Some Nights Are Just Harder Than Others

[rubymom]

Just venting...

Four months in and I'm amazed how hard it is to fall into a consistent pattern. I was having mask trouble a few weeks ago and switched to a smaller sized nasal pillow. That worked like a charm. For a bit. Then it was leaking all over the place. So switched back up to the old size and started using Lansinoh to help with the seal. Works great some nights, not so great others.

Then last night was reminiscent of the early days. The night started with my machine being unusually loud. I sounded like Darth Vader...you could hear every breath amplified. Experience has taught me that that means my humidifier water chamber is not seated properly. I played around with that in the dark for fifteen minutes with no improvement. Finally turned the light on and still no improvement. Then back in the dark again and realized what the problem was. I'm not a technical person so don't know what it's called, but the plastic thingie around the two opening where I can put water in was actually dislodged slightly so it wasn't seating properly at all.

Still I woke up repeatedly in the night finding that I'd ripped my mask off. I hadn't even undone the snaps. I haven't done that in ages. I woke up for good this morning and lay there for about five minutes before I realized my mask wasn't even on. Then I hear on the news that people with sleep apnea "are more likely to die than people without it." Hmmm...I always thought we were all going to die eventually.

Anyhow, I have no idea what was going on, but I hope it doesn't continue. Thankfully, I feel pretty good today. No worse for the wear I guess.

[mdbarthe]

Good morning, Ruby,

After over two years on XPAP therapy, I have come to the conclusion that you go through some GREAT periods when there are no or low mask leaks, your pressure stays ahead of your AHI and, not only does the data show that you slept great, but you feel great in the morning and all day long. Then there are times when, for some unknown reason, your mask starts to leak a little (or a lot), you are more restless and you don't feel rested in the mornings or you are tired all day long.

I've tried changing positions, masks, pressures, machines and all the gimmicks. All of them work for a short period of time and the data looks great. Eventually, I end up rolling back into some restless periods. Then, out of the blue, with no change in any of the therapy, I begin to rest better, feel better and I am encouraged all over again.

what I am saying is that we who have OSA are all better off staying with our therapy and being 100% compliant, regardless of some periods of reduced effectiveness or discouragement. I am convinced that, although all of us will die some day, those of us who faithfully use XPAP will be around longer than those who need it and don't.

Hang in there! You're not alone!