Still having apnea episodes even on cpap?

I am really struggling with my CPap treatment. My smart card report in April, on the Hybrid mask, showed no improvement in the apnea incidents. My doctor suggested another mask. For the last three months I've used the Ultra Mirage FF mask. I went to see him today to discover I still have the same lack of success. I've been very compliant with the cpap each night so I'm very discouraged. I'm going to have another sleep study next week. He thought maybe the pressure was too low or too high. He seemed to have no idea what was causing the problem. Any ideas???

WELCOME!! Sounds like you've come to the right place.

It could be a lot of things, but without more info we would be guessing as much as it sounds like your doctor is.

What machine are you using? What is the pressure? are you using c-flex/a=flex/epr? Did the doctor give you copies of any of the data he was looking at?

If you create an account you can set your profile at the top under user control panel, including your equipment and it will display at the bottom of your posts. That will help us help you get this figured out. Also, contact your doctor or DME and ask them for copies of your previous sleep studies and the data your doctor is looking at from your past months of usage. We can help you interpret what you are seeing once you have them.

Hi,

Something sounds amiss here. Either your doctor doesn't know much about this field, or you two are not communicating very well. What should happen is that you do a titration study. This is where they run you at different pressures during the night and collect lots of data. The data from the titration will show what pressure level you need for an effective treatment. Then a DME sets up a machine for you with those parameters, and then you should sleep better.

Put another way, using a CPAP machine at the wrong pressure is about the same as not using one at all. If you don't get the pressure that you need to "stent" open your airway, you will still have events (assuming that is what your problem is in the first place).

If the process that is suggested is anything other that what I suggest above, then you might be better suited to shop around for another doctor. Getting effective treatment is a life and death type of thing, and you cannot afford to be passive about it.

-john-

INSIST ON ANOTHER SLEEP STUDY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of variables IME as PAP equipment alone doesn't solve all problems all the time. Getting the right pressure is important but even then it isn't always the right pressure every night for every hour of sleep. For me it's a bit of a moving target but I do know the pressure that "helps" most of the time (hard to eliminate all apnea events 100% of the time, some nights AH's are very low).

Mask leaks, weight, BMI, body type, sleep patterns, foods, drinks, medications should also be considered and can be laborious to pin down beyond PAP therapies influence.

Are you sleeping on your back at all and for how much of your time in bed? For me at least, when sleeping on my back (back of my neck on pillow) this allows my airway to collapse more than my "normal" pressure can counter act, and is key to my having many more events and sky rocketing AHI numbers and so feeling more tired. Is your airway closing in any other sleep position or due to your pillow? I'm trying different things to keep me off my back during the night and some nights are better than others.

PAP therapy / equipment to me is just one piece of a very complex puzzle and we're all so very different. What works for some of us, doesn't work for some of us. Good luck with your detective work. Let us know if you figure out some things that help you.

judyhorowitz@aol.com wrote:...Any ideas???

What AHI in your sleep study? Any centrals? Respiratory arousals? Sleep architecure PK? Average AHIs with Hybrid and with the other FFM? Sleep on back? xPAP pressure settings and what machine? Please register and complete your equipment profile using "text" instead of "icons" to get appropriate suggestions and oh yes...WELCOME ABOARD! You've come to the right place for education and to ask questions.

I think I updated my profile. Seem to be having difficulty with the user name.

Been on the cpap machine faithfully 8 hour per night for 4 months...still NO improvement...as many as 59 apneas per night...I am exhausted, dizzy, starving, dehydrated, and the room spins all day long...cannot think straight...oxygen level drops big time...creates a hunger hormone gherlin...which causes me to eat much and gain weight...so discouraged...so upset...sleep deprivation is ruining my life.

Judy - what are your pressure settings - we ask these things because they matter and we'd like to help you.

Donna - You need more help I think than we're in a position to provide, but in any case please start your own thread - don't hijack someone else's. If you'd provide some info - like what specific machine, mask and pressure settings you have it would help a lot. Do you use soffware to monitor your overnight sleep? Give us more info!

Julie wrote:Judy - what are your pressure settings - we ask these things because they matter and we'd like to help you.

Donna - You need more help I think than we're in a position to provide, but in any case please start your own thread - don't hijack someone else's. If you'd provide some info - like what specific machine, mask and pressure settings you have it would help a lot. Do you use soffware to monitor your overnight sleep? Give us more info!

Judy...8 years ago