What is normal?

[supersleepy]

Hi, I'm new to the community and less than a week ago began Cpap treatment at home. I'd like to share my story and get some feedback on what is to be expected. I had a horrible time with the sleep studies. The first one I barely slept at all, and the second with the machine was worse. I was about to give up on it alltogether when my sleep clinic suggested a prescription sleeping pill to help me thru the third one. They also told me that I wouldn't be charged for the second sleep study, since it was so horrible, but I have yet to see the bills... Now I have been told that sleeping pills make your OSA worse by relaxing the muscles more but I went ahead and got it (Ambien an 8 dollar pill!) and slept great thru the third sleep study.
My results were 46 episodes an hour with oxygen sat of 78%, and the young lady who did my first two sleep studies told me that my case was "mild". That being said, could some others post thier results so I can guage if that is accurate? My setting is 13 but I ramp up from 7 and really am having a hard time getting to sleep -ramping up to four times before I nod off.
I have not made it thru a single night with the mask on the entire time. How long is considered "compliant?" How long do you folks use your mask per night? Wondering if 4 hours a night with the thing would be helpful enough. I have also been discouraged to find out about aerophagia. This is a big problem with me. I guess from some of the posts I've read its not really a problem with the machine or the way I'm using it, but I tried for several nights to make myself stop swallowing air but obviously can't control it while I'm sleeping. Is swallowing air normal? Is the bloating and gas just something to get used to and not to worry about? I think the anxiety about all of this is contributing to the not sleeping well problem.
I also have Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and that doesn't help either. Going to see an ENT today to have him tell me there is nothing they can do I'm sure...

Wanting all of this to work for me as being tired all the time is getting old!
For the last two years I've been only about to work about 30 hours a week at most with long weekends often. Fortunately my job has a flexible schedule, but I'm (I know its horrible) a delivery driver! 10 years ago I was able to work up to 70 hours a week with no problems. And would really like to be able to work more as my finances have been strained by all this. I want energy back so I can start excercising (which I enjoy when I have the energy for it!) and get some of this weight off and back to enjoying life. I'm just 5'3" but am around 225lbs and very unhappy about it! I am also being treated for depression. I feel like I have slept half of the hours of the last several years of my life and come to find out it was all Bad sleep! Bah!

Anyway thanks for listening to my story and any words of encouragement or just some replies with "stats" would be wonderful.

[Goofproof]

All the time you spend ramping are wasted because your not at the required pressure, the ramp is a crutch. If you are planning on walking it's best to make up your mind you are going to do it, and they do it. The sooner you master this, the sooner you feel the results.

It's harder for some than others, but in the end it's making up your mind that you will succeed at all costs. Jim

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): Ramp

You need to fill out your profile, so we can understand what you use and how.

[idahogal]

I agree with the ramping. I used the ramp feature for about 2 weeks and I find that I like "full blown" from minute one. I feel the ramp just delays good results.

[GoofyUT]

I agree with the folks about ramping. I tried it and couldn't stand it. I'd be waiting, feeling somewhat air-starved, witing for the ramp to end. So, I switched to full pressure from minute one, and adjusted to the whole CPAP experience in very short order and waas much more comfortable. Others liek and need to ramp, so different strokes for different folks.

Above all else, DON'T FRET! xPAP treatment is a whole new world for EVERYONE who starts. After all, we're used to taking sleep for granted most of our lives, and now, there's a whole rigamorall associated with simply getting some sleep. But, it does get easier. PROMISE. And it does ABSOLUTELY HELP!!! You'll feel twenty eyars younger when it kicks in.

But, you gotta make up your mind to make it work, and then explore all options and possibilities with machines, mask (ESPECIALLY masks), pressure, protocols, till you get it to work for you. But, here's the point: IT WILL WORK FOR YOU! So just hang in there, and come here a lot since there's a TON of experience and valuable advice and suggestions and support that you'll be able to get here.

As one of our more illustrious members points out: Hoseheads GET BLOWN!!

Have fun with it!

Chuck

[Rastaman]

My setting is 13. My oxygen percentage got down to 75% during the study. I only needed one so far. After 1 hour I had 124 obstructions or partial obstructions. This is considered severe. Our oxygen levels are very close. I'm told you could hold your breath and never make it to 90%. If you are like me, you were/are losing your mind! You can't remember anything. You can be told something and by the time it occurs again you've forgotten what you were told. It can even drive your IQ points down down down. You either were or are very irritible even if you don't realize it. Perhaps you have high blood pressure from it, or the vicious cycle of adding on weight has occurred. 3 or 4 years ago, with moderate exercise I was down to about 185. Right now, I'm at 285. I've gained all that since meeting my wife back in 1999. I was very thin when she met me. She was too. We've both gained. I wonder if she has mild sleep apnea. I mentioned it today from reading many of your "mild apnea" posts. (from fellow sufferers)

About 2 months ago I started exercising 3 or 4 days a week about 50 minutes per day. But I've seen zero results. In fact, last weekend I gained weight. I lost it right back though. So, against my better judgement I'm going on the Atkins diet AGAIN. I lost 75 lbs on it once dropping from 260 lbs to 185. But like anything you don't keep up, it didn't last and came back and more so. I'm convinced the amount of food I need per day is miniscule. If I could see it on a plate I'd probably freak. Very slow metabolism. The CPAP is making me feel great and that's going hand in hand with the exercise. I quit drinking cokes about 2 months ago too but over the last 2 weeks Diet Cokes have creeped back in. I'm addicted to caffeine apparently.

How is Atkins different from my regular diet? Not by far. I'm already eatting lots of meat anyway. I just need to cut out the bread and tortillas and all that good stuff. And any sodas as well. I would actually be happy if I could just drop down to 250. Or 240. Or any weight at all. My Mom and Dad passed away about a year or two ago and even since then I've gained another 25 lbs. I KNOW that i'll lose weight once the benefits of CPAP are more long term. I just don't want to WEIGHT. (Hehe) I want results yesterday. I'll settle for them over the next 5 to 6 months. Last time I lost 75 lbs in 4.5 months. But Thanksgiving and Xmas ruined me. I basically want to use Atkins to get down to a proper weight and then slowly add back veggies and fruits. Mainly I want to get a handle on my WILLPOWER, which at times is almost NIL.

I'm hoping to be a new man over the next few months. And I lose fast on Atkins. Faster than my wife did when she was on it with me. Just the CPAP has given me new energy to go out and do some of the things that I was doing just 3 to 5 years ago. I'm not ready to act 90 just yet. Even a drop of 20 lbs makes me zing around the house doing housework and listening to music and dancing and all that good stuff. I'm ready to become the new me. Two things hand in hand. Energy and mass.

[idahogal]

About 2 months ago I started exercising 3 or 4 days a week about 50 minutes per day. But I've seen zero results. In fact, last weekend I gained weight. I lost it right back though. So, against my better judgement I'm going on the Atkins diet AGAIN. I lost 75 lbs on it once dropping from 260 lbs to 185. But like anything you don't keep up, it didn't last and came back and more so. I'm convinced the amount of food I need per day is miniscule. If I could see it on a plate I'd probably freak. Very slow metabolism. The CPAP is making me feel great and that's going hand in hand with the exercise. I quit drinking cokes about 2 months ago too but over the last 2 weeks Diet Cokes have creeped back in. I'm addicted to caffeine apparently.

Keep in mind that you may have gained muscle while getting the extra exercise and muscle always way more than fat.

[linda b]

Rastaman,

From one Coke addict to another, have you tried Coke Zero? I switched to that several months ago. I like it much better than Diet Coke. As far as I know the only "bad" thing it has left in it is caffeine.

[RedThunder94]

pibb zero and sprite zero are even better.

[snoregirl]

How long is considered "compliant?"
_________________________________


In my case compliant (for my insurance company) is 4 hours per night 7 days a week for 3 months. Of course yours could be very different. I was told I could miss a night or two but not told how many that really is.



How long do you folks use your mask per night?
______________________________________________

I wear it all night midnight to 6am on weekdays, later on weekends



Wondering if 4 hours a night with the thing would be helpful enough.
________________________________________________________________

I wouldn't venture a guess on that. If I take it off and start snoring my husband will head for the guest room. With the machine, he can sleep!!

I have also been discouraged to find out about aerophagia. This is a big problem with me.
_______________________________________________________________

I have had a couple nights when this is bad, but mostly not. I have less problems with this when I use a full face mask. Usually it tends to happen I think when I am near the end of the night using my nasal mask. I haven't figured out what is different about when it happens and when it doesn't.


I also have Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and that doesn't help either.
_________________________________________________________________

I don't have the ringing, but the machine does reduce my hearing while I am wearing it after the first couple times I swallow with it on. Irritating, but I think it is only until I take it off and swallow a couple more times.

[Guest]

On my sleep study I was not given the oxygen levels but I had 193 apnea episodes, 79 shallow breathing and a high snore rate per hour. But good news. I don't have restless legs. It would seem to me that I don't breathe but about 3 minutes an hour looking at the above. I need to go back to the pulmonologist and have them explain all to me since I haven't been back since the study. As for the ears popping, I use "in the ear" head phones on an airplane like a breathe right strip for the ears. It keeps my ears open- might help with your problem. I too have my ears ring when I first hook up but as soon as I swallow, it goes away. At first I didn't use my cpap more than a few hours a night and was very careful in my sleep to turn off my machine and carefully place my mask on top. Wish I was that neat awake. I now leave it on all night after four months

Mardie

[supersleepy]

Thanks for the input guys. I have faced the ramping issue head-on and not used it again! Getting used to the full setting wasn't so hard and I was even able to sleep with the mask on for five hours in a row. Once I stopped fighting the machine things got a lot better!

The ear,nose, and throat doctor seems to think I may have a small tumor in my left ear causing all the constant ringing and has scheduled some tests to see if we can fix it the problem. (I hope!!) He also said I have enlarged Tonsils and reccomended removing them to help with the (what he called severe) sleep apnea. Anybody had that done? Did it help? I'm all for it, if it will.

And Rastaman! I hear ya. Been wanting to lose this weight for a long time but haven't had the energy to do much but sleep and go to work. This week has been a tiny bit better. I've been able to go walking most days this week and even went hiking with a friend for a short while at the state park.
I've also switched to Diet Sprite Zero as I have been told caffiene is aggrivating several of my health issues. I've had a few headaches but not horrible. Now to start eating healther! That will be the trick for me as I don't cook at all. But I must try! And I wish you the best of luck as well! And you were right, I was irritable and my friends and coworkers let me know about it! All this time I just thought I was lazy and grumpy for no reason!

Thanks for the support guys. Its nice to know there are others out there going through the same kinds of things! I'm grateful for the advice and support. Best of luck to you all!

[GoofyUT]

Nice job!!!

Congrats!!

Chuck

[OwlCreekObserver]

I know this isn't really a weight-loss forum, but it seems to me that there's a sort of infinite loop when it comes to apnea and weight gain. The literature I've read says that losing weight can help reduce the frequency of apnea events. However, I've also read that one symptom of apnea is weight gain. So it sort of sounds like one could develop the condition by being overweight, and the apnea makes it worse by adding to the weight you're already carrying.

I'm something of an expert (in my own mind) on weight control, having gained and lost probably hundreds of pounds over the years, so I completely understand your frustration. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that "being on a diet" of some kind will never result in permanent weight control. You really have to change your whole way of looking at it. Once you find a healthy combination of diet and exercise, than that has to be "normal" for you. When you cheat, as we all do, you just get right back on the "normal" program.

Personally, I'm not convinced that Atkins is a good long-term program, but that's just my opinion. I've had lasting success with The Abs Diet, a book written by the same folks who publish Men's Health magazine. You may have seen the book at your local bookstore. After three years, I now cheat a little more often on the foods, but by keeping up a regular exercise program and being mindful of everything I eat, I've managed to keep the weight off...and impress my doctor with my fitness level, even at my geezerly advanced age.

Don

[idahogal]

The Atkins diet is a good "get it of quick" diet but is not good long term. My doctor just recently told me to do Atkins for a couple of months and then switch to the Mediterrenian Diet after that to allow myself to learn what healthy choices are all about. I, of course, can find any excuse not to start the diet. This time the excuse is "it will be much easier when the kids leave for grandmas house next week" we will see.