Please help cpap friends

Hi folks, I've been experiencing brain fog for almost four years and no one can find anything wrong with me. But last year I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, so i did the machine with nasal pillows and the nose mask for 4 months--and it didn't do a thing to relieve my issues--my main ones being brain fog and ED. After not feeling better, I went t return the machine and a different sleep doctor said I technically didn't have sleep apnea, but something called a "sleep related breathing disorder" in which I have 11 snoring arousals. This week I saw an ENT who thinks oxygen to my brain is the issue, and told me to go back to the sleep doctor, but this sleep doctor said my saturation level--90%--is normal. She said the oxygen is not the issue but the SAs. Regardless, using the machine for over 4 months did nothing to help me.

Does this doctor know what she is talking about? I'm hearing two things from two different sleep docs. Hoping to find someone out there who has had the brain fog ED issue. Being tired is not a complaint of mine. It's the lack of concentration. I'm surprised to find out they did not know what my oxygen was while I was using the machine during the 4 months. Could it be that my mouth opens at night?

Thanks so much for your help everyone.

Best,

Justin

bump

CPAP does not measure oxygen levels. You need a separate device to measure it...Oxymeter.. The CPAP does not heal anything...you only get the therapy while you are using it. If it didn't help you while you were using it perhaps the settings were wrong. You may not have given it enough time.

I may be wrong, but I think the whole problem with SA's is that you become chronically/dangerously hypoxic as the night wears on. If you have sleep apneas, and several strung together over an hour or longer, especially spaced only a minute or so apart, you are bound to have sat levels well below 90%...more like 75-80%, and even lower. One such episode each night for four months, or even two such episodes, probably won't give you brain fog. If you follow them with a couple of hours of decent sleep, no major leaks, no SA's, you should do well, particularly if your night is about 6 hours of 'sleep' or longer. But maybe YOU do get brain fog with a few SA's.

If you were to conduct a poll, I bet something near 50% of all respondents would admit that they experience a form of dullness or brain fog, even when they know they've slept well and their data prove it. This is what I have come to understand reading on this forum and others, and that is that many PAP users complain of being draggy, not with it, or foggy at least part of the day.

You should get your two health professionals talking to each other, or ask one of them why they seem to disagree when the data is incontroverible, plain, and immutable. Tell them that their different interpetations are becoming an impediment to your well-being.

Or, find other doctors.

Do you have a copy of your sleep study? The details could shed light on your situation. Sometimes a night in the lab isn't able to capture enough of what you go through to get a full picture. Right now we can only guess what's going on. I echo what's already been said about maybe your settings weren't optimized or you needed more time. First though, without an eligible diagnosis you would not have been prescribed cpap treatment. There are factors in sleep disordered breathing that may not be frank apneas. Again, without knowing your specifics, that's probably not a needed conversation. When it comes to impaired cognitive function as a result of sleep issues, it could be from oxygen deprivation, or it could be from chronically disrupted sleep stages. Assumptions could have you chasing down the wrong rabbit trail. If you decide to try again with the cpap, you can get support here with optimizing your treatment. When there are unknowns, addressing all the known issues can clarify where to go next. If you approach this as a marathon and not a sprint, it can help with the frustration and discouragment. One thing is certain, without addressing those things which were a part of your diagnosis, you can't reasonable expect improvement. Let's hope coming here for a restart will lead to an improvement in your symptoms.

Sadman wrote: ↑

Thu May 03, 2018 9:57 pm

. . . so i did the machine for 4 months--and it didn't do a thing to relieve my issues . . .

4 months is not enough for many people--even at optimum settings.
--But forever may not be enough if the machine is not set for EFFECTIVE therapy.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri May 04, 2018 5:31 pm

Sadman wrote: ↑

Thu May 03, 2018 9:57 pm

. . . so i did the machine for 4 months--and it didn't do a thing to relieve my issues . . .

4 months is not enough for many people--even at optimum settings.
--But forever may not be enough if the machine is not set for EFFECTIVE therapy.

Give it time, you'll get there, patience... you'll find the perfect settings soon enough... keep working at it...

mesenteria wrote: ↑

Fri May 04, 2018 1:32 pm

I may be wrong, but I think the whole problem with SA's is that you become chronically/dangerously hypoxic as the night wears on.

Yes, you are wrong.

Thanks everyone. So you don't think it has anything to do with my mouth being open while I sleep? Could a full face mask make a difference?

Has anyone here been diagnosed with what I have and not felt better? Has anyone here experienced the ED and brain fog in tandem?

Is your machine data capable?

Sadman wrote: ↑

Fri May 04, 2018 7:36 pm

Thanks everyone. So you don't think it has anything to do with my mouth being open while I sleep? Could a full face mask make a difference?
Has anyone here been diagnosed with what I have and not felt better? Has anyone here experienced the ED and brain fog in tandem?

The mouth being open during sleep certainly could adversely affect treatment. One would hope if this is suspect to see machine data including leak rates to see if the lost air is significant. The machines can accomodate some leaking air. We have no way of knowing how much consequense there was to your mouth breathing. Wouldn't it be nice if you could go back on cpap and address the mouth breathing and you start seeing a difference in your symptoms!

Yes, a FF mask could make a big difference provided you get the 'right' one for you in the right size, fitted properly (not worn too tight... counterproductive) and always tried on lying down as your face changes a lot then.

I also believe you probably never had adequate treatment due to eg. a low min. setting level (too often docs prescribe machine defaults of 4 and 20 without realizing the machines won't catch up to (or intercede future apneas) in time if they occur at higher levels so you go on feeling lousy and not understanding why. Terrible stuff and rampant. The doctors never bother to learn anything about the machines, masks, etc, and trust DMEs who just want to sell stuff to set you up. ANYhow, can you download Sleepyhead and we can see what's going on?

Also go the your profile and fill out your machine's name/model, mask, and settings (and when asked, please use text vs icons).

Come back to this thread so we can keep track of all for you. I don't believe it should take anything like that long to feel better.

And unfortunately Mesenteria (a newbie too) is wrong about 02 sats.

Sadman wrote: ↑

Fri May 04, 2018 7:36 pm

Thanks everyone. So you don't think it has anything to do with my mouth being open while I sleep? Could a full face mask make a difference?

Has anyone here been diagnosed with what I have and not felt better? Has anyone here experienced the ED and brain fog in tandem?

Both of those symptoms are well documented in hypogonadism (low testosterone). Just throwing an idea out there, and you may very well have already been tested.

Good luck in your search.

In order to get my FF to work properly, I have to wear it quite tight and use a C-Collar to keep me from opening my mouth too far. My fat, pudgy face is in-between a small and a medium, so getting to just the right place on my face and keeping it near there is critical to getting a leak free experience.

Sadman wrote: ↑

Fri May 04, 2018 7:36 pm

Thanks everyone. So you don't think it has anything to do with my mouth being open while I sleep? Could a full face mask make a difference?

Has anyone here been diagnosed with what I have and not felt better? Has anyone here experienced the ED and brain fog in tandem?

If you were mouth breathing while using a nasal only mask, then the air would have escaped easily from your mouth, and not really had a chance to do its job.

Do you still have the machine? If so, tell us what it is. If it has data, you can see it with free software, and we can look at the graphs and data and see if it was ever producing therapeutic results for you or not. A lot of times, the settings need to be adjusted once you are sleeping at home. Both for therapy and comfort.