RE: I got my report, now what
I had mild apnea on my sleep test. For me, it only occurred during the one rem sleep period on the test and was severe during that period. I bought a pulse oximeter and experimented on myself. I found that taking Benadryl and non- sedating antihistamines in the evening led to lower basal SpO2 levels, more ODIs (oxygen desaturation events) and more time below 88% oxygen. Pinning a sock with two small tennis ball to the back of my sleep wear decreased all of these events. So when I sleep with the tennis balls and avoid evening doses of antihistamines, my SpO2 levels are normal, my ODI is around 1/hour and I only spend a couple of seconds a night below 90% saturation. At that point my sleep doctor said it was not worth treating the apnea with CPAP. You could also try the breathe right strips. Some people on this board use a soft cervical collar as positional therapy.
RE: I got my report, now what
(11-02-2017, 10:28 AM)mountainbird Wrote: I had mild apnea on my sleep test. For me, it only occurred during the one rem sleep period on the test and was severe during that period. I bought a pulse oximeter and experimented on myself. I found that taking Benadryl and non- sedating antihistamines in the evening led to lower basal SpO2 levels, more ODIs (oxygen desaturation events) and more time below 88% oxygen. Pinning a sock with two small tennis ball to the back of my sleep wear decreased all of these events. So when I sleep with the tennis balls and avoid evening doses of antihistamines, my SpO2 levels are normal, my ODI is around 1/hour and I only spend a couple of seconds a night below 90% saturation. At that point my sleep doctor said it was not worth treating the apnea with CPAP. You could also try the breathe right strips. Some people on this board use a soft cervical collar as positional therapy.
Thanks, Mountainbird. I've avoided Benadryl for two days now - we'll see if I can make melatonin work long-term this time, and will consider getting a pulse oximeter to test myself. I sleep on my side almost exclusively due to neck issues, but I hadn't previously considered a cervical collar until something I read here. I think I'll try that as well.
