Need help with CPAP Stats

[lilly747]

I haven't looked for that "tell" so I'm not sure I can answer. I'm at work and can't view the URL I posted earlier that shows a day or two of my stats.

I just looked and I can not tell for sure....you will need to zoom in on the flow chart to see for sure. You need to be able to see each individual breath.

[tazmania]

I haven't looked for that "tell" so I'm not sure I can answer. I'm at work and can't view the URL I posted earlier that shows a day or two of my stats.

I just looked and I can not tell for sure....you will need to zoom in on the flow chart to see for sure. You need to be able to see each individual breath.

Ah. I've never tried to zoom. I'll check that out tonight.

[tazmania]

I had a pretty bad sleep experience this weekend.

On Friday night I stayed up later than I normally would during the week. This is what I do every weekend and I pay the price. Knowing I'm probably going to have my internal clock wake me around 5am regardless of when I go to bed I still make bad choices to stay up late.

Went to bed at about 11:45 and yep like usual woke up at 5:10am.

I didn't panic because I knew I could always do better the next night.

So I on Saturday I made a wise choice to go to bed before 10:30. My wife stayed up. I woke up at midnight, she hadn't come to bed yet, went back to sleep. Woke up at 2:10am, wife still hadn't come to bed (hiding Easter eggs). She came up at 2:15 am. I wasn't able to get back to sleep after that. I tried to for a half hour with the CPAP. Tried for another half hour without it. Grrrr. Sat up for 1.5 hours reading hoping that would help. Tried to sleep for 45 minutes. Nope. Got frustrated and just got up for the day. Felt like crap the WHOLE day. Missed the family trip for Easter. Ended up having to take a nap for an hour or so just so I could survive.

Last night went to bed at 9:15. Awoke at 4ish. Rolled over, keeping the mask on. Woke up at 4:55 when my alarm went off. Hit snooze 4 times napping inbetween. Got up at 5:35.

I feel hungover today. Headache. Still a bit dizzy but not dizzy like yesterday.

So lesson learned regarding Friday night. No more late nights.

As far as Saturday night ... I have no idea and am now suddenly a little bothered that I wasn't able to get back to sleep.

[tazmania]

I'm hopeful today is a different day than the last few.

Since my struggles over the weekend sleeping over the course of the last 3 days I developed a pretty bad headache. It's been tough just getting through the day. Pain relievers worked for a little while (maybe an hour) and then the headache came back.

I had 3 good nights sleep in a row which has me concerned that there is something else wrong that I'm developing headaches.

Again hopeful today is different.

Checked my stats last night for the last week or so. From what I know of the stats they look really good. They are no different, maybe even better, than the stats I've shared with everyone here. Very few events, a very low AHI, etc.

One thing I noticed is the max pressure of 11.5 is frequently flat-lined (flat mountain peaks) throughout the night for brief periods (half hour or so). So last night I upped my Max pressure to 12. I'll check again a few days to see if those flats disappear.

Robysue, I've had some success being able to keep the mask on even when I wake at my normal 3 or 4am time. This P10 mask seems to stay in place quite nicely when I roll over on my side. I didn't think that would be the case seeing the straps aren't as taught as my prior headgear.

My next step is to stop looking at the clock when I wake up. To insure I'm not concerned about waking up for work the next day I'm going to get a new alarm clock. The one I have has been acting strange for a long time and I'm quite certain that's a reasons I look at the time. I need an alarm that I can be confident in.

[tazmania]

Robysue,

I just wanted to give a shout out to you to thank you for all the great advice.

The last 3 nights I've had some great success in getting back to sleep after waking several times throughout the night. I'm not sure why I'm waking, nothing stands out on the stats, so I'm not concerned. The key is I'm able to fall back to sleep within a few minutes or so.

The last 3 nights I've literally extended my sleep so that I'm in bed sleeping for the most part for nearly 8 hours. That hasn't happened in years!!!!. Pretty excited about that. I hope it becomes the norm.

Only thing I'm worried about is that for the last week or so I continue to fight with these headaches. I still haven't determined the source of them yet. They aren't there necessarily when I wake but steadily get stronger as the day rolls on. Taking Advil to kill the pain.

[tazmania]

Hello guys,

I wanted to get some advice. I've been doing great with my PAP therapy for many months thanks to everyone here.

However lately I am experiencing some of the same issues I had when I first came here. Dry mouth, large leak % went from 1% to 5% recently and a near empty humidifier each night. I'm quite certain it is due to mouth breathing again. Which tells me the soft cervical collar I'm using is no longer being effective. I realize these collars or at least the one I have are really nothing more than a firm foam. So they must have a fairly short lifespan. I've had this one since March of this year.

To me the collar feels less firm than it used to ... if I'm remember correctly. Is it pretty common to have to replace these and is 6 months about one would expect for them to last?

[Julie]

I'm not sure it's relevant what other people experience... if yours is no longer working for you, then replace it, or discuss with the pharmacist if it's normal that the material degrades over time. If you have gained weight though, you might consider a different size or thickness or even material.

[tazmania]

I've actually dropped 10 pounds. I doubt that's the reason it is no longer working.

I would like to hear if others have found collars that are fairly durable and last more than 6 months. It could be the one I purchased through Amazon is a cheapy and there may be better ones out there. It's hard to find that information out by looking at the reviews on Amazon ... too many conflicting reviews.

The one I purchased was made by Core Products. It was less than $10 so I have no problem re-upping for another. Just looking for some feedback that may steer me to look for a different brand that would be more resilient.

[palerider]

I've actually dropped 10 pounds. I doubt that's the reason it is no longer working.

maybe you need a bigger one since there may be less chin, or shoulder padding.

[tazmania]

I've actually dropped 10 pounds. I doubt that's the reason it is no longer working.

maybe you need a bigger one since there may be less chin, or shoulder padding.

Possible. I decided to just try another one and this time went with the 3.5" instead of the 3". It'll be here Monday.