Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Feeling caught in a trap.....
#1
Feeling caught in a trap.....
Trying to use a CPAP is destroying my sleep! I sleep better without it but I'm told I'm risking a stroke or heart attack or God knows what else.

Like many of you, I hate the CPAP machine, though I try to use it most every night. And every night for two years now, I fail. I have never, not even once, made it through the night. By morning, the mask is on the floor while the machine continues to run. I have no idea when I toss it aside during the night.

But that scenario is very rare because mostly I don't fall asleep at all. Frustrated and angry, the mask is sent flying. It takes a while to calm down.

I have been through five different masks and hate them all. I've never been claustrophobic but I can imagine that the mask must be what it's like. They all conjure up that guy in Alien with that creature attached to his face.

I've spoken about all of this with several doctors, nurses and others and it always comes down to pep talks and scare tactics: "You have to keep trying!" or "You're risking death if you don't use the machine!".

Well, I'm not looking for any more pep talks. I want solutions! And so am open to anything practical that will get me a good nights sleep.

Thanks for listening to my whining.....Lee
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
LeeRex, if you can post a chart in OSCAR that shows us a typical example of your therapy, we can probably quickly identify the problem. My signature has links to how to organize and attach charts to your posts so we can help you. OSCAR software is free, and all you need is to sleep with a SD card in your CPAP machine, import it to a PC, laptop or Mac computer, then take a screenshot of the results. If the problem is related to your therapy, we should be able to help. We don't have much information from your profile or post to help. What kind of mask are your using?

We use CPAP to treat sleep disordered breathing, and we don't know anything about how severe yours is, or its severity. A summary of your sleep test results would help. It's pretty clear you have rejected therapy, and this decision may be due to poor settings, high leaks, or many other factors. We can't undo your attitude towards using the therapy unless you're really trying to find a solution. FWIW many of our parents and grandparents lived with this condition and never were diagnosed or treated. It's better to treat a problem than not, but you also might live a normal life.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I've downloaded Oscar and will get back to you after I get familiar it and read the manual more deeply.
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
LeeRex;
     The folks here are very helpful and do have Your best interests at heart ..
Working with them can get You on the right track with Your treatment ..
      Best of Luck ..  Steve
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
It seems I've found the right place to come for help. Thanks for the encouraging words.
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
Trying to send you the data you requested but I have received this message: "I'm sorry, brand new members are not allowed to post links in this forum until they have 4 posts." How do I send the data?
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
   
Using OSCAR, I have attached my first screenshot. I hope this is the info you want but let me know if it is not.
My background: Since the early 2000's I have been considered to be in heart failure due to the placement of two stents in my heart. A third stent was placed in early 2022. In 2012 I developed a pulmonary embolism. While in the hospital it was discovered that I also had developed what was termed Interstitial Lung Disease, an umbrella term that encompasses a number of other more specific forms of the disease. Specifically, I don't know which one.

I currently spend most days being very tired and my thinking is quite foggy from time to time. Three weeks ago I was in the doctors office when the nurse spotted that I was drifting off and not responding to her questions properly. Thanks to her, I spent the night in the ICU where my pulse was as low as 28bpm. The doctors removed a med called Metaprolol from my pill regimen. I had been taking it for several years to control my pulse rate but now it had been working against me.

Due to my lung problems I was given a CPAP machine two years ago. It's been a fight ever since. The training was meager to say the least. Until a few days ago, I didn't know anything about the heater/humidifier. Nor did I know that I could remove the SD card to view the results myself. The doctors didn't say it but I got the impression that they didn't want me to do that. I don't know why.

I tried three sleep studies to see where my pressure should be set. I failed to fall asleep each time, and so, with no data, the doctors merely guessed that the pressure should be set at 13. That's where it remains today.

Let me know if you need more from me. Looking forward to your response.

Lee
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
Hi Lee and welcome.

I’ll let the experts chime in on your OSCAR Screen Snapshot. But, on the other hand, can you provide brand and model of the various masks you have tried. Many good offerings exist, so perhaps you have not found the most compatible one for your needs and facial structure.
RayBee

~ Self-Treatment - via ApneaBoard experts.
~ Self-Pay - no help from Kaiser other than getting my script, then a pat on the butt and out the door.
~ Self-Educated - via ApneaBoard experts, its many users, and posted reference material.
~ Complex Apnea - All Night AHI=34.2/h, Supine AHI=45.5/h
~ Using a 2021 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max, 32 GB, 1 TB, macOS Monterey V12.6.2.
~ Pay no attention to the dog behind the cup, he ain't a docta, and does not give medical advise.
~ Woof, woof.

I-love-Apnea-Board
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
Phillips Airfit N20, nose only...least intrusive, SO FAR! But I've had to tape my mouth shut! (I've been told to keep
my mouth shut lots of times in my life!)
Phillips AirfitF20, claustrophobic!, hate it.
And a model I cannot identify by number but it's the kind where the nose lies on top with only the mouth covered.
Amazon calls it a Dreamwear full face mask, if that helps.

I want to try a nasal pillow. Seems like the least intrusive and the least amount of headgear.
AND, I don't want magnets! There MAY be a pacemaker in my future and am told that may interfere with my stats.
Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: Feeling caught in a trap.....
Lee, you are apparently experiencing repeated obstructions as soon as you lay down and you never achieve sleep. This could also be a central apnea issue, and a closer zoom of 3-minutes of the data would help me to interpret exactly what is going on. Assuming this is obstructive, it is likely to be positional, and is caused by your airway collapsing due to the airway being bent or obstructed by tissue impingement. We call it positional apnea, and our wiki shows some examples of members that have dealt with this using a soft cervical collar. http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...cal_Collar

Consider whether you are using tall pillows or sleeping in an inclined position which can force the chin to the chest and bend or obstruct the airway.. Even light pressure to the throat behind the jaw can instantly obstruct the airway, and a soft cervical collar can help avoid these issues. If you can post a zoom of the flow rate during any of these events I should be able to tell what is happening and explain it.

[Image: attachment.php?aid=48476]
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Help me tweak some settings. Feeling tired again! dexterloki 6 255 03-14-2024, 09:00 PM
Last Post: dexterloki
  [Equipment] Not feeling rested/high flow limit on loaner CPAP LazerStallion 5 323 02-25-2024, 05:41 AM
Last Post: LazerStallion
Gross [Treatment] Waking up frequently and not feeling rested snoor 3 302 02-21-2024, 11:27 AM
Last Post: snoor
  [CPAP] Started to feel good, then woke up feeling HORRIBLE TiredDude 4 806 02-15-2024, 04:26 PM
Last Post: TiredDude
  [Treatment] 40+ AHI WITH cpap, feeling hopeless Bobblan 10 544 01-24-2024, 10:04 PM
Last Post: Deborah K.
Sad [Pressure] Still feeling frustrated/confused after years... Mossify 12 1,084 01-22-2024, 02:43 AM
Last Post: Mossify
  Help understanding OSCAR Data - Feeling Tired all day (not sleepy) elsanti1976 9 559 01-21-2024, 04:23 PM
Last Post: elsanti1976


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.