Interesting New News: I can be cured

[roster]

... Rooster is an example of one that tends to need a really high number on his back but is able to get by with a much lower pressure on his side -- but tests have proven he still needs a cpap on his side if I read his post correctly. ......

That's correct. My 90% pressure is 9 on either side and 20+ on my back.

I am currently experiment with devices to force me to side sleep. The last two nights I have used a fanny pack with three tennis balls in it. I am not really satisfied with this and am looking for something else. Maybe a daypack, http://tinyurl.com/2plcg9, with a large object in it (Ideas from forum members: soccer ball? piece of styrofoam? live porcupine?).

[track]

Rooster.... I have done the backpack with a pillow stuffed in it, the wedge pillow with a dumbell on it that pins me against the edge of the bed, a tennis ball, a large Kong ball, a soccer ball under the shirt held in place by a belt below it and a regulation softball duct taped to the back of a fairly tight fitting russell heavy duty tee shirt. The last I have found to be the most comfortable and yet still successul in keeping me off my back. I can turn from one side to the other without great difficulty...unlike the soccer ball.... and it doesn't get overly hot and uncomfortable like the backpack did.
With the regulation softball I can keep the pressure around 10 which contols the aerophagia so it is moderate and keeps the AI under 1 and the AHI between 3-6.

[CarrieS]

Thanks for all the responses I apologize for not responding sooner. I am waiting until after the holidays to try the tennis ball thing and if I do feel better I will demand a sleep study even though she claims its already been proven. I will try to address as many posts as I remember:
I do not snore either
Oh and the sleep doc was in about her mid to late 30s.
The PVC goes on one side of the sirth the tennis ball on the other slide the ball into the (pvc it fits tightly) and it stays on your shirt - they ahd a cupboard full
I have the software for my machine so if I can think of a way to know when Im on my back so I can compare data thatd be good butnot sure how to
Id rather sleep with a tennis ball then a cpap for the rest of my life if its possible, even if it helps enough to give me some nights off the machine that would be great - out of town, and special nights or etc
I havent uploaded in awhile but will today - my machine is set at 6/13 I titrated at 9 since having a chin strap I have no leaks and some mornings actually wake up with my pressure for reading 6!! other nights a 9. which tells me some night my apnea is very mild maybe nonexistent? these nights maybe Im staying on my stomach?
During my study there was one other REM phase it was shorter but it was clean and not on my back
I would guess that the tennis ball is not a complete replacement probably (but who knows) however it may give me some breaks
Im sorry if the word CURED offended anybody it wasnt met to be taken literally as yes if Im using something Im not cured but it was just a hello line. I am hopeful however that just because it doesnt work for everyone doesnt mean it doesnt work for some. I guess this is kind of like the surgery convos - no one who has had success is going to be on this board anymore probably so its hard to hear the good too although I do appreciate all the opinions for and against the method as it does help. Keep the info coming! Hopefully I can handle it and if I do I can be a really live guniea pig - I imagine I shouldnt even need another study since my APAP will show any real decrease of events right? Oh and the sleep doc was in about her mid to late 30s.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, APAP, clean

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP, APAP, clean

[Guest]

Carrie, in another post, you said you were only using 6 cm pressure. This might cure YOU. Such a low pressure implies you might be only mildly apneic. Though not necessarily.

I'd do both cpap and tennis ball until you've perfected the tennis ball, then wean off the cpap and see what happens.

Good luck!
B.

[krousseau]

NPs have been around for a while. Specializing in specific areas like cardiology, neurology, or sleep medicine is newer. Look at the credentials and experience of both the sleep doctor and the nurse pracititioner. I'd be leary of going off PAP.

Just last Tuesday I had a very confident local doctor tell me Stanford was teaching their sleep docs a "bunch of bunk"-and that the next time I went to the clinic I should question what they said. Trust me on Wednesday when I saw Dr. Guilleminault I did not question what he was teaching the Fellows in their program.

[meister]

Talk to your Dentist about wearing a mouthguard or Dental
Device in your mouth at night. If you are a very mild case,
you might just have another treatment option to explore.

Unfortunate as it may be, not all of us can find that one perfect
solution to a complex medical problem.

[roster]

Talk to your Dentist about wearing a mouthguard or Dental
Device in your mouth at night. If you are a very mild case,
you might just have another treatment option to explore.

Unfortunate as it may be, not all of us can find that one perfect
solution to a complex medical problem.

Good point!

[Pad A Cheek]

Hello Carrie,

I do not know if you meant that you are trying to eliminate all REM sleep from your nights but I was doing research and found a link to the stages of our sleep and the importance of each stage.

http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleeping.htm

I do wish you the very best in preventing your sleep apnea without the use of a CPAP machine, but perhaps preventing all REM was not what you meant.

Karen

[RosemaryB]

Personally, I would demand a prescription for a pulse ox monitor to make sure she is right.

. Well, yes and no. My O2 levels weren't too bad during the sleep study. But my REM sleep as incredibly messed up, IOW, it was the sleep architecture that suffered the most. I have moderate OSA, so it may be that on my side, my O2 levels are ok, but REM sleep still suffers. In my sleep study the vast majority of the apneas were during supine REM. But there were hypopneas evenly spread throughout the night.

One way to look at this is that I have a lot of hypopneas (and likely flow limitations), but the apneas only appear when I'm sleeping supine and am in REM.

I completely understand why you have your hopes up. I would react the same way.

Don't mistake confidence for competence. Like others have said, it could be deadly, and as a hopeful cpap patient it would be really hard to discern between the two.

I'm glad you are going back to ask more questions!

Did you know that it's often the people who act most confident who have the least understanding? The reason is that people who think simply don't have a lot of other facts to deal with. They are not subtle thinkers. So they can feel confident but really are just being simplistic.

if they are so sure that this is a cure, I'd ask to have a second sleep study to back that up. That's really the only way to know for sure.

[CarrieS]

I have an APAP my min is set at 6 to get rid of my aerophagia but my max is a 13. I was titrated at 9. They did also mention the mouthpiece as an option. Im not trying to eliminate REM just eliminating sleeping on my back.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): APAP, aerophagia