Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea
One month in - Printable Version

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One month in - Elizabeth25 - 11-18-2014

I went to see a see a sleep doctor recently because of being constantly tired (other health factors ruled out by pcp). I wake up 15+ times per night and am often wide awake for an hour or two in the middle of the night. A home sleep test diagnosed mild apnea (ahi 8).
I have been using a S9 machine/nasal pillows for about a month. Ahi is now between 1-2. But I am still waking many times per night (most being after the first 2-3 hours of sleep) and don't feel any less tired. I have tolerated the machine pretty well. Second mask more comfortable Sleepyhead shows 1-2 ahi and no leaks. It shows many, many other things that I have not yet decoded.
The sleep doc said the next step it for a home titration study (with a special cpap machine) because we need to "dial in the proper pressure" in order to decrease number of night wakings. When I asked if there are other things besides apnea that could cause this the answer was restless legs. Unless you can have restless legs and not know it I don't have that. Also, doc said because I did not have a sleep test in the lab (insurance reasons) there is no way to tell if I am getting the proper amount of REM sleep
Does this all make sense? Are there Sleepyhead graphs I should pay particular attention to?
Thank you. This forum is a gold mine of information!
E25


RE: One month in - PaulaO2 - 11-18-2014

First, there's no reason to pay for a second home titration test. You have the machine that can do that. The autoset is providing the numbers the doc needs to determine if the pressure is correct, what kind of events you are having, how long they last, etc. The only thing missing would be the oximeter. Did you wear a belt around your chest for the first test?

You want to know what type of events you are having. That would be in the Event Flags.
- what events are you have?
- how long do they last?
Next you want to view the statistics in the left hand panel.
- Know what your 95% pressure is.
- what was your 95% and max leak rate

Here's some places to get started on looking for definitions, alphabet soup, etc.
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Acronyms (list of other sources at the bottom)
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Definitions
SleepyHead user guide http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/sleepyhead/index.php?title=SleepyHead_Users_Guide - The SourceForge website is down for maintenance or something right now so I can't confirm that my link is still right.


RE: One month in - Eurika - 11-18-2014

+1 on the Autoset, if you watch the pressures over a week on sleepyhead you'll see a range that your machine is working in, and also the pressure that is the mean for you.


RE: One month in - surferdude2 - 11-18-2014

Perhaps show the good doctor some nightly readouts with graphs so that he may rule out getting another home sleep test. It may just be that sleep apnea wasn't the culprit that was waking you in the middle of the night. You can have restless leg syndrome without knowing it, especially if you sleep alone, since there's nobody to tell you if your legs are jumping occasionally. You won't necessarily be aware of that on your own, some are while some aren't.

There are other causes for waking. Do you wake and feel out of breath? Do you wake with a rapid heartbeat? Do you just seem to wake for no reason? Any of those, and more, could mean you might have some other problem in addition to apnea. Try to remember how you feel when first awakening in the middle of the night so you can have something for your doctor to go on if it comes to that. He may want to fit you with a recording device to see if your pulse rate, blood pressure and/or some other vital sign is going wonky.

Aside from the above, if you wake for no apparent reason and also have trouble falling asleep, you may need to use a sleep aid medication for a while to get back on track. Anxiety about CPAP is often a culprit in cases like yours and a sleep aid could get you past that point and to where you are comfortable with it. Time alone will also do that in most cases, if you can stand the wait.


RE: One month in - trish6hundred - 11-18-2014

Hi Elizabeth25,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more answers to your questions and much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy.


RE: One month in - Elizabeth25 - 11-19-2014

Thank you for your ideas and well wishes.
Paula,here are the answers to the Qs you asked:
Events: of the average 1-2 ahi most are OA with a few CA. I don't know how to tell how long the events last.
The 90% pressure is 9.44.
Avg. Leak rate 0.34
90% leak rate 0.00
When I go to the doctor are they seeing all of the same kind of information that I can see on Sleepyhead?
Surferdude, my husband says my legs stay put all night. No rapid heartrate or feeling out of breath. Good idea about trying to pay attention to what I feel like when I wake up. Mostly I just feel "awake"! All the night wakings and middle insomnia started way before cpap.
E25