new here - advice please

[exhaustedone]

Hello everyone
new here of course and looking for all the help I can absorb !
was diagnosed 5 years ago and have not felt good at all since.
I just had another sleep study after my doctor's app-t. because I have felt so tired and miserable and them looking at the memory stick info, telling me I was getting approx. 4 hrs of sleep a night.
had study done and the tech said I was a very difficult study , meaning she thought she had me dialed in and then I had another episode. She used the words complex and central and of course I had no idea what she meant , so went searching.
After my first study I was put on a cpap machine which was a res med with no sd card . I went a few years and wanted a new machine and was told ins would not pay for a new machine as it was too soon for one. I went and bought a FP icon auto with an sd card. I then had an appt with the doctor and they had an issue with reading the memory stick , then got it and there was no concern about anything. Then a year or so later I get the above. so here is where I am.......
prescribe a PR system one with a humidifier bipap machine , setting at 13 and 17 . I still do not understand the numbers.
currently using a Quattro FX large mask. had the same model but medium and when I did the study the tech said it was the wrong size. after hearing all this I feel for the last 5 years I had done nothing to help my situation at all. My then wife said nothing about anything and now I think and look back maybe my marriage suffered because of all the exhaustion and stress from this and having no help.

I never had my reports , but I have them now. my first study showed that I had 66 episodes per hour. the tech came in within the firdt 45 mins or so of the study and put me on a machine. the new machine sd card shows 8 events per hour and leaks at all.

I wanted to get the latest and greatest machine like the S9 asv because of what the tech at the recent study said but I was given this. I wanted the S9 because of what it does and also because I am now by myself as well. the nurse yesterday said that it was not necessary from what the report said and what the dr felt.

pleas let me know your thoughts, opinions and suggestions please for the above situation and for cleaning and care of a machine .

thanks

concerned one

[grace62]

There are people here who know a whole lot more than I do and they will probably check you out later but I can tell you that you have a right to know and be educated about all aspects of your sleep study. People speak in different languages - by that I mean that one person may tell you something and the words just don't make sense to you but a different person may use words you can understand. Find through your sleep center someone who will take the time to educate you in a way you can understand. Often on line you can also find sites that educate well. Anyway here's the deal re the numbers 13-17. That's the minimal and maximum setting of the amount of air you optimally need to keep you breathing during your sleep cycle. I'm a 10-14 but I'm usually at 13 most of the night. If you were having 66 awakenings per hour your first machine or setting was way low for you. Often when you first start of the machine they will put you at a low setting just long enough for you to get used to wearing the mask. Mine was set at 5 and gradually increased.
Losing weight helps a lot. I think your comment re your ex is probably somewhat accurate as I know when you're exhausted all the time barely holding on to getting all you need to get done because you're so tired, it can affect relationships. A pastor friend of mine lost his church because he was so tired he couldn't do the work to write sermons and yawned all the time when he was at the pulpit.
So someone else will need to go into more info on machines etc.
Don't give up on getting educated - it's your right.

[exhausted1]

Thank you
I appreciate it
Now I question everything. I downloaded the sleepyhead software so now I will try and use it and see what I can find. Office said I had no leaks showing on the card after almost a week of use. I just want to figure out what is the best machine I can get and what I can do to get some relief and the sleep I have been missing all these years

[exhausted1]

hello all
been away for awhile
pressure pushed to 21 now with 8.7 ahi
wants to move up again "if I am still tired"
still groggy , foggy and tired
mask beats my face up - mirage Quattro large bridge of nose and forehead...using moleskin seems to help
ugh ....
what do I do
want a humidifier
mask ???
help !!!
thanks
chris

[cpapVAL]

I've been using a cpap for 5 months. Do you like the mask you wear? Do you get really hot in your sleep? I was having problems with both and would rip the mask off, even though I rarely remembered doing that. I started averaging about 4 hours a night, got me in trouble with insurance. But I got a new mask, the gel nuance pro. Since then, I've been averaging about 7 hours a night. The gel helps keep me cooler and the strap is WAY more comfortable than any of the others. (I swear, this is not an ad or something, just the truth). It's a nasal-pillow based mask and works great for me. Worth a thought?

Good luck.

what the mask looks like, if curious... http://www.thecpapshop.com/media/wysiwy ... llow_1.jpg

[exhausted1]

the mask seems ok , don't really know what to compare it to
as far as hot , no it does not
can't do nasals , need a full mask
time is ok for me but I still and very tired in the am
thanks

[Julie]

Did you say your pressure is set at 21 in an effort to get some sleep?

Not a good idea at all! You're playing with fire, asking for centrals, and those cannot necessarily be reversed easily. You need to learn more in general about Cpap/Autopap/ASV (why did you want an ASV?), etc. before doing that kind of adjustment.

[exhausted1]

all settings done by the doctor
I do nothing
they put me on a bipap after another study
was on a cpap for 5 years prior
I take my sd card in at the vist and after the last adjustment the ahi was still 8.7
still tired and can't wake up
hate it
don't know what else to do
nose is beat up from the mask
I use the machine every night
what else do I do ?
I wanted an asv but could not get one
I said ok and this is where I am

[exhausted1]

yes Julie and when I returned with the sd card after I forgot it for the appt. they said if you still feel tired then we'll adjust again

[exhausted1]

should have said wanted a heated tube
small thing but will it help ?

[exhausted1]

central apnea is what the nurse said at the study
my brain was not telling me to breath
that is why I asked for a fully automatic machine
no underlying causes...lung issues....not obstructive etc