Is change needed?

[NewToBiPap]

I have been using the machine for a little while now and I know in the beginning I felt like a new man after sleeping a full night with the machine. My concern now is that thrill is gone and its just sleep. I know you get use to it and I'm still having better sleep but how do you get that old thing back? My AHI is usually pretty low too, last night it was 0.265. The pressure feels different as if its not as strong as it was before and I assume its because I have become accustomed to it.

[herefishy]

You could download the SleepyHead software and use the card in your machine to provide you with statistics related to your sleep - might be something we could help you with.

[ChicagoGranny]

My AHI is usually pretty low too, last night it was 0.265.

What is the leak level?

How many hours do you sleep? How many times do you think you awaken?

that thrill is gone

Are you practicing this:

- Practice good sleep hygiene (Google it and read several sources)
- Eat a good diet
- Have a regular, moderate exercise program
- 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 well, make sure you have regular wellness visits to confirm there are no other medical problems.

?

[Sticky Fingers]

NewToBiPap wrote:
that thrill is gone

Some people just lead a shitty life. CPAP won't fix that.

[NewToBiPap]

NewToBiPap wrote:
that thrill is gone

Some people just lead a shitty life. CPAP won't fix that.

Was that comment necessary?

[Pugsy]

Seems like for some people the honeymoon gets over and they settle in to what they think is "not as good as when we first started therapy" and I don't know why unless it's because the good has become the new norm where when first starting therapy the norm precpap wasn't so nice. There's a bigger difference between bad and good when we first started therapy and now the "good" as become the new norm we don't perceive it as "good" as we first thought. That's why we wonder if the honeymoon is over. You aren't the first to mention this.

Of course you might check your data to make sure nothing stands out as needing improvement but I wouldn't go changing things unless I saw something that I wanted to try to improve upon.
Look at hours of sleep too...sometimes we forget to compare that to when we first started therapy.
It's more than just AHI...it's a combination of hours of sleep, quality of sleep, leak, etc.

[archangle]

After a while, you tend to not feel the pressure any more.

As for the thrill, ideally, CPAP will make you as good as a normal person without apnea or CPAP. The thrill would be the thrill a normal person feels in their normal life.

[Sticky Fingers]

Was that comment necessary?

It was not necessary, but maybe it you will find it useful to review what else is going on in your life. CPAP is not a "cure-all".

ChicagoGranny's list is a good place to start a review.

[PoolQ]

Was that comment necessary?

It was not necessary, but maybe it you will find it useful to review what else is going on in your life. CPAP is not a "cure-all".

ChicagoGranny's list is a good place to start a review.

The thrill of the first several days has gone for me also and as for the rest of my life, well not much has changed in 3 weeks so the "thrill time" has the same background as I have now. In other words what is going on in the rest of my life has nothing to do with the conversation at all. But thanks for the concern anyway.

[ChicagoGranny]

The thrill of the first several days has gone for me also

The first few days could have been placebo effect.

Is your CPAP therapy optimized?

[PoolQ]

Chicago Granny,
Hello there, born in Chicago many years ago. Optimized, no-still working on it. My numbers are good, not great, but good. Having problems with feelings of congestion. Adjusting humidity and EPR right now. It's only been two weeks and I have gone from 1-2 hours sleep a night to 6-8 hours, so those first few days were fantastic! When I get the comfort things worked out, I will work with the Dr to get the apnea's under more control to fine tune my treatment.

Similar to the OP I have not given up on being able to start the morning rested and with happy energy. I had no idea that adjusting to having a mask strapped to my face, blowing air into my nose would be so challenging. My brain has interpreted this as congestion, suffocating, choking and I am trying to retrain myself to change this reaction into adjust humidity, adjust EPR, adjust the mask fit, adjust smart start and who knows what else when it's all said and done.
I love the data from happy sleep and track it more than I should. The first two numbers are from the sleep study, no mask for 1/2 hour and with CPAP for 2 hours. I would sure like that 0.8 back again

AHI 32 13 14.5 8.1 4.2 0.8 3.4 8.7 7.1 7.4 3.5 9.1 3.5 5 3.7 2.0 4.4 5.7

[ChicagoGranny]

I will work with the Dr to get the apnea's under more control to fine tune my treatment.

[ChicagoGranny]

I will work with the Dr to get the apnea's under more control to fine tune my treatment.

Seriously, it's very rare to find a doctor who has the time, patience or skill to help a patient fine tune his therapy. This is why this forum is so popular. Start a new thread and state what issues you are having.

[PoolQ]

Will do, so far my doc has been fine and responded well to my aggressive pushing of him and his staff
This therapy will work and no admin or Dr will stand in my way, period.
So far I have been able to get an after hours appointment with the DME the same day the prescription was sent to them, including approval by insurance that they had said would take 7-10 days. Walked in at 5pm and walked out at 5:40 with my machine.