More Tired Now than when I started CPAP a Year Ago.

chunkyfrog wrote:Jimmy, you can "foe" the truly obnoxious, cruel, and stupid people.
You can skip past their posts unless someone else quotes them.
You can still peek, but you don't have to.
Sanity takes a little self control.

Ha ya. I'm more focused to see if someone can make heads or tails out of my sleepyhead readings in my last comment. No time for haters. I got enough to deal with with my sleep.

Jimmycrackhorn wrote: Here are a couple screenshots I have from sleepyhead. I have no idea what any of this means - if someone can help me decipher this it would be helpful

your leaks look fine at the daily summary level. your ahi looks good, just that time on the mask is short.

the first post in the announcements section will get you started on how to interpret the SH reports... it's pugsy's thread, and she's good.

palerider wrote:

Jimmycrackhorn wrote: Here are a couple screenshots I have from sleepyhead. I have no idea what any of this means - if someone can help me decipher this it would be helpful

your leaks look fine at the daily summary level. your ahi looks good, just that time on the mask is short.

the first post in the announcements section will get you started on how to interpret the SH reports... it's pugsy's thread, and she's good.

Ok will do and thanks for the help. So now I assume my sleep problems are caused by the Fire Evils... Figures...

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles ... evils.html

Jimmycrackhorn wrote:Ok will do and thanks for the help. So now I assume my sleep problems are caused by the Fire Evils... Figures...

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles ... evils.html

as many people say, there are many more things that affect sleep quality besides apnea.

palerider wrote:

Jimmycrackhorn wrote:Ok will do and thanks for the help. So now I assume my sleep problems are caused by the Fire Evils... Figures...

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles ... evils.html

as many people say, there are many more things that affect sleep quality besides apnea.

That being said, have you guys ever heard of the concept that even if my readings are ok that Im not getting enough oxygen intake from my cpap mask?

In other words if I am getting 7-8 hours on my mask, using a mask that breathes through my nose, maybe I had a deviated septum since when I was really little I broke my nose and never got it fixed. I seem to breathe ok with my mask on, but still - could it be that I don't get the required oxygen intake - maybe on the days when I used to wake up with energy pre-mask days, which did happen on occasion (about half of the week actually) that I was breathing through my mouth which would allow me to get enough air...

So I guess what I'm asking is that possible OR is that just in my head?

In other words, How can I tell that I am getting enough oxygen for me to get enough rest, even IF my readings say I'm not having too many apneas?

Jimmycrackhorn wrote:

palerider wrote:

Jimmycrackhorn wrote:Ok will do and thanks for the help. So now I assume my sleep problems are caused by the Fire Evils... Figures...

http://www.shen-nong.com/eng/principles ... evils.html

as many people say, there are many more things that affect sleep quality besides apnea.

That being said, have you guys ever heard of the concept that even if my readings are ok that Im not getting enough oxygen intake from my cpap mask?

In other words if I am getting 7-8 hours on my mask, using a mask that breathes through my nose, maybe I had a deviated septum since when I was really little I broke my nose and never got it fixed. I seem to breathe ok with my mask on, but still - could it be that I don't get the required oxygen intake - maybe on the days when I used to wake up with energy pre-mask days, which did happen on occasion (about half of the week actually) that I was breathing through my mouth which would allow me to get enough air...

So I guess what I'm asking is that possible OR is that just in my head?

In other words, How can I tell that I am getting enough oxygen for me to get enough rest, even IF my readings say I'm not having too many apneas?

A recording Pulse-Oximeter will tell you.


Den

.

Jimmycrackhorn wrote:oxygen intake from my cpap mask?

see your other thread.

THis all sounds like me when I started CPAP (only 30 days ago). I bought a recording oximeter and it showed fine, but I swear I felt like I was not getting enough O2. I could lie in bed with the mask on, breathing AND STILL feel like I was not getting enough air. Very frustrating. I am still working on it, but I did figure out some things that were making me feel like that, you may or may not have the same issues as I had, but I am pretty sure you will find you have some issues that are making you feel this way with CPAP.

For me it was:
1. I am sensitive to humidity-turned it OFF
2. I don't like breathing warm air- set temperature to 64
3. I don't like exhaling into pressure, at all- set EPR to max, set ramp to auto to try and be asleep before the pressure ramps up, set pre-ramp pressure to 5.6

From my experience it has been several things that, once the apnea's were under control, kept me from getting a good nights sleep. For me these are very real and have a big impact on my sleep quality. I don't think that the default settings for all of these thing that can be changed could work for even half the people new to CPAP and there is no way a doctor could know what level of humidity I like.

I was going to post a similar thread as this one because I don't think I've ever really felt "good" on CPAP. It's better than I am without it, but I'm still pretty tired all of the time. I've tried monitoring with sleephead and posting the results here. Overall, I think my numbers are mostly fine. I even went off CPAP for a few months to try that.

I'm really not sure what to do about it. These sleep studies cost a fortune unless you have a cadillac insurance plan. I usually get hit with all of the out-of-pocket crap and pay a few thousand for a sleep study.

I'm not sure what to do, but I feel the OP's frustration.

~Q~ wrote:I'm not sure what to do

- Practice good sleep hygiene (Google it and read several sources)
- Eat a good diet
- Have a regular, moderate exercise program
- Try to avoid daytime naps.
- Practice total abstinence of caffeine including sources like chocolate
- Review all medicines, vitamins and supplements you are taking to make sure none are interfering with sleep
- Optimize emotional stress in your life
- Use CPAP software to make sure your therapy is optimized
- If you still don't feel or sleep well, make sure you have regular wellness visits to confirm there are no other medical problems.