sniffles in bama!
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
sniffles in bama!
ive had sleep apnea now for 5 yrs and i still cant stand it .. lol...i have sinus problems all the time .. broncitis.. colds... larengitis... winter time is the worse ... then by the time spring is here my sinuses are so bad ... time for sneezeing when the pollen hits the air...... my question is ... are you suppose to go in so often and get retested ? im sure sleep apnea changes over the years ... but i hate going to doctors,, does anyone know if ur suppose to be test more often ? thanks
melanie
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rested gal
- Posts: 12881
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2004 10:14 pm
- Location: Tennessee
Think.....Autopap
Burn that word into your mind, melanie.
But also remember - I'm not a doctor or any kind of health professional. What I say is just my opinion, and I can sure be wrong!
An autopap varies the pressure all night long, depending on what pressure is needed to keep your airway open. Example, if the sleep study you had 5 years ago said that you need a pressure of 9 , that was a one-night snapshot (a very detailed snapshot - but just of one night nonetheless.)
If the study had been done on a different night, or with a different tech scoring the study, or something about you being different (different meds, different weight, different mattress to sleep on, etc.) the number they came up with might have been 8 or 11 or...... well, you see what I mean.
Using an autopap is kinda' like having a mini sleep study in your own bed every night from now on. The machine reads your breathing, senses changes in airflow when your throat is beginning to relax too much, and changes the pressure automatically (as the name implies) to keep the throat open. An autopap is designed to prevent apneas, hypopneas, snores and limited air flows; as well as deal smoothly with any that sneak through. A person might be able to spend much of the night at pressures considerably lower than the single pressure arrived at during the sleep study. Less pressure generally means more comfort and less chance of the mask springing air leaks.
I use an autopap - the Respironics REMstar Auto with C-Flex. "C-Flex" is an extremely comfortable feature of that particular autopap, making the pressure drop some every time I exhale. The less pressure one has to breathe out against, the nicer....feels more like "normal breathing" during sleep instead of working so much to breathe out against pressure coming in.
If your doctor will prescribe an autopap for you, melanie, (especially that newest autopap with C-Flex) you could very well get good treatment without having to go in for another sleep study. A heated humidifier hooked to the machine is a must for many people, especially with the sinus/allergy problems you mentioned. I don't have insurance, so I buy all my equipment from online stores, like cpap.com... I don't buy anything from local DMEs (home health care stores) where the prices are usually astronomical compared to online shopping.
A good mask that suits you and is comfortable for you to sleep in is essential too. You've been using cpap a long time, so you already know that. Read the tons of posts on this message board for ideas about masks that might suit you - possibly a full face mask to allow you to breathe through your mouth when the nose is too stuffy to get air through.
Good luck!
Burn that word into your mind, melanie.
But also remember - I'm not a doctor or any kind of health professional. What I say is just my opinion, and I can sure be wrong!
An autopap varies the pressure all night long, depending on what pressure is needed to keep your airway open. Example, if the sleep study you had 5 years ago said that you need a pressure of 9 , that was a one-night snapshot (a very detailed snapshot - but just of one night nonetheless.)
If the study had been done on a different night, or with a different tech scoring the study, or something about you being different (different meds, different weight, different mattress to sleep on, etc.) the number they came up with might have been 8 or 11 or...... well, you see what I mean.
Using an autopap is kinda' like having a mini sleep study in your own bed every night from now on. The machine reads your breathing, senses changes in airflow when your throat is beginning to relax too much, and changes the pressure automatically (as the name implies) to keep the throat open. An autopap is designed to prevent apneas, hypopneas, snores and limited air flows; as well as deal smoothly with any that sneak through. A person might be able to spend much of the night at pressures considerably lower than the single pressure arrived at during the sleep study. Less pressure generally means more comfort and less chance of the mask springing air leaks.
I use an autopap - the Respironics REMstar Auto with C-Flex. "C-Flex" is an extremely comfortable feature of that particular autopap, making the pressure drop some every time I exhale. The less pressure one has to breathe out against, the nicer....feels more like "normal breathing" during sleep instead of working so much to breathe out against pressure coming in.
If your doctor will prescribe an autopap for you, melanie, (especially that newest autopap with C-Flex) you could very well get good treatment without having to go in for another sleep study. A heated humidifier hooked to the machine is a must for many people, especially with the sinus/allergy problems you mentioned. I don't have insurance, so I buy all my equipment from online stores, like cpap.com... I don't buy anything from local DMEs (home health care stores) where the prices are usually astronomical compared to online shopping.
A good mask that suits you and is comfortable for you to sleep in is essential too. You've been using cpap a long time, so you already know that. Read the tons of posts on this message board for ideas about masks that might suit you - possibly a full face mask to allow you to breathe through your mouth when the nose is too stuffy to get air through.
Good luck!
Last edited by rested gal on Sat Jan 22, 2005 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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wading thru the muck!
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- Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:42 am
3 posts
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