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Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - harmon k - 10-26-2016
Hi. I would appreciate any opinions. advice from anyone about this:
I saw my Dr. yesterday. I've used my cpap for 29 straight nights, all night. Every single night all my numbers were excellent: Events usually 0 or 1, minimal leaks,
etc. However, as I told him, I'm still just as fatigued in the morning and throughout the day as I was before starting treatment.
He said that, with all the numbers being so good, I should've gotten better by now, or even sooner. He wants me to come back and do a 24-hour study (overnight study, then remain there all the next day for different tests.) He said something ELSE could be the problem. I asked, if there IS another issue, why didn't the lab sleep study detect this. I think he said that the sleep study wouldn't find any other problems because it's only looking for breathing problems and other issues could be masked by the study?
Anyway, he changed the pressure to 9; it was 7. He said that might make a difference and to try that for the next month.
I don't know enough about how important the pressure setting can be, so do you think raising the pressure from 7 to 9 can make a big difference in how I feel?
Thanks.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - Sleeprider - 10-26-2016
Harmon, was your appointment with a sleep specialist or regular doc? I don't think any problems are with your CPAP therapy, and maybe before throwing time and money at a sleep study, get a general blood work with CBC and T? Sometimes if you're a hammer (sleep specialist) everything looks like a nail.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - srlevine1 - 10-26-2016
It is possible to get fantastic numbers on a xPAP machine and get very little actual sleep, which could account for tiredness. As for additional testing, being anemic and suffering from oxygen desaturation can also be problematical, as can thyroid issues, or heart arrhythmias. Therefore, the suggestion to get additional testing is a good one. I wish you the best of luck.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - PoolQ - 10-26-2016
I have not gone and looked at your other posts, but using software and letting us look at your data might help. It is not difficult to stop the apneas and still not be getting comfortable sleep. It took me close to a year and a lot of help from here, after my Sleep Doc sent me on my way. For me I had to change to a BiLevel machine and then make a bunch of adjustments before the problems were discovered, one of which was a 1.6 cm increase in my minimum pressure.
Sleeping is a sensitive time for many and if you look at all the beds, bedding, pillows, drapes, ear plugs, eye masks..... it is easier to understand how strapping a mask that blows air up you nose might make getting deep sleep a challenge.
Some of what you need is to educate your self by reading posts and asking questions: 29 days in and you should know if you have a humidifier or not. You have a full auto machine, why are you on fixed CPAP? Do you have your study results?
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - robertbuckley - 10-26-2016
Everything said above is true and good advice, but if he is suggesting a 24 hour visit to the sleep lab he is probably checking for narcolepsy and what they do is during the day have you lay down every couple of hours, plug you back in, and tell you to try to take a nap. They then record that, see if you nod off, calculate latency, etc, etc, etc. Get you back up for 2 hours, and repeat.
Oh, and just to pile on to all the other stuff above, free testosterone levels, heart tachycardia, too much REM, too little REM, Alpha wave intrusion, the presidential debates....
If this was easy, anybody could cure us.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - harmon k - 10-26-2016
Thanks. My main question to those more knowledgeable and experienced than I is: The fact that the cpap pressure was increased from 7 to 9, is it at all possible that that can make a noticeable difference? Because my 24hr study is not sched for another 10 weeks. And I'm not seeing the dr. for another 6 weeks so he raised the pressure .
I've already had a complete physical, blood work, etc.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - sonicboom - 10-26-2016
Please post some data. Sometimes raising pressure can increase central apneas and you want to avoid that.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - PoolQ - 10-27-2016
Can an increase in pressure effect you, yes. Good luck. And yes going from 7-9 can make a difference. Did you read my post? I increased mine by 1.6 and that was my magic number.
We are actually trying to help.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - harmon k - 10-27-2016
Thanks, Robert Buckley and all you guys/gals.Since I'm not scheduled for the 24- hour study to for another 2 1/2 months and don't see the Dr. for another 6 weeks!.....I emailed him and asked if it's OK if I just stop using the cpap. I figured why go thru this nightly burden when it ain't providing any relief from my daily fatigue? (31 straight nights, all excellent "numbers" but feel the same as before starting treatment).
Sorry that I'm totally lame when it comes to using the computer beyond simple stuff like these posts. (long story). So when people tell me to "post my data" or "download Sleepyhead", I'm lost. Al I can do is go to My Air and see my daily results re: "events, leaks, and all that. Sorry. But anyway when I saw the Dr. the other day he said he could see all the info he needed to see.
RE: Would Welcome Your Feedback About This - PoolQ - 10-27-2016
They can indeed see all that they need, one problem is that a lot of this can take a lot of time and not all Doctors can put that much time into any one patient.
If you want to do more for yourself, search the forums for sleepyhead software, its free and will let you see exactly what is going on. there are posts about how to get and post the graphs so those here can look at them and give you feedback. Without this it's kind of like an auto mechanic trying to fix a car that they have not see and the owner is just telling them that it "clicks" somewhere in the front. Just not gonna happen.
We can even walk you through setting up sleepyhead. You need to have an SD card reader (you may already have one) if not they cost under $10.
Remember that just because you are not yet sleeping well, does not mean that your apneas are not being treated. Sleepyhead will also tell us this