Sleep Report -Still Tired

What does my report REALLY mean exactly? I mean, I see the hyponeas, and the leak rate, etc., but what is it really saying? I look at mine everyday (usually) but I am not sure what it is telling me. When I started CPAP about 20 days ago I was severely fatigued everyday and I am still pretty tired each day even though my numbers seem decent. Do I need more sleep at night? I am usually getting about 6-7 hr of actual sleep.

I check my Encore Reports every day, but I can't put my eggs all in one basket. Your right, it's about 'how you feel'. That's the greatest indicator. I can pretty much guess my Encore Report before I get out of bed. Muscles feel refreshed...

Tricky part, sleep deficit. It takes us all different lengths of time to recover, and dealing with setbacks. Cpap Therapy not working, sick like a sinus infection or flu.

My EDS (excessive daytime sleepiness) became really severe yet my Encore Reports looked OK. I had a Sleep Study, 24 apnea within first hour, eight of which were centrals. So, you can slip into tiredness and may not be aware of it and allow yourself to rely on the Reports to tell you how you feel...

If anything, the Reports are great for solving leak problems but it doesn't say it all

Good luck,

Mark aka SG

The LED and reports help you maximize CPAP therapy which for some is damnably difficult. When the report says leaks are under control and events are in the minimal range and enough time has been spent getting enough and restful sleep, it's time to look at other factors identified in your sleep study. If restful sleep still isn't gained after the numbers look good and several months have gone by, it's time to evaluate carefully to determine what other factors might be preventing restful sleep.

So, for many the path is diagnosis -- titration -- mask -- leaks -- optimize -- restful sleep -- symptoms? -- what else in PSG might be preventing or slowing recovery, identify & resolve each as much as possible. Sleep apnea is only part of the whole sleep disturbed breathing arena and many seem to have more than simple obstructive sleep apnea.

PS My sleep doc and cardio both said that some people go for 12 months before CPAP bennies kick in, be glad you're not one of those folks!

Some observations.... 20 days in is still very early on, especially since some of that time was spent getting adjusted, dealing with masks issues, etc. So you haven't actually had 20 days of effective treatment. As to time asleep, are you waking up naturally or on a schedule by alarm? There are some people out there who are fine on 6-7 hours sleep, but it seems a bit short to me. Of course this is just based on my personal experience, but I think one who is suffering from long term effects of sleep apnea needs not only 100% of their needed maintenance sleep, but also an extra portion for recovery for a while. Based on a prior post, do you have any sense of if your limb (leg) movements reported in your diagnostic study have resolved? If your treatment appears to be therapeutic and you get adequate hours of sleep consistently and still feel tired, you may want to make sure the limb movements aren't still a problem. Were there any on your titration report?

Hope you start feeling less tired soon.

Kathy

I've had my machine for about a week and I'm feeling a little clueless. I've been reading this forum, but this is my first post. What do you mean that you can check your numbers every day? That would be so helpful! I'm scared to touch the buttons! I found the card in my machine's box, but I don't know what to do with it! I have a ResMed s8 series II, Autoset II, Elite II, but I have no idea what that means! I have a ResMed Swift LT for Her (nasal pillows), but I don't feel like I'm getting enough air. I went in to talk to a tech and they told me it starts ramping at 4. Some posters here say that's too low for them. I'm not sure, but it might be my (sometimes) stuffy nose. I (timidly) asked if I should try a different mask. They talked me out of it. This one is comfortable except for that. They also said I would know if anything needs adjustment, but I don't! I'm still having some a.m. headaches, too. Oh, and they said my OSA is severe. Could you guys give me some direction on what to do and ask? Thanks so much!

paulak wrote:.. I've had my machine for about a week and I'm feeling a little clueless. I've been reading this forum, but this is my first post. ...

Welcome! You might want to create a new post rather than just this reply. It will help folks pay better attention to your request for help.

paulak wrote:.. What do you mean that you can check your numbers every day? That would be so helpful! ...

On your machine you should be presented the information. You can either press the buttons to get the menu or you can pull the data (off the machine via the memory/smart card) and load it into you computer.

paulak wrote:.. I'm scared to touch the buttons! ...

Read the manual. Read here. It can be daunting. That's normal. Fortunately, it won't bite. It's designed to not change or break when you press the buttons. So you won't hurt anything.

paulak wrote:.. I found the card in my machine's box, but I don't know what to do with it! ...

Well, the card stores the information the machine notices about your sleeping (when you sleep, when you have an apnea, when you have a hypopnea. The Respironics machines also note when you snore and other issues. They also note the amount of air leaking around the mask (or nasal pillows). When you insert the card into the reader on your computer software can read the data and show you some graphs. They show when and if you had problems.

paulak wrote:.. I have a ResMed s8 series II, Autoset II, Elite II, but I have no idea what that means! ...

You can update your user provife to include the equipment you use. Click on the "User Control Panel" up above to the left. It's on the second tab and is one of the items down in the list. It will make it easier for people to see what you use.

paulak wrote:.. I have a ResMed Swift LT for Her (nasal pillows), but I don't feel like I'm getting enough air. ...

Well, nasal pillows can push a LOT of air. So, if you feel as if you are not getting enough air, it's because your pressure setting is low.

paulak wrote:.. I went in to talk to a tech and they told me it starts ramping at 4. Some posters here say that's too low for them. ...

Yup. Starting to ramp at 4 is really low. You might ask them to up it to six or so. That makes it easier for most of us.

paulak wrote:.. I'm not sure, but it might be my (sometimes) stuffy nose. I (timidly) asked if I should try a different mask. They talked me out of it. This one is comfortable except for that. ...

Well, the stuffy nose might also make you feel as if you can not get enough air. The increased pressure from CPAP tends to make the nose get pretty stuffy. A heated humidifier helps. Humid air tends to keep the nose from getting too stuffy and/or dry. Odd but both can occur with the continuous pressure. If you don't have a heated humidifier, you may need to ask your doctor for a prescription for one.

More than likely the low pressure is the major problem for you. You can try to use your machine without the ramp feature. If that works, then just use the machine at normal pressure. That might help.

paulak wrote:.. They also said I would know if anything needs adjustment, but I don't! ...

Sure, I will know when my car needs adjustment. I will just know it. Give me a break. That's why I take my car to a mechanic to get some help to figure out what I need. You really should push them to help you. You (and your insurance company) are paying them. Don't let them shirk their responsibility to you.

paulak wrote:.. I'm still having some a.m. headaches, too. Oh, and they said my OSA is severe. Could you guys give me some direction on what to do and ask? Thanks so much! ...

Well some morning headaches can be normal. But if it's about the same as before, you may need to go back to your doctor.

Anway, Hope others can add their 2 cents. Welcome here!