Back to the drawing board

[Long day's journey]

This last fall I was using the F20 foam mask and sleeping regularly over 7 hours and feeling like I had my life back...and then it all seemed to stop working. I had a close pet die and the masks don't seem to fit as well (not sure it matters, but I gained a little weight, around 10 pounds).

So now I'm getting 6 or less hours of sleep, waking up in the middle of the night. I tried a CBT program in January, thinking it was due to insomnia, but I just became more ragged, avoiding any sleeping pills of any sort. I've tried a Dreamwear mask, trying to transition to a pillow cushion but having mixed results. I usually just have the pillow on for a few hours and then switch to the full face F20.

What scared me a few hours ago was the thought that this could be my life from now on. I have about 12 years until retirement and I need to function better than I have been. Even writing this is taking longer than it should, especially since it's the end of the day.

I'm thinking waking up in the middle of the night could be due to higher pressure (trying to treat an apnea). My numbers look really good, I just can't get back to sleep. It may just be a combination of that and insomnia. I have a hard time getting out of bed on a cold morning at 2:30 am & often linger after waking, so my sleep hygiene can probably be improved. Any advice? Hang in there?

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[Julie]

Believe it or not even 10 lbs can make a diff to how masks fit - your face is the first place to show it (if not to your vision) so I'd concentrate on refitting, resizing, adjusting, etc. even if it seems ridiculous.

[Long day's journey]

Believe it or not even 10 lbs can make a diff to how masks fit - your face is the first place to show it (if not to your vision) so I'd concentrate on refitting, resizing, adjusting, etc. even if it seems ridiculous.

Thanks, that makes sense. Makes me wonder if I should lose those 10 pounds in hopes of getting back to the promised land of effective cpap treatment. I feel as if I'd do almost anything to get back there.

[palerider]

Start by raising your min pressure to 7.

[Miss Emerita]

I'm really sorry your pet died. We get really close to them, and it hurts a lot when they're gone.

I really think you'll be sleeping better in time, and bear in mind that your pessimistic outlook may actually be the result of your unrefreshing sleep, combined with your sadness.

Try the great suggestions from Julie and palerider. If that does the trick, great! If not, here are two other things to try later on. (Don't change a bunch of things all at once, or you won't know which changes are good and which are bad.)

Try turning the ramp off. I think you'll find a starting pressure of 7 with the EPR of 3 to be very comfortable right off the bat at night. That will get rid of one form of pressure change.

A second possibility is open to you, given how good your numbers are and how sensitive you may be to pressure changes. That is to keep the pressure within a narrow range. This is counterproductive for most people, since to control their apnea they need the machine to be able to give them higher pressures as needed throughout the night. But you might want to see how much of a difference it makes to your AHI to have a narrow range. If it's not much difference, and you sleep better, that might be a reasonable trade-off.

Keep us posted, would you?

[palerider]

There's no indication the OP is sensitive to "pressure changes", however, the events that cause the pressure changes are documented to disturb sleep.

[Long day's journey]

Thanks palerider, I'll try that and report back.

And I appreciate the sympathy Miss Emerita. I was feeling ragged when I wrote the post due to lack of sleep during the work week. I've slept much better this weekend, mostly hitting my target of 7 hours of sleep. Amazing the difference in outlook that can provide!

[Long day's journey]

Well I guess I need a bit of mask adjustment, because I had a leaky night. I started the night with the pillow and then switched to the full face.

I did wake up shortly after 1:30 with my mouth wide open, as if I was gasping for air, a very dry mouth, a tight upper chest, and wide awake. I'm not sure the higher pressure will work for me--I'm one of those strange people who really aren't bothered by a pressure of 4, while 7 felt as if I had to exert some effort to breathe as I was falling asleep. Of course the high leak rate probably isn't a good test. But maybe 6 instead?

I'm chairing 2 meetings and have to be an active participant in another, so I took a 1/4 of a xanax in hopes that will get me to sleep and I can function adequately tomorrow.

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