64 year old male looking for guidance with adaptation to CPAP

[wvdthree]

Hello all!

               I am a 64 year old male (6’ 2” 225 lbs) with mild sleep apnea, diagnosed about sixteen years ago at UW Madison Wisconsin Sleep Clinic and have never been able to adjust to wearing a CPAP machine. I will try to give a brief bit of backstory and then give you all an idea of the type of feedback I am looking for. I really appreciate your bearing with a somewhat perhaps lengthy post. For what it’s worth I am copy/pasting some records I had of my last, at home sleep study results.


PAP COMPLIANCE REVIEW:

• PAP therapy was initiated in 12.18.
  
• Epworth Sleepiness Scale score:  0.  (Last ESS:  0.)
  

HSS 10.10.18 with weight of 245 lbs:  RID 10.4, supine 17.7, side 4.4 (188 min).  Low oxygen of 81%, spending 240 min at or below 88%.  In lab titration on 11.8.18 recommended APAP 9-15 cm.  Mild PLMS.  Frequent PVC’s.

NPSG in 2008:  Very mild OSA with apnea mainly on his back, with an overall AHI of 4 per hour(supine RDI 9.4/hr, non-supine RDI 2/hr) and in REM sleep (REM RDI 18/hr, non-REM RDI 4/hr) on sleep test 2008. Weight 226#.



     Since being diagnosed I have tried two kinds of CPCP machines:

1) Phillips Respironics (Initial one I received sixteen years ago)

2) ResMed  (The one I got as a loaner while waiting for my Phillips to be repaired)

3) Phillips Dream Station Two Advanced (Brand new one never tried and recieved one year ago)


As indicated above I have only tried the Phillips Respironics and the ResMed. The masks I have tried are nose pillows and a triangle mask which fits only over your nose. I do have a full face brand new,never used mask in my posession.  In total in the past twelve years I have likley tried the machines/masks a total of five months as I have never been able to adapt to it. These five months have been in sections of several weeks at a time. I go to bed and all though it does not seem invasive I can’t fall asleep and after being awake for 3-4 hours take it off an promptly fall asleep. I have tried most if not all of Sleep Med Dr’s advice on how to become accustomed to wearing a CPAP mask/machine. 

The last time I went to the Sleep Clinic was probably three years ago. I recieved a new and unused Phillips Dream Station just over a year ago after a lengthy recall of my original Phillips unit. I have mild daytime fatigue and fairly frequent morning headaches (which wear off quickly) as far as my symptoms. I never feel as though I could fall asleep during the day. I know the long term effects of untreated sleep apnea so would like to make an effort to make this work for me. A year and a half ago a dentist friend made a Clear Dream dental splint for me. While it greatly reduces my snoring (which my girlfriend likes) it does not help with fatigue. 

I have moved to another state and am no longer with the same medical/insurance system. I have limited financial means and could go in to a sleep clinic in my new city when I hit 65 and am on Medicare but based on my current insurance plan I can not
afford to go in to see anyone about this. That said I’m not even sure what new information I would get from a new visit. 




I think that’s enough of backstory. The following are issues I am searching for answers for: 

1. I know my old units had a SIM card which transferred data from my CPAP machine to my sleep clinic so they could monitor my activity. How, if at all will either my Res Med unit work or my new Phillips work without being connected via some sort of cloud to bring down data from my machine? Will they even work without using the SIM? It seems like I need to work with what I have in terms of machines and masks as I know you need a Dr’s involvement to get new machines and extra gear, hoses, masks etc..
   

2) Can anyone comment on any personal success or failure stories with any of the machines I have in my possession? I realize this is likely relative and depends on a wide variety of factors. Pros and cons of any of the units based on my past experience with them? 

3) Lastly I would really appreciate any successful methods any of you used who also found acclimating to a CPAP machine difficult. 


I leave it here now with thanks to anyone how has stayed with me and may have some feedback for me. I know I need to get a handle on this but have just been struggling. Take care and sleep well!


Best regards,
                       wvdthree

[Deborah K.]

We will be better able to help you if you download Oscar, a free apnea reporting program via which you can report a very good chart of a night's sleep. Instructions on Oscar download and use are at the top of every page. Give it a try. We all love it.

[Melman]

1. I know my old units had a SIM card which transferred data from my CPAP machine to my sleep clinic so they could monitor my activity. How, if at all will either my Res Med unit work or my new Phillips work without being connected via some sort of cloud to bring down data from my machine? Will they even work without using the SIM? It seems like I need to work with what I have in terms of machines and masks as I know you need a Dr’s involvement to get new machines and extra gear, hoses, masks etc..
   

2) Can anyone comment on any personal success or failure stories with any of the machines I have in my possession? I realize this is likely relative and depends on a wide variety of factors. Pros and cons of any of the units based on my past experience with them? 

3) Lastly I would really appreciate any successful methods any of you used who also found acclimating to a CPAP machine difficult. 

We should be able to help you. Which Resmed model do you have? If it's a CPAP or Autoset it will be possible to use free OSCAR software to look at data. The link foe downloading the software is at the top of the page. You will need an 8-32G SD card to insert in the machine and an SD card reader for your PC.
With respect to you  concerns and questions;
1) You machine will work fine without a connection to a sleep clinic. You will need a prescription for the supplies mentioned but your primary care Dr. can provide that.
2) I have had success using both the Resmed airsense 10 and 11 autoset machines.
3) Some find it helpful to use their machines while awake reading or watching TV to get acclimated.

[Narcil]

if you get the card2cloud version it has no modem and no sim, otherwise you have a modem. You can use a sd card to look at your data using the oscar software don't need a modem. you will need a prescription to get a new machine for sure, and probably supplies too but any doc can do that.

for me i need something else to focus on other than the feeling of an alien sucking on my face. an audiobook, podcast or even a tv at low volume (barely above the machine/mask) and really focusing on it puts me out in no time. maybe something to try! think it's a common way to deal with insomnia.

[wvdthree]

Hello Melman,
                     Thanks so much for your reply. My Resmed is an AirSense 10 Autoset. I was able to download Oscar to my MacBook laptop and it appears I can download it as well to my iPhone? 

Out of the three units I have on hand do people generally have better luck with a ResMed Autoset or with my new, unused Phillips Dream Station? 

Thanks again and I will report back with my new experiences and hopefully progress. 


Regards,
              wvdthree

[Melman]

You have an excellent machine. I don't believe you can use OSCAR on a Iphone. The data needs to be transferred from your machine  to OSCAR on your PC using an SD card which must be in the machine while it is running to collect data. OSCAR data can be posted here for review.  (See the how to links below.) Here's a link to a comprehensive article about OSCAR.

https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...OSCAR_Help


Generally the Resmed is preferred to the Dreamstation.

[HalfAsleep]

A couple of things….

Hook up your machine and the whole get up while awake, reading a book or watching TV. This may help your body adapt to the machine and everything that goes with it. Learn to relax with it on.

Consider how you do your preparation for sleep. You may need to start the process earlier. Some folks use melatonin or magnesium. You can even stage melatonin in small doses to unwind in advance of sleeptime. Some folks have a feel-good snack before bed.

There are adjustments you can make for comfort and therapy once you get the basics down. But start with using the unit while you’re awake.

[Deborah K.]

The majority of us prefer the ResMed machines. I have had both and now I am on my second ResMed. I would never switch back.