Teeth Clenching & CPAP Newbie

[Pugsy]

I downloaded Sleepyhead and used my machine's SD card to retrieve data. How do I insert the screenshot image into my post?

viewtopic/t158560/How-to-post-images-for-review.html

[clenchingtobreathe]

I just read the instructions...thanks! Next time, I'll follow the right steps and discard the pie chart....

[Jas_williams]

Based on your charts I would Raise the minimum pressure to 6 and that should help eliminate some of the Obstructive Apnoea

[clenchingtobreathe]

I can't. RX from sleep DR preset the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

[palerider]

I can't. RX from sleep DR preset the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

Why is it, when knowledgeable people suggest a change, some people first say "I can't" instead of "what? How can I do that?"

Put gently, the rx from your doctor is WRONG, as often happens.

[Stom]

I can't. RX from sleep DR preset the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

This forum has guides on how to access the clinicians menu on your APAP to change the settings. You can change them. The ResMed is really easy to set. I think the question is whether you want to. I, for example, didn't want to change my settings when I was borrowing a machine from Kaiser's titration department, and didn't, because I'm trying to work with them and not ready to bypass them quite yet, but doing so is I something I may have to do to see what really works best for me. I'm still using their settings now that I have my own machine, but I can change them if I want to (well, and I did change the ramp start pressure because it was too low and the ramp time because a long ramp is annoying to me). I think we all have different comfort levels with changing the machine settings. But you can do it.

[Bigtonguehypopnea]

I downloaded Sleepyhead and used my machine's SD card to retrieve data. How do I insert the screenshot image into my post?

There is a pinned post at the top of all the posts called "Pugsy's Pointers". It tells you what info to post so that people can advise you. It also tells you all about Sleepyhead and how to understand the data.

[clenchingtobreathe]

I can't. RX from sleep DR present the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

Why is it, when knowledgeable people suggest a change, some people first say "I can't" instead of "what? How can I do that?"

Wow! As a confessed Newbie, how was I supposed to know that was even possible? My doctor and the medical equipment personnel who I rent the CPAP from have not been forthcoming with information. I called and asked the CPAP rep after Night 1 if I could lower the pressure for a few days as I got accustomed to the machine (I'm very sleep sensitive!) and was told that my CPAP was set according to the DR and couldn't be changed.
After one week's use, I'm not inclined to start making those decisions on my own yet, but I sure am glad you've told me that I can! The more I learn from you all, the more information I will have to confront my doctor about his LACK of providing good information about OSA or the process and obstacles of using CPAP. I never even got a copy of my sleep test results. Was just told I stopped breathing 9 times per hour. He pretty much waved off my concerned questions about use of sleep medications, teeth clenching and fatigue....indicating that CPAP would cure it all. I was given NO HINT by anyone that using the CPAP was a such a continuing effort.....

[clenchingtobreathe]

I downloaded Sleepyhead and used my machine's SD card to retrieve data. How do I insert the screenshot image into my post?

There is a pinned post at the top of all the posts called "Pugsy's Pointers". It tells you what info to post so that people can advise you. It also tells you all about Sleepyhead and how to understand the data.

Thank you! I did find ALL of Pugsy's pointers and have been reading like crazy all weekend! It has been amazingly helpful!!! I feel like I'm test piloting a jet fighter with no cockpit training at all!

[clenchingtobreathe]

I can't. RX from sleep DR preset the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

not ready to bypass them quite yet, but doing so is I something I may have to do to see what really works best for me.

I'm not experienced or educated enough to bypass my DR quite yet either....but by the time I have my first follow-up, I might be hard to handle!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me!

[palerider]

I can't. RX from sleep DR present the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

Why is it, when knowledgeable people suggest a change, some people first say "I can't" instead of "what? How can I do that?"

Wow! As a confessed Newbie, how was I supposed to know that was even possible? My doctor and the medical equipment personnel who I rent the CPAP from have not been forthcoming with information. I called and asked the CPAP rep after Night 1 if I could lower the pressure for a few days as I got accustomed to the machine (I'm very sleep sensitive!) and was told that my CPAP was set according to the DR and couldn't be changed.
After one week's use, I'm not inclined to start making those decisions on my own yet, but I sure am glad you've told me that I can! The more I learn from you all, the more information I will have to confront my doctor about his LACK of providing good information about OSA or the process and obstacles of using CPAP. I never even got a copy of my sleep test results. Was just told I stopped breathing 9 times per hour. He pretty much waved off my concerned questions about use of sleep medications, teeth clenching and fatigue....indicating that CPAP would cure it all. I was given NO HINT by anyone that using the CPAP was a such a continuing effort.....

Sorry, I did not mean to rag on you, though I know it came across that way... I'm often too terse, especially when posting from my phone. Sorry about that.

I honestly wonder what I asked, because it happens over and over... People think "I can't", and defeat themselves... Or at least hinder themselves.

The DME can't *legally* change your settings without doctors orders... But you can...

You're also legally entitled to your test results (at least in the USA, probably other places), demand the full test results, if you have to. Just for your records.

[palerider]

I can't. RX from sleep DR preset the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

not ready to bypass them quite yet, but doing so is I something I may have to do to see what really works best for me.

I'm not experienced or educated enough to bypass my DR quite yet either....but by the time I have my first follow-up, I might be hard to handle!! Thanks for sharing yourg thoughts with me!

Just a tip, put your reply AFTER the [/quote] bit

[clenchingtobreathe]

I can't. RX from sleep DR present the pressures on my CPAP machine. I'm not unhappy with the week's results on AHI....but I'm still clenching my teeth like crazy...

Why is it, when knowledgeable people suggest a change, some people first say "I can't" instead of "what? How can I do that?"

Wow! As a confessed Newbie, how was I supposed to know that was even possible? My doctor and the medical equipment personnel who I rent the CPAP from have not been forthcoming with information. I called and asked the CPAP rep after Night 1 if I could lower the pressure for a few days as I got accustomed to the machine (I'm very sleep sensitive!) and was told that my CPAP was set according to the DR and couldn't be changed.
After one week's use, I'm not inclined to start making those decisions on my own yet, but I sure am glad you've told me that I can! The more I learn from you all, the more information I will have to confront my doctor about his LACK of providing good information about OSA or the process and obstacles of using CPAP. I never even got a copy of my sleep test results. Was just told I stopped breathing 9 times per hour. He pretty much waved off my concerned questions about use of sleep medications, teeth clenching and fatigue....indicating that CPAP would cure it all. I was given NO HINT by anyone that using the CPAP was a such a continuing effort.....

Sorry, I did not mean to rag on you, though I know it came across that way... I'm often too terse, especially when posting from my phone. Sorry about that.

I honestly wonder what I asked, because it happens over and over... People think "I can't", and defeat themselves... Or at least hinder themselves.

The DME can't *legally* change your settings without doctors orders... But you can...

You're also legally entitled to your test results (at least in the USA, probably other places), demand the full test results, if you have to. Just for your records.

No offense taken. Trying desperately to get educated as fast as I can. I'm not a self-defeatist at all....just woefully unprepared for CPAP! I'm going to request my sleep test results tomorrow. Thank you for trying to help!

[Bigtonguehypopnea]

Any clenchers out there who have had success alleviating it with CPAP???

I am a clencher too. (Not a grinder.) I have heard that one possible cause of clenching is trying to open the airway. Never figured out how that worked. CPAP did not make me stop clenching. I do believe I have stopped clenching, though, so I'll tell you my story. It's both a cautionary tale, and a success story...to some degree.

Like you, I injured a front tooth by clenching. Not the tooth, but the nerves around it. When I first did it, it hurt even to touch the tooth lightly with my tongue. The dentist said I just have to let it heal. It took years for the sensitivity to go away completely, but it has.

I could no longer wear any normal night guard. (I had injured my tooth by sleeping without a night guard because it was irritating my gums.)
I found a night guard at Wal-Mart that was just two bite pads and a connector thing to keep you from choking on the bit pads. I took the connector thing off and just kept the bit pads in between my top and bottom back teeth.

Sometimes I perceived that I was clenching sooner and harder with the bite pads than nothing at all. But nothing at all was not an option. Any time I'd sleep without them I'd wake up with searing pain in my injured front tooth.

I went to the dentist after a few years of not seeing one for money reasons. He remarked on how strange my bite was. The teeth didn't match up and there was space between the molars when my mouth was closed. I told him about the bite pads and he said I was pushing my teeth into my gums. I was making them shorter. This could make it hard to chew food eventually. I told him my dilemma and he said I should just try to find something with more give, and something that distributes the weight over more teeth.

I tried the Aveo-TSD (Tongue Stabilizing Device) which suctions your tongue so that it stays between your two teeth. But I clenched down so hard on my tongue that it was as sore as my front tooth.

So I started making bite pads out of folded gauze squares from the drug store. I still felt like I'd start clenching as soon as I put them in, like a reflex. But I tested not having anything in my mouth, and my front tooth wasn't ready.

Fast forward a few years and I had some money so I decided to see yet another dentist about my TMJ problem. I explained my mouth-guard criteria to him:
1) It can't touch my front teeth.
2) It can't take up space that my already big tongue needs.
3) Preferably, it advances the lower jaw forward, to help with sleep apnea.

After A LOT of discussion, I ended up trying a device that touched my front teeth, took up tongue-space, and set my jaw back instead of forward. It's amazing that he finally talked me into trying it, but I'm glad I did. It was the turning point for my clenching.

The school of thought he subscribes to is that clenching happens when the bite doesn't match up, so your teeth keep trying to "find each other". They want to nestle in. Your jaw also doesn't relax until it is in it's natural position.

The device he made me sits on your bottom front teeth. The top of it is a flat surface into which he carves a little groove for your front teeth. It doesn't lock them there. It just tells your front teeth where home is. (Home position for your jaw, that is.) When you sleep, your jaw tries to close and your teeth expect to find each other. With this device, your front teeth tap the plastic plate and your jaw reflexively opens again. You'll sort of slow-chatter as your jaw keeps trying to bite down, and finding the only point of contact to be the front tooth. After a while, your jaw will give up. Your front tooth will tend to nestle into the custom made groove which puts the jaw in it's natural position (although slightly opened). Then your jaw relaxes.

Its been about six years since then. I'm not SURE that I've eliminated clenching entirely. But I don't wake up with a sore tooth or tongue from biting or clenching them. I keep that dental device in case I want to try it again. I should be wearing some kind of soft night guard to protect my teeth. But these days, I keep the sides and front of my tongue between my top and bottom teeth and I don't bite too hard on my tongue.

I hope my story helps!

[Bigtonguehypopnea]

EDIT: Medicare wants a usage report after 90 days, not 30. And they have extensions and helps if you're having trouble.

Just in case they forgot to tell you, the insurance (for sure Medicare) is going to want a compliance report after 30 days. They want to see that you're using the machine most of the time, before continuing to pay for it. So stay focused on overcoming all the little challenges with getting comfortable with CPAP. There really are little tips and tricks for just about everything.