would like to know...

[fkarl]

a couple of things.
1. I can't even fall asleep on my back... I lay there and start to relax and boom, have a blockage while still awake. Would boosting my pressure eliminate this??
2. If Boosting my pressure will help with number 1, how do i do it? I have the resmed s8 elite 2. I have tried calling my prescribing doc three times but he is never in the office or is with another patient and he never calls me back. The sleep lab said I'd need a follow up 2 weeks into my therapy..... the girl at the office said they don't usually do follow ups but would have the doctor call me back to answer my questions. he hasn't as of yet. (two weeks since I called the first time.)

Thanks
I am so much better than I was but would like to sleep in a more comfortable position.....

[bdp522]

Many of us need a higher pressure when on our backs. Raise the pressure in small amounts (.5) and give each change a few days to see how it goes. Here is a link that will tell you how to do it.
http://www.cpap-supply.com/Articles.asp?ID=130

Brenda

[Wulfman]

a couple of things.
1. I can't even fall asleep on my back... I lay there and start to relax and boom, have a blockage while still awake. Would boosting my pressure eliminate this??
2. If Boosting my pressure will help with number 1, how do i do it? I have the resmed s8 elite 2. I have tried calling my prescribing doc three times but he is never in the office or is with another patient and he never calls me back. The sleep lab said I'd need a follow up 2 weeks into my therapy..... the girl at the office said they don't usually do follow ups but would have the doctor call me back to answer my questions. he hasn't as of yet. (two weeks since I called the first time.)

Thanks
I am so much better than I was but would like to sleep in a more comfortable position.....

Why are you even TRYING to sleep on your back if you can't sleep that way???
Sleeping in the supine position is typically the worst position to sleep in for having apneas.
What position would you normally sleep in?


Den

[john_dozer]

I turn to all three sides during sleep. This 'pick a position' thing people speak of is a non sequitur to me.

[TSSleepy]

I had the same issue. Couldn't fall asleep lying on my back, because as soon as I relaxed my jaw/tongue, I'd feel a blockage forming while awake.

In fact, since I have never fallen asleep on my back...I assumed I never slept on my back. Then I camcorded myself sleeping and saw that I often roll onto my back while asleep. And when untreated, that usually only lasts about 10 minutes before I gasp and roll to one of my sides. I tried taping a tennis ball to my back but it simply woke me up every time I moved.

Now that I have treatment, I am able to sleep on my back. Having that option is important to me, because I have a sore lower back and moving from side to back to side lessens my back problems.

I have not had a titration, so my first experiment on where to set my pressure was to lie on my back and keep raising the pressure until I could relax my tongue and jaw without a blockage while awake. You might want to try that fkarl and see what number you come up with.

But if that number is significantly higher than what you use now, I'd raise it slowly like people say here. As I tried to go up in pressure, I ran into mask leaks and aerophagia, forcing me to step back down a bit. This treatment can run into trade-offs, and can take awhile to dial in. Good luck!

[kteague]

I'm with Den. I personally believe our mask and even pillow choice should accomodate our normal sleep habits as much as possible instead of changing a lifetime sleep position to accomodate a mask. Why add that extra element of adjustment, unless there is a medical issue like a back problem? Some have reported they did change sleep positions successfully. I had a difficult enough adjustment without adding that element.

Increasing your pressure may help if you are going to sleep on your back, but pressure increases sometimes increase leak problems. Before going that route if necessary, consider if the ramp feature could be the issue. Since you say as soon as you start to relax you have a problem, could it be you are using the ramp feature and these incidents happen while you are still ramping?

During ramp one is not at the prescribed pressure, so if the ramp is set too low or for too long, each sleep session can get off to a bad start. And if I understand correctly, events that happen during ramp aren't included in the data, so a person could show good numbers yet have numerous events during ramp time. For those who hit the ramp button repeatedly every time they awaken, that could add up to a significant number of events during the course of the night. This one factor was the single greatest contributor to my early cpap failure. I'm not against using ramp, just have personally experienced the down side of not using it with understanding. If the ramp is not your issue, sorry to go on and on.

Best wishes in working things out.

Kathy

[fkarl]

Ramp is not being used so thats not the issue. I always used to sleep on my back which is the most comfortable for me. I can only sleep on my right side now (last 15 years or so) due to the apnea. My body has grown so accustomed to that position that any other is impossible. I wake with terrible hip pain and back pain due to sleeping without moving for 8 hours. I'll occasionally roll to another position but it only lasts 5-10 minutes and I am back on my right side. My wife has watched me several times and says that I am pretty awake when I am not on my right side. My sleep number bed sucks.... its nice to be able to adjust every thing but when my back is out there is nothing I can do to make it feel better except lie on my back......

Took a nap for 3 hours today with the pressure at 11.... seems much better will give it a few days. ANybody else have this problem of not moving during sleep? I know many folks would like to have this problem but it really is a pain. I wake un terrible agony and have to walk around the house for about an hour before it becomes tolerable..... I am sleeping better but still not as good as I want to.