Occassional bad headaches at 14 psi

[t8528sl]

I wake up with bad headaches every now and again, even under 14 psi of air on auto mode. I've been titrating the pressure up myself, setting the floor pressure higher and higher. I woke up this am with a bad headache again this am. Sometimes its more mild than others but it worsens within an hour, which seems to indicate CO2 buildup, but it doesn't go away until late in the day.

I never wake up crystal clear like I occasionally did initially. I'm 7 months in now. My apnea onset rapidly in under a year and has been progressing. Head position used to be very important, but now it's harder to find one that works when I relax my neck muscles to check.

My dad snored and had apnea / hypopnea as well. My AHI is well under <1.0, so while I'm occasionally non-functional some days, my apnea is "well controlled" according to my doctor (whom I'm replacing). I saw an ENT to assess if I have a growth, but he declared everything normal. I may see another one.

Today is a bad day. Last night, I had on my O2 sensor and my O2 level never dipped below 95. My SleepyHead data shows that I occasionally, but not frequently, stop breathing, either due to either obstruction or Central Apnea, but mostly I suffer from Hypopnea (as shown on the time scale for inhalation). I occasionally snore too (Vibrational noted on computer).

I'm not overweight (5'9" and 163 lb), don't have restless leg syndrome. I lie on my side and never roll on my back. I'm a mouth breather and my mouth flops open, even with a Respironics standard chin strap. When my mouth flops open, my jaw moves backward and can collapse my throat I've learned. I use a second pillow under my mouth in addition, but it doesn't usually work. Mostly I just wake up every 90 minutes completely dehydrated then drink 48 oz of water about 4 times a night. I have trouble getting back to sleep without OTC sleep medication. I'm going to buy an upgraded chin strap I think, but the one I have doesn't move out of position, my lips just unseal. I don't dehydrate if I breath through my nose.

I have been known to clench my jaw during sleep, and am going to start with a mouthguard in combination with the CPAP, chin strap, and O2 sensor. I'm not under a lot of stress now though, so that may not be it.

I may try and lower my pressure and loosen my straps to explore that direction. I'm going to get a neck pillow to see if that helps. My pillow has deteriorated and tends to push out from under me (synthetic down). I'm also journaling to determine if my diet impacts how I sleep. I'm open to other ideas, which is why I'm posting.

[Pugsy]

First of all..nit picking because I am OCD...it's cm to H20...not psi. There's a world of difference between them.

Secondly...Headaches related to carbon dioxide associated with sleep apnea and oxygen level normally are worse when first awakening and tend to dissipate over an hour or two upon awakening once the body gets the right carbon dioxide / oxygen balance.
For it to happen after waking and/or get worse as the day goes on isn't typically what a carbon dioxide headache will do.

Not all headaches are related to sleep apnea and/or cpap therapy.

I had the sleep apnea headaches pre cpap...those went away pretty quickly.
But I also have a history of a bad cervical spine and I have had headaches related to neck issues and I still get those headaches from time to time. I will wake up with it usually because I slept "funny" on my bed pillow or something like that. Usually have some maybe minor neck discomfort with the headache...sometimes major pain.

See your doctor and have the headaches evaluated for other potential causes...just to make sure that something else isn't going on that might be easily fixed.
Start with a new bed pillow though. Sleeping with a cpap mask usually involves us having to modify our sleeping position a little bit and an old pillow may be adding stress to the neck.
Depending on which mask and what your sleeping position is primarily you might want to look at one of those cpap pillows with the cutouts for the mask (or make your own cutouts) or a different type of pillow. I found that a buckwheat pillow works well for me...let's me make a little "nest" for the mask but also lets me make the hulls give me just the right support that my old arthritic neck needs.

[chunkyfrog]

By the way, anyone with migraines should note that many advances have been made in recent years.
Please revisit your doctor about your pain. You may be surprised.

[Julie]

You sound like a great candidate for a soft cervical collar - it keeps your head up (and helps any neck issues that could contribute to headaches), your airway more open and your jaw (if not lips) closed. Many people swear by them... more so than straps.

[t8528sl]

Thanks for the correction on psi vs H20 cm.

My wife thinks maybe it's a morning caffeine deprivation headache, so I'm going to try and cut back as well as some of the suggestions here.
I've read migraine headaches are only on one side of the head, mine is all over. But I'll read up on migraines more .

[Julie]

Do get your blood pressure checked soon.

[t8528sl]

130 over 80, on Thursday, which was a little higher than normal.

[Julie]

If you have a home device I'd check it when you first wake up on days you have headaches.

[t8528sl]

Thanks to all.
I'll buy a blood pressure checker. They're pretty common.
I'll check out the cervical neck braces and CPAP pillows mentioned.

[palerider]

If you have a home device I'd check it when you first wake up on days you have headaches.

why?

[ajack]

AHI under 1, my O2 level never dipped below 95.

It's not apnea or hyponemia, it's something else,, give this data to your dr and get him to run some tests to see if a cause can be found.

[TASmart]

Or maybe it is totally unrelated to CPAP.

[SleepyBobR]

Could the headaches be caused by the gallon and a half of water you say you drink every night? That's a helluva lot of water.

[t8528sl]

Figured this out. The headaches were caused by too much caffeine on the prior day. By cutting back on caffeine to one glass of coffee in the morning, I eliminated my all-day headaches the next day.

My feeling drowsy in the morning has been relieved somewhat by the neck roll. This was the game changer. I suffer from hypopnea and head position is very important. Getting that immediate step up for my pillow focused on my neck area was critical. I put it underneath it leaving edge of my pillow to soften it up. It has to be a bit firm to be effective. I like the 5 1/2 inch neck roll as I am a side sleeper.

Hope this helps somebody else too.

[Antigone1]

It seems to me that a lot of your difficulties could be solved if you would use a full face mask. Then if your mouth flops open it wouldn't matter.