New Addition to the Forum

[MidnightProwler]

Hi Everyone!

It is great to find this forum and all the knowledgeable and helpful people! There may be hope for me yet!

I've been lurking for a bit, but here is how I got here. Last summer, I finally went to a sleep doctor and was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea (AHI about 30 as determined from home sleep tests. Insurance doesn't pay for overnight studies.). I tried an oral appliance for several months, at various increasing setting, and it didn't help much (but it did distend my lower jaw to the point it wouldn't reset during the day). So, after resisting, I took the plunge about 3 weeks ago.

As an aside, I find the whole process with the sleep doctor disheartening. I was given a machine, the DME specialist went over the equipment quickly, have any questions? and bang ... see you in two months! (Wish I had the foresight to find this site beforehand, my bad.)

Besides getting used to the mask and device, I've mainly been trying to figure out how to sleep while minimize leaks (They wake me up.). The DME started me on a small cushion, but I think a medium works better ... if I sleep on my back. If I sleep on my side (which I prefer), I find that I adjust my head while sleeping in a way that changes the tension on the mask straps, leading to leaks which wake me up. AHI's have dropped to circa 20, so that is a good sign.

I was thinking of switching to nasal pillows and a chin strap (I snore). I gather chin straps don't work?!

I have SleepHead, and am reading the forum to understand and use it.

So much to learn! Thank you all.

[chunkyfrog]

Welcome to the party.
Sadly, "they" usually get to us before we find this place.
Just the way it is.

[LSAT]

They gave you a fixed pressure machine..Some people starting out and adjusting to the machine do better with an autoset model. You might ask if they will exchange it....You haven't said what your pressure setting is, but if your AHI is 20 it may need an increase.

[babydinosnoreless]

Hi, welcome. I just wanted to say I love the picture of your furbaby !

[zonker]

I was thinking of switching to nasal pillows and a chin strap (I snore). I gather chin straps don't work?!

I have SleepHead, and am reading the forum to understand and use it.

So much to learn! Thank you all.

welcome to the forum! some here swear by chin straps while many more swear AT them.

here is what i use with my P10 nasal pillow mask-

viewtopic/p1089718/viewtopic.php?f=1&t= ... s#p1086296

i've modified it a bit to reinforce due to my stubborn yap opening up. i use scuncis in conjunction with a foam cervical collar. no leaks, no snoring and ahi went down with it.

it works for me and hopefully, it can work for you.

good luck!

[MidnightProwler]

Thanks, and sorry about the lack of pressure settings. It's on the 30 day A-Trial setting (one of the many things not explained to me) with min of 4 and max of 15. I wasn't sure if that's the right number to put in the Profile.

I've had some very good physicians. But, in hindsight, the less then 15 mins per consultation should have been a tip-off. Good thing I did find this place, but the amount of information is intimidating! One day at a time.

@Cynmatthes Your avatar is so cute! Double trouble!

@zonker Thank you! I'll check it out. I already have a foam cervical collar, so knock on wood!

[MidnightProwler]

Hi Again,

Hopefully this SH grab is formatted correctly. Any thoughts on how I should proceed? I was thinking of upping the minimum pressure. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

SH 2-3-2019.png

[Jas_williams]

I would raise the minimum pressure to 9

[palerider]

I would raise the minimum pressure to 9

May need more than that, but 9 for now...

[MidnightProwler]

Thank you both!

[MidnightProwler]

Hello again,

I'm not doing as well as I had hoped and am back seeking more advice. Specifically, what pressure should I manually set my CPAP machine to?

To continue the story above, I've switched to a nasal pillow (+cervical brace) from a full face mask and that has helped reduce leaks as roll over from one side to another. Before I got up the nerve to adjust the minimum pressure to 9 as recommended above, the machine ended its 30-day A-Trial and selected 10.5. This pressure, generally, seems better than during the A-Trial mode, but nights are still bad (last 3 days of SH posted below). Maybe this isn't the right question, but would going to 11.5 for a few days be too rapid an increase? I'm frustrated that I'm not making progress faster, so I'd appreciate any advice!

Thank you

P.S. -- I've tried to make it a habit of turning off the machine if I wake up to provide a marker.

DS 2-18-2019.png

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DS 2-19-2019.png

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DS 2-20-2019.png

[Pugsy]

Any chance you could turn Flex off for one night and be able to sleep with it off?

[MidnightProwler]

I manually hit the ramp button just to make it easier to fall asleep; however, I think that I've been doing this long enough that I won't have problem falling asleep. At this point, I'm willing to try anything!

Thank you!

EDIT: Oh, you mean Respironics Flex (C-Flex+). I'll turn that off as well!

[Pugsy]

I am just wondering if turning off Flex will make any difference in the centrals/CAs or not.
I have my doubts but there is a slim outside chance it might. Worth trying.

[MidnightProwler]

Gotcha. Sorry for being a newb and misunderstanding you at first. I did some searches and think I understand.

Thank you!