Anxiety with 2nd Sleep Study

I attempted to have my second sleep study last night to fit me for a CPAP machine...It didn't go well at all...I kept trying to talk myself into being able to do it, and they did find a mask that felt pretty comfortable to me (as opposed to the nasal and full mask)...I did have some nasal congestion which was making it (sort of) hard to breathe in and out through my nose...But I got used to it and fell asleep...An hour later I bolted up in bed choking tearing the mask off my face...I put it back on, but I was so freaked out that I couldn't do it...The respiratory therapist said that with all the congestion I had, it wasn't really a good night to proceed...

My problem is that I have always been congested, and I don't know when that will stop! I'm afraid that with all of my anxiety, I won't be able to make it through the night in the sleep lab...Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can make myself more comfortable, and be able to make it through the night to be tested? My Dr. told me that CPAP is pretty much the only option I have due to the severity of the apnea...So I really want this to work! Any help would be appreciated...

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I sometimes wonder why I have a nose. All it seems to do is block the air from getting into my lungs

Last night I was hit hard with nasal congestion - was struggling to breath out (in didn't seem to much of a problem).

Anyway - when I went for 2nd sleepover (fit out) I was really anxious about it & could hardly breathe by the time it came to go to sleep. They tried a large mask & then settled on giving me a nasal spray & that did allow me to get air & then sleep (well sleep is rarely a useful word in regard to clinic nights )

Hang in there, it will come right. Remember you are into this to insure a much greater quality of life than you will get without CPAP success. But we all have to work on getting it as right as we can.

I doubt that many of us have wonderful nights every night since being on CPAP but, the good feelings in the days generally greatly outweigh the efforts we put in to get best comfort.

Cheers

DSM

Hi Kyla,

I had the same problem. On my second sleep study I was so anxious, I couldn't fall asleep well enough for them to titrate me for a CPAP.

My sleep doc recommended an APAP machine instead of a CPAP. The APAP will find the pressure you need to be titrated at as it works within a wide range of pressures which your doc can prescribe.

The APAP is a great machine for people who aren't sure exactly what their optimum pressure should be.

Tell your doc you want an APAP.

Best of luck to you.
SnoreNoMore2005

First sleep study, just wired up, maybe slept an hour. The room was hot, it had a tiny tv without remote, and they wanted me to go to sleep at 9 pm. Heck, never did that in my life. Second sleep study, they tried different masks, slept a little here and there but we settled on one that was only mildly uncomfortable. Then somebody prescribed an autopap with a wide range of pressures, probably because they didn't really know any better. For some reason I went back a third time, brought my new machine and mask with me because I understood they were going to see how I was doing with it. Turns out they had to use their inhouse machine and mask. About midnite I ripped off all the wires and went home.

To make a long story short, with the help of this site I have it all under control and look forward to going to my bedroom at night, I used to call it the torture chamber. Get the best darn machine available with monitoring software. Then find yourself a comfortable mask that doesn't leak, and follow the many tips available on this site. Sleeping with a machine and mask is just not natural and it just takes time to get used to it. Tough it out and you'll get there. We all do eventually. Took me 4 or 5 months.

The heck with the sleep study. You already know you have OSA. Save yourself the stress and get an apap. Your needs will change based on your sleep position, stuffiness, etc. An apap, the software to go with it, a heated humidifier (does wonders for the congestion) and a mask you can live with will, with a little tweaking, treat your disease. My Dr. (a GP, I fired my sleep doc 8 years ago) insisted I have another sleep study after 9 years, which I did. They did a split study and guess what.....I still have severe OSA after all these years. What a surprise. The other non surprise was that my APAP gets better results than they were able to on my sleep study. It's just different sleeping there. If your Dr. insists on another study and won't give you a prescription for cpap, try to get a home study done. At least you get to sleep in your own bed. For titration purposes they usually put a loaner APAP in your home and read the info out after yiou have used it for a while. As far as the congestion, I was stuffed up on and off CPAP until last year when I got a heated humidifier. Since then I have not had a single bad congestion day, and there has not been a single night I was too stuffed up to use my machine. I personally use a ResMed Activa and love it, rotating it with a Breeze, which is also very comfortable, but everyone is different, and what works well for me might be uncomfortable for you. I wish you restful sleep. Don't let them push you around. Decide what is the best route for you and be firm. My best wishes to you!

You might ask them if they can use a full face mask on you. That way during the times you have trouble breathing through your nose you can breathe through your mouth.

Also, one of the labs I went to was not very good (I've had 4 studies done), the technicians were jacking up the pressure so high that I literally couldn't breathe and my lips were just flapping and making noises. The pressure was so strong I couldn't hold my lips shut. I went through this torture all night and finally 10 minutes before the study was over I told them that was it, no more. They put on the results that the patient didn't complete the study, not to mention that they also said I didn't have apnea. Just about anyone should be able to make it through their first study if they have a good lab. There are many start-ups that don't have a clue what they are doing. Took me three labs before I was accurately diagnosed.

I was later found to have moderate apnea at two othe labs, and have been sleeping fairly peacefully ever since.

Good points, nodding off. And two of my favorite masks!

jdacal had a good suggestion:

You might ask them if they can use a full face mask on you. That way during the times you have trouble breathing through your nose you can breathe through your mouth.

Kyla,

I think you may need to try a few exercises to get used to breathing into a confined space (mask) - it can be very scary.

When I was younger I learned to Scuba dive & that took time & fighting the fear that water might get into my mouth. I persevered & believe it is helping now, many years later, with CPAP masks.

There is a techniques you might want to try. Get a mask close to what you think is going to be ultimately suitable (full or nasal) and with no straps or hose fitted rest on your bed for at least 30 mins with it on your face. Have some relaxing music on, as you lay breathing think of yourself as when you were a small girl & being looked after by your mother (invent a loving nurturing mother if you didn't have one ) - tell your self that the mask is your nurturing mother who loves you & wants you to do well. It may sound silly but I promise it will help.

Do it as often as you can until you feel you can see that the mask really want to help you even if it doesn't always get it 100% right.

Cheers

Doug

Sinus congestion can make CPAP miserable. I suffered from alergies and sinus congestion for years, as well as asthma. I finally had a good outcome when I figured out what was causing it. (I have never been a fan of taking drugs) I made a few changes to my diet and viola', no more alergies and the dreaded congestion. The first thing I eliminated from my diet was everything dairy, yep, milk and cheese etc. In two weeks, all my alergy symptoms were gone!! That was years ago, I have never even suffered from as much as a cold since then. The only kind of milk I drink now is un-pastureized goats milk, and the same goes for the cheese. Not sure you will have the same outcome, but it sure changed my world....