leaks as I receive a star.  My ERP was set at 3 and I turned it down to 2 last night. I also purchased a CPAP pillow which has helped with where to put all the gear while I sleep on my left side.  Life is good!!

My issue is the mid back pain that I have started to experience in the last week or so.  I think it may be pressure related somehow or perhaps it is just my body adjusting to breathing deeply and normally and therefore using muscles that I have not used in a very long time.  I realize that I don't move around as much as I used to but it does seem odd to me though that this issue would not have happened in the first couple of weeks of therapy instead of 5 weeks into therapy.  A couple of Advil and 20 minutes usually allows me to go back to sleep but I would really love to return to no Advil and no back pain and sleeping through the night with the exception of maybe getting up to use the bathroom.

Any thoughts, suggestions, insight would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for listening.  Have a great day!!

[Marillion]

Hello and welcome to the forum fellow Canuck! I don't think the APAP machine is the cause of your back pain. Perhaps inasmuch that you are not moving around so much due to sleeping more soundly. I would look to the cause being something else. I know I experienced a lot of back pain when my bed was not supportive enough. Has anything else changed in your life? Are you sleeping in a different position than you were before?

[Cat246]

Hello Marillion

Thank you so much for the warm welcome!!

Many things have changed in my life after starting therapy.  Mostly not being in a cranky, sleep deprived, oxygen deprived, foggy mental state.  Everything has improved so much cept for this back thing.  The only thing that I have changed is my pillow and I did that because I was having a hard time getting comfortable with my old pillow and I've had the new CPAP pillow since early August.

The reason I think this could be pressure related somehow is because there is such a difference between my start rate and my actual required rate and then if you take the ERP into consideration and ramp I think maybe I'm working too hard to breath at times which in turn is causing my diaphragm to work harder.  The pain is in my diaphragm.  I felt pain in the front part of my diaphragm in the first week on therapy and that has gone away.  The pain in the back part of my diaphragm just started in the last week or so.  I talked with my equipment dealer and of course they have never heard of anything like this, so they are no help at all.

I'm not above purchasing a new mattress if that is necessary but I would like to explore all options before I have to spend any more money to sleep.  I've always been pretty much a left side sleeper and that hasn't changed.  I just don't move as much in my sleep anymore and I'm not making 87000 trips to the bathroom in the night anymore.  

Thank you again for your warm welcome.  I hope you have a great day!

[Walla Walla]

You mentioned not having to go to the bathroom as much. Any chance your not drinking enough water? Mid back pain sometimes can be caused by your kidneys.

[chill]

Welcome!  You certainly have a great success story.   I also think that this is not pressure related.  The diaphragm related discomfort that you describe in the first week is very normal.  Your muscles have to do a bit more work to breathe out against the pressure.  This usually passes in a few days as they strengthen.  Mid-back pain and long periods of motionless sleep sounds more like you need a new and perhaps better mattress. I have a Simmons Black Label and love it.  It is not cheap, but the comfort is worth it.  

A physiotherapist or chiropractor may be able to advise you.

[Cat246]

Thank you for your response Walla Walla.

It could be not enough water.  Never thought of that.  The whole going to the bathroom thing in the night was my body's way of telling me to wake up and breath.  That nonsense stopped the first night on the hose. 

I'll will certainly try drinking more water throughout the day and see if that helps.

Any thoughts or suggestions on my pressure setting would be appreciated.  From what I have read here, I think that my minimum and max pressures may be to far apart when you take into consideration the ERP and the ramp.  Thinking I should just shut both of those off and set the machine to 9 to 14 with 12.7 being where I am most of the night.

Thank you again for your suggestions.  Hope you have a great day!

[Cat246]

Hello Chill

Thank you for your warm welcome.

My early success has been so great for me and the people around me.  I wanted very badly for this to work cause I was so tired of feeling like crap all the time and basically not sleeping and not participating in life.  I thought it was menopause and I thought the menopause was going to kill me if all this stuff continued.  I sorta suspected sleep apnea but being a vain old broad, I didn't want to be a hose head.  That was very very stupid on my part because I realize now I could have easily been a dead, vain old broad.

You could be right about the mattress.  My mattress is only about 6 years old and it is a good quality mattress that up until about a week ago was very comfortable and supportive I thought. 

I would be interested in your thoughts with regard to my pressure settings.  From what I have read here, I think that my minimum and max pressures may be to far apart when you take into consideration the ERP and the ramp.  Thinking I should just shut both of those off and set the machine to 9 to 14 with 12.7 being where I am most of the night.

Maybe I'll try the spare room bed for a few nights combined with some additional water intake during the day and see if that helps.

Thank you again for your warm welcome and suggestions.  Hope you have a great day!

[Gary1of2]

You might try putting a pillow under your kness if you sleep on you back and put a pillow between your knees if you sleep on your side. It will relieve stress on you back.

[Walla Walla]

For help with pressures it helps if you can post your data using sleepyHead. But for a quick ballpark figure try setting your min pressure 1cm below your average pressure and 2cm above your max pressure.

[Cat246]

Thank you Gary1of2 for your response.

I'm a side sleeper and I have been putting a small pillow between my knees ever since I got the new CPAP pillow.  Maybe it's the damn pillow that is causing me grief.  Prior to therapy I slept on a fairly thick memory foam pillow.  I found that it was just too dense to make sleeping with the head gear comfortable.  I'm still somewhat confused though because you would think that if the pillow was going to be an issue the issue would have shown up within a couple of nights of using a different pillow, not weeks later.

Perhaps I'll try a slightly larger pillow between my knees and see if that helps with the pain that may be from the new CPAP pillow.

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions.  Hope you have a great day!