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Another Newbie In Need of Help - JJ2019 - 07-18-2019
For my at home sleep study I was told my AHI was 5.6 and was given the option of a sleep program or CPAP. I chose the latter in hopes of a quick fix. At the time I had read all the stories of how much better everyone felt after night one include folks with mild sleep apena, but somehow missed the part were it generally takes time and can be a struggle. And so fare I have been struggling. Beside hoping to get better rest I have always had bad allergies and acid reflux, so I plan to prevail in the long run in hopes of improved health all around. Reading this board has reaffirmed my belief that my doctor is really not putting a lot of time and effort into me.
So here I am hoping you all can help me find the right path. So far I fell I have gone backwards and have woke up feeling worse then ever. I have a Philips Respironics DreamStation APAP set at 6-14. I have attached a handful of my results so far. The last 2 nights have have taken the mask off midway through the night to try and get some decent rest. Any help you all can provide is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - Gideon - 07-18-2019
You did not mention Flex, We frequently see that Flex=3 is disruptive, so make sure Flex is set at 1 or 2
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - JJ2019 - 07-18-2019
Ok, thanks! Flex was set at 2, I just brought it down to 1. I will try this for a few nights and see how it affects my results.
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - sheepless - 07-18-2019
there's hope now that you've found the AB forum!
IDK that cpap will help with allergies but I can tell you that my reflux dropped from 8 or 9 on a scale of 10 to about 1 after I finally got my ahi consistently under 3ish.
you didn't say how your sleep test ahi of 5.6 broke down in terms of central apnea (ca), obstructive apnea (oa) and hypopnea (h). if you had predominantly central events, you will have to fail this machine to move on to a more appropriate machine type. if not, it's early days and some of your ahi's are worse than your sleep test, including plenty of ca, suggesting you are having pressure induced central apnea. I'm sure you will get some good suggestions to fine tune your settings to help with that; meanwhile, treatment emergent pressure induced ca will likely dissipate in 30 - 90 days.
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - mesenteria - 07-18-2019
I don't think anyone knows what came first, the chicken or apnea.
Apnea is mysterious and difficult to both treat and to endure...oh, and to understand comprehensively, too. So, when we learn that we have a variety or degree of apnea, it commands our attention, and we might miss, or minimize, that other factors are at play and may have preceded, or even brought on, or exacerbated, our newly diagnosed disorder. Depending on how salient something is, it's what we'll attend to, and for most of us the apnea wins.
My wife has some GERD and takes medication, and she has about five other 'issues' with fibromyalgia and celiac among them. More medication. She has apnea, and I don' need no stinkin' sleep lab to give me a thumb up on that one. I have lost track now of what cropped up the earliest, and whether apnea was a later follow-on...I think so.
The point is that apnea somewhat rarely exists all by its lonesome. There is an underlying or accompanying ally in its bid to beat us down. If you spend the day in the bush and only bring sunscreen, and forget a mosquito hat-net or Deep Woods Forumula Off, you'll have a very miserable time indeed. All miseries and maladies have to be managed at the same time. Take a multi-pronged approach to treating all conditions that can have an impact on your quality of sleep and life while conscious. Fix your diet, or when you have your last meal, fix stressors that make you toss and turn and ruminate all night long, and get help!!
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - Sleeprider - 07-19-2019
JJ2019, I notice your events seem mostly obstructive, and unrelated to pressure. I'm going to drop this link to our wiki discussing positional apnea, and ask you if you think it might be a possibility for you. Do you use extra pillows, or get yourself into a chin-tuck position? http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Optimizing_therapy#Positional_Apnea
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - JJ2019 - 07-24-2019
Just wanting to follow up..
I adjusted Flex down to 1 as indicated and appears to be more comfortable, I will let you guys be the judge if it improved anything beyond that
I don't have my sleep study results. My post study consultation was basically the nurse calling me saying I was eligible for a machine or could try a sleep program depending on what I wanted to do. I chose the machine,
Sleeprider, Sorry I am just not seeing your comment. I generally sleep with 2 pillows and on my side, and probably am having issues with neck tucking. I did the test in the wiki and when I put my head down there is definitely some increased obstruction. I am using a full mask.
Overall, it seemed like things were going better over the weekend then my AHI rose and then last night I got a new high score.. Oddly enough it was the first morning since starting that I wasn't groggy and was ready to get out of bed when the alarm sounded.
I will try sleeping with 1 pillow and look into a collar or device to support my neck.
Any additional recommendations on how to proceed from here?
Thanks for the help!
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - Sleeprider - 07-24-2019
Looks okay. I would turn off ramp and in Oscar turn off VS2 events. If you are comfortable with it your minimum pressure needs to be increased to 7.0.
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - JJ2019 - 07-30-2019
So I purchased a cervical collar and got it this Sunday, I went with the Caldera Releaf after reading some reviews on the board. When I initially got it and put it on I thought there was no way I would be able to sleep in it, but it really hasn't been that bad. The last 2 nights of wearing it have helped to decrease the cluster of events that I was previously having. Attached are the 2 charts from sleeping with the collar on. My Flex is still at 1. Before getting the collar I upped my pressure to 7.5 min after a few nights of the same results at 7. Any recommendation on what to do next? Let me know if you all need any additional information. As always thanks for the help!
RE: Another Newbie In Need of Help - Hydrangea - 07-31-2019
When I have found myself taking off the mask at night, it has been because I wasn't getting enough air.
So I agree with people recommending to lower the flex (exhale support). I now have mine off, and prefer it that way.
And if that doesn't help, increase the min pressure.
My dr didn't want to diagnose me as having apnea, and his only advice was to "wait and see" (not sure what we'd see with more time of not doing anything) and to lose weight (I've had these symptoms since i was 100 lbs, so I'm not sure that would've cured me). So he reluctantly Rxed a machine with a fixed pressure of 5. Well, I felt air-starved on 5. When I moved it up to 6, I could finally get through the night without taking off my mask!