Severe OSA No Relief W/CPAP

[john6012]

Good evening! I after several years finally was diagnosed as having severe OSA and obtained a CPAP Machine and have used it for over a year with the only benefit that I feel normal with the mask on when I hit the bed. I awake tired and sleepy 99% of the time and "slog" my way through the day. I've taken Benedryl 50mg, Hydroxizene etc. with no benefit, I fall asleep but it is not a quality sleep, I don't know where to turn. I've been seen at the local VA Hospital but the technicians there seem to feel like I am interupting their day and imposing on them. I have Medicare and another insurance but I've reached the point where I feel i have to treat myself. I've thought of Acupuncture but I haven't seen much positive info on that or a Chiroprator for that matter. Do any of you have any ideas that may be beneficial> I really would appreciate your help!

[HoseCrusher]

The effectiveness of eliminating obstructions using CPAP can be measured by wearing a recording pulse oximeter while you sleep. You may want to pick one up and see if the obstructions have been eliminated.

However, there is more to sleep disorders than obstructions. You may need to review the details your machine records to get some more ideas. After that you may need to look for other causes of your symptoms.

In general, CPAP works great at eliminating the obstructions, but that doesn't mean that you will wake up rested each morning.

[Emilia]

We can help you better if you take a minute and go up to the User Control Panel (top left under search) then Profile and then Edit Equipment. Choose your gear from the pull down menus and then choose to show them in TEXT, not pictures. Those who have the same machine, mask, software, etc. will be drawn to answer your inquiries and help you based on their expertise.

You obviously need adjustments to pressure or find out if you are leaking or mouth breathing. It is a shame you've had a year go by without benefit of help and adjustments to your therapy. If your machine is not fully data capable, I'd suggest you try to buy one that is so you can have full control over your own health and therapy. You will find plenty of support and help here to get you started down the road to success, but you'll need to have the right tools and the willingness to learn to be successful.

Fill in your profile and then we can begin to help you more effectively!

[Julie]

And your problem could be as simple as the fact you may sleep with your mouth open and lose all the good air that way, never realizing it, which would mean you might need a 'full face' mask like so many of us...there are many reasons why you're not doing well, so do write back with all the details you can think of and let us know what's what.

[robysue]

I feel normal with the mask on when I hit the bed. I awake tired and sleepy 99% of the time and "slog" my way through the day. I've taken Benedryl 50mg, Hydroxizene etc. with no benefit, I fall asleep but it is not a quality sleep, I don't know where to turn.

Looking at the obvious: There's a chance that you are waking up tired and sleepy and "slogging" through your day because of side effects of the medicine you are taking to try to "improve" your sleep.

What happens if you do NOT take anything like Benedryl, Hydroxizene, ect. when you go to bed?

And even with medication to encourage falling asleep more rapidly, you should take a careful, hard look at your overall sleep hygiene. It could be that you are inadvertently doing some things that typically undercut the quality of sleep and that improving your sleep hygiene habits may help you improve the quality of your sleep.

[NightMonkey]

We can help you better if you take a minute and go up to the User Control Panel (top left under search) then Profile and then Edit Equipment. Choose your gear from the pull down menus and then choose to show them in TEXT, not pictures. Those who have the same machine, mask, software, etc. will be drawn to answer your inquiries and help you based on their expertise.

You obviously need adjustments to pressure or find out if you are leaking or mouth breathing. It is a shame you've had a year go by without benefit of help and adjustments to your therapy. If your machine is not fully data capable, I'd suggest you try to buy one that is so you can have full control over your own health and therapy. You will find plenty of support and help here to get you started down the road to success, but you'll need to have the right tools and the willingness to learn to be successful.

Fill in your profile and then we can begin to help you more effectively!

Exactly!

Data is critical to success.

I've reached the point where I feel i have to treat myself.

You have come to the right place. Now take charge of your therapy!

[Mary Z]

Are you checking your daily AI and AHI? This would be a clue to whether your therapy is effective and an idea of how to tweak should that be necessary.

That being said I have never been able to achieve in three years a normal AHI. My doctor thinks it's a side effect of meds I take for Bipolar disorder. I take Nuvigil or Provigil most days to remain awake and alert throughout the day. They are wakefullness drugs, do not give me energy, but allow me to stay awake all day. Something like this may help.
I agree with the suggestion to try and do without the benadryl or hydroxyzine. I don't know if or how they affect sleep architecture, but there is a reason you are not getting good sleep. Checking O2 sats as suggested may be a good idea.
Good luck and keep us posted

[john6012]

I'm not familar with AI and AHI but will check and compare it with the Sleep Study and see if they correlate. I did go to the VA this week with te CPAP Machine and asked them to increase the pressure and they said they can't do it without a Dr's orders and I said "You did it last time" and received no reply. As I said previously, I need to take control and research my health issues. I have learned that whether it is a VA MD or civilian, they do not have all the answers and certainly the answer they often have within the 10 minute visit is a pill. Or one has to ask them for a specific medication, many MD's are good for a signature only. However I must qualify this, there are a lot of good MD's who do practice good medicine. I shouldn't belabor this because it is only my opinion and opinion doesn't fix problems.

[Emilia]

OK, now we know what equipment you are using! Go here http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm email the site admin and request the clinician's manual for you machine and they'll email it to you for free. Donations are appreciated! You will notice, when you scroll down the page, that S8 Auto's come in a variety of models so be sure you are asking for the correct manual.

This will give you access to 'under the hood' so you can begin to tweak your own settings. That's the good news! The bad news-- your machine is an older model, and even though the software is readily available and free to use, the data card is a proprietary one that requires a special card reader which is now extremely hard to find. Others who may have one from an S8 they are no longer using, may be able to give/sell it to you if you ask in a new post with a title like, "Need S8 Card Reader...Can You Help or Sell?" There used to be a guy o eBay who sold them,but I am sure even he has difficulty getting them anymore.

Ideally, getting a newer, more modern machine would be the way to go, but you can only do what is within your means to do.

If you do choose to get a new machine, and possibly buy it out of pocket, there are several to choose from. My machine is our host's best selling machine, and it is about half the cost of the other two top selling machines. It has served me and many others extremely well.

AI is your Apnea Index. AHI is the sum of your Apneas and Hypopneas per hour.

The forum has tons of information both within the threads folks write and reply to, but also within the wiki (top yellow light bulb). The Glossary is also a good place to familiarize yourself with terms used. wiki/index.php/Category:CPAP_Definitions

Good luck..... I hope that those using an S8 will be along soon to help you sort things out and give you helpful hints.

[NightMonkey]

... opinion doesn't fix problems.

Sometime it does.

My CPAP therapy was not working properly when I found this forum. I did a lot of reading, got a data-capable machine, learned how to change the pressure, formed an educated opinion about how to improve my therapy, made small measured changes to my pressure settings, observed the data carefully, kept making changes, and eventually settled on pressure settings that treat my condition well.

I am suggesting you can do the same and make a big improvement in your life.