Enough Pressure?

[FLJim0121]

I've been through my 2nd night on CPAP and while I do feel a little more alert and refreshed, it's nothing compared to the day after I had my 2nd sleep study where I slept using CPAP (I use a Mirage Swift nasal pillow and a ResMed S8 Elite CPAP).

Two things I'm wondering about though:

1) Is the CPAP using enough pressure (between 4 cm & 8 cm) and how do I know if this is enough pressure?

2) For my 2nd sleep study, my sleep doc had me take 1 Ambien tablet right at bedtime. Could this have been why I felt so great that next day in using both the Ambien pill and CPAP? Do you think there's any harm in taking 1/2 of an Advil PM tablet at bedtime as well?

I love this forum all of the advice I've read on here!

Thanks.

[Slinky]

Have you taken Advil PM before? Did it leave you somewhat "foggy" in the AM when you got up? I believe the PM in Advil PM is the same active ingredient as Benadryl. I know it is in the Tylenol PM.

[FLJim0121]

I've done this in the past where I've literally cut a pill in half and I felt ok the next day. However, the sleep doc told me that sleeping pills are a no-no for people with OSA because the medication relaxes the neck muscles, making the OSA that much worse.

But I'm wondering that since I'm now on CPAP if using such a small dose early on would harm anything.

[oldgearhead]

For my 2nd sleep study, my sleep doc had me take 1 Ambien tablet right at bedtime

However, the sleep doc told me that sleeping pills are a no-no for people with OSA because the medication relaxes the neck muscles, making the OSA that much worse.

Rather contradictory don't you think?

Anyone else heard about the relaxed neck muscles?

Pressure - Your minimum pressure is too low for both me and my full-face mask. I would try 7 minimum and 12 maximum..However, I'm not a medical professional..etc..etc.

[Guest]

Not really, if you think about it. They need you to SLEEP during a sleep and titration study. This is not the only sleep lab I've read about who have encouraged taking a sleeping pill during their overnight studies. And let's face it, it is in their best interest (the sleep profession's) if you DO encounter apneas and hypopneas during a sleep or titration study so if a sleep med increases the odds of those events happening, so much the better! They are monitoring you to prevent your dying from them during the study. Ah, such a cynic unrestful sleep has made me. *sigh* Where ARE my rose-colored glasses? I had them here somewhere.

[snoregirl]

On your first question -- is 4 to 8 enough

Hard to tell unless you get data off your machine. I am not good with the level of data the ResMed machines provide but I think there is enough there if you can get it read. I understand that getting the Resmed software now is a challenge. DME might be able to read the data and give you reports.

Maybe someone with Resmed will comment futher.

Also, with that machine it is a straight CPAP I believe and the 4 is only ramp. Again comments?

[DreamStalker]

I think Snoregirl is correct. Your machine is an Elite and therefore only capable of being set to single CPAP pressure ... most likely 8 cm.

The 4 cm. value is likely the the starting ramp pressure. Often, a lower ramping pressure is set to allow the patient to become used to breathing under pressure. It starts out with pressure of 4 cm and gradually builds up to pressure of 8 cm over a period of time also set on your machine (10 to 15 minutes). A ramp setting of 4 is a bit low and may produce a feeling of air starvation depending upon the patient and the mask (interface) he/she is using.

I'm no doctor and I'm pretty certain that no one would let me play one on TV ... but if it helps you to adjust to go to sleep all hosed up, I don't see the harm in it ... although I would recomend that you wean yourself off any drug you do not absolutely need.

If you fill out your profile with mask information etc ... others can help you get thru the xPAP orientation process.

Best of luck and not give up!

[Vader]

However, the sleep doc told me that sleeping pills are a no-no for people with OSA because the medication relaxes the neck muscles, making the OSA that much worse.

Does he mean "throat" muscles?

[FLJim0121]

Oops, I did mean throat muscles.

Thanks for all of your help!!!

[krousseau]

The sleep docs where I had my study said the non narcotic and non benzodiazepine sleep meds were not a problem in sleep apnea. Some medications given for sleep & anxiety have muscle relaxation as a side effect. Ambien is not much of a muscle relaxant-though you probably would sleep more deeply. Look at your own response to any medication. Look at your AHI when taking sleep medications. For me--my numbers are the same or a little BETTER when I take Ambien and have had a number of "zero nights" on Ambien. Just make sure you have yourself hooked up to CPAP if you take it.

[cwsanfor]

I've been using 5 mg Ambien and a Benadryl nightly for a couple of months, and regularly get an AHI of 0.3 or less. I'm going to eliminate the Ambien soon, as a test, but I'll be suprised if I get much lower AHI's. My titration was AHI 89.