Snoring with Cpap

[mrsstats]

I have been on cpap since July. I use it about 1/2 the time I am in bed at night. I take it off when I get up in the middle of the night & never put it back. My husband tells me that I am now snoring even with it on. My presure is set at 14. It ramps up to that. Do you think I need to have another study? Should I be calling the Dr?

[Linda3032]

Please fill out your equipment in your Profile. Once we see what equipment you are using, we can offer suggestions.

I would say that you are probably using a nasal mask, mouth breathing, and snoring because your mouth is open.

I doubt at 14 that your pressure is too low, and doubt that you need a new sleep study.

Do you know why you are removing your mask? Do you know you are removing it at the time or just waking up without it? What are your objections to your mask?

Again, please go into your profile and complete the equipment section.

[Vader]

I have been on cpap since July. I use it about 1/2 the time I am in bed at night. I take it off when I get up in the middle of the night & never put it back. My husband tells me that I am now snoring even with it on. My presure is set at 14. It ramps up to that. Do you think I need to have another study? Should I be calling the Dr?

I was snoring a bit, while wearing a full face mask.
I believe it was due in part to sleeping on my back.
I told my sleep doctor, and he raised my pressure by a couple cm's.
And now, I don't snore anymore even when sleeping on my back.

I seriously doubt that you need another sleep study, but you should discuss this matter with your doctor.

[Linda3032]

To further what Vader said, by all means discuss it with your doctor. However, he probably will be concerned that you are not using your cpap equipment more than you are.

And, if he does bump your pressure up to stop the snoring, then you will be at a pretty high pressure. If that happens, he might have to switch you to a bi-pap. But again, he would probably hesitate to do that unless you are more compliant.

It's a catch 22

[bdp522]

It would be easier to give you answers if you filled in your profile!

Did your sleep study show any central or mixed events? If NOT, then you could try raising your pressure to 15. As Linda said, it may not help if you're not compliant. And if you're mouth breathing, that could be the problem. I would try taping before raising the pressure.
If you post why you feel the need to leave your mask off, we will try to help you with that.

Brenda

[rapo]

Hi...new to forum. I also still snore with my cpap....I dont mouth breath that I know of. Hubby has awoken me several times to turn over so I would get quieter!! I am fairly compliant---don't know what to do about the times that I dont wake up but seem to pull the thing off my head and throw it in the floor or it ends up on my neck or forehead! I wear it every night and try to make it all night long. I dont feel better...have horrible headaches when I get up and still need to sleep or at least wish I could sleep during the day.

I can't put my machine in my profile as it isn't listed but I did list in the comments section. My setting is 9 with a 20 minute ramp

[Jcastle]

rapo Posted: My setting is 9 with a 20 minute ramp

rapo, you try removing the ramp time. If you adjust your mask at the ramp pressure setting, then it may not fit securly at your full pressure setting.

My two cents

Joe

[Linda3032]

Rapo, welcome fellow Arkansan,

You are probably mouth breathing - therefore your therapy is non-existent. Thats why you snore and have headaches.

You can try a full face mask, or mouth tape. Chin straps normally do not work well.

If you don't correct the mouth breathing problem, you might as well not use the cpap (but I'm not recommending that drastic step).

[mrsstats]

Thanks for your imput. I am using a full face mask as the nasal masks were no good since I am a mouth breather.

My sleep study shows the apnea/hypopena index was 58.2 sleep disordered breathing per hour. Mean oxygen was 92%. Low was 66%.

I take the mask off when I get up in the middle of the night to let the dogs out or go to the bathroom. I dont put it back on at that point. Usually because I dont want to be bothered but also when I sleep with the mask with the mask I have to sleep on my right side otherwise the air blows on my DH. And I have neck problems so sleeping on my right side is uncomfortable. So I take off the mask so I can lay on my left side.

[meister]

Switch sides of the bed!! Also, increase your pressure so you can
sleep on your back. Dogs should not have to get up during the night.
Put them in a crate during the night. If your treatment is working,
you should soon have no need to get up to pee.

[bdp522]

You really need to wear the mask whenever you sleep. Put a pillow between you and DH to block the air. Get a aura mask, it vents straight up, and tape your mouth shut. Train the dogs to wake DH when they have to go out. But you need this treatment and you need to keep the mask on! Changing pressure won't work if you don't use it.

Brenda

[rapo]

I cant imagine taping my mouth shut!! I also can't foresee me being willin to use a chin strap.......

Wouldn't my study have shown if I were a mouth breather during titration? My husband says he doesn't recall my mouth open and I dont have any issues falling asleep and keeping my trap closed!!!

A respiratory therapist where I had study done thought maybe I needed either a different mask as you have suggested or that I might need a bipap as it sounded to him that I had too high c02????????????

Thanks for your help everyone...I dont want to give up but this is frustrating! You look familiar to me wonder where rural arkansas is?

[Linda3032]

Rapo, I live over on the far west side of the state - north of DeQueen.

I say you are probably mouth breathing because it's hard to snore with your mouth closed. So I would guess it's the most common problem, which is mouth breathing, snoring and losing your pressure, which is like not having therapy, which results in headaches.

If that's the problem, then it can be fixed with a full face mask, or mouth taping.

Otherwise, the problem could be that your pressure isn't high enough to keep your windpipe open. You would need to discuss this with your doctor. Perhaps he can put you on an Auto machine to re-titrate you at home for a 2 week period. That would determine if 9 is the right pressure for you. Sometimes sleep study titrationa aren't quite right.

Perhaps the tech means to try you out on a full face mask. And that would be the first step to see if it works. However, a full face mask can be difficult to adjust to.

Good Luck

[Snoredog]

you (and your doctor) need to consult with your diagnostic PSG and any titration study.

During a PSG titration they will TRY and eliminate all snoring UNLESS doing so causes you to have Central apnea events. If any of those are seen during the titration study portion they will back off pressure and let you snore and stick with the pressure found that still offers you best sleep yet avoids triggering of the Central Apnea (CA or MA events).

So IF your PSG's shows you had any CA or MA events, then you probably need to just live with the snoring.

If your PSG was performed using a nasal mask and you now use a Full Face mask, it could be that change which resulted in the snoring. Again, check your PSG before increasing any pressure, but you can probably increase by 1cm and see what happens.