great forum to join. also new patiant

[simarik]

hi all.
what a great informative forum. pugsy superb pointers was fun and informative to read.

forgive me if i make mistakes in writing. i am from Holland

diagnosed after 4 years struggling with sleep apnea. was tested -5-feb-2015 and scored 28 stops on sleeping on my side and 54 on my back.

i am 43 years old 1,83m and 84Kg workaholic diagnosed with my 3rd burnout according to the psychiatry doctor 4 years ago. started setraline 75mg. after diagnosed.

before all this horror started i was hospitalized on my vacation in Mexico. sudden dizziness, almost throwing up feeling, felt that my left cheek neck shoulder and arm went num. was driven wit sirens to the hospital thinking i was having a cardiac rest. when they find out that was not the case i was pumped with medication for 4 days. diagnose panic attack burnout.

after i was back from mexico my life changed completely. tired all the time and no energy ,constantly sleepy, my left side from time to time felt strange numbness. and many more.

slowly recovering i felt something is no right. i felt tired and sleepy even before all this started. remembering that i was frequently changing my mattress and pillow to find the right one for me and nothing helped
finally when i changed my doctor and the new one told me if i ever did a apnea test i was a bit surprised he asked. he told me all my blood values were ok so went for it and came up with apnea.

i would like to share my results i have almost no idea yet if any of them is good enough. after i started the therapy i feel still tired especially the first 2 days was terrible even the sleeping is similar to before. i am a bit light headed and short of breath during the day.

[yaconsult]

I'm new around here, so wait for the opinion of the regulars before making any changes.

However, I'm going to take a guess based on my own experience and what I've read. I'm guessing that all the pressure spikes might mean that you wouild do better with a higher minimum pressure. I have my minimum set to 13, but my apnea is severe and everyone is different.

But I may be completely wrong, so please wait for more experienced opinions before changing your settings. Let's see if they think increasing your minimum a little at a time is a good idea.

[simarik]

thx, i will wait and hope the experianced will have a look.

[Julie]

You're almost not getting treated because your pressure is set too low (I can't imagine how you can even breathe at 4), so I suggest moving the low setting to 6 or 7 and see if things improve. Also, do not sleep on your back (put pillows behind you if necessary to keep from doing it overnight).

[sc0ttt]

hi all.

forgive me if i make mistakes in writing. i am from Holland

Aangenaam kennis metje temakken.

(I bet my Dutch mistakes are bigger than your English ones)

[palerider]

You're almost not getting treated because your pressure is set too low (I can't imagine how you can even breathe at 4), so I suggest moving the low setting to 6 or 7 and see if things improve. Also, do not sleep on your back (put pillows behind you if necessary to keep from doing it overnight).

they're not at 4, they're just ramping from that, and, some people are fine at 4, though not many, I'll admit.

though, I would agree, a modest increase to 6 or 7 would likely stifle some of the issues. maybe start the ramp at 5, or dispense with it altogether.

[palerider]

forgive me if i make mistakes in writing. i am from Holland

I've noticed an interesting thing, whenever I've seen someone apologize for their english, it being their second or third language, it almost always turns out that their english is better than many people whose ONLY language is english.

yours is fine,

[simarik]

thx guys all helpful info. palerider you are correct it is in ramp mode. LOL a dutchman, hope not a flying one as i am during the day

[simarik]

thx palerider. appreciated

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

I would also cast a vote for a slight increase in that minimum pressure to around 7 ish.

[simarik]

thx pugsy will will try this.

[Punchyandtired]

I am also new and would suggest you up mininum pressure to 7.

(Curious where you vacationed in Mexico...)

I think you can get that AHI lower.

[simarik]

I am also new and would suggest you up mininum pressure to 7.

(Curious where you vacationed in Mexico...)

I think you can get that AHI lower.

was at. Playa del Carmen valentin imperial maya

[archangle]

i would like to share my results i have almost no idea yet if any of them is good enough. after i started the therapy i feel still tired especially the first 2 days was terrible even the sleeping is similar to before. i am a bit light headed and short of breath during the day.

Welcome, simarik.

Try to get a copy of the results of your sleep study. In particular, try to find out your AHI without treatment.

Talk to your doctor, but even if the CPAP therapy is working perfectly, sometimes your body takes a while to readjust. Some people feel better right a way, but some people take weeks to feel the benefit. Sometimes, you need to adjust your therapy.

However, I'm going to take a guess based on my own experience and what I've read. I'm guessing that all the pressure spikes might mean that you wouild do better with a higher minimum pressure. I have my minimum set to 13, but my apnea is severe and everyone is different.

The short spikes that drop back down are probably just the way Respironics machines work. The fact that they drop back down shows the machine doesn't necessarily "think" he needs more pressure at that time of the night.

However, a little higher minimum pressure might be a good idea, at least as an experiment.

Re: Back sleeping

Back sleeping may make your apnea a little worse, but CPAP should be able to fix it for most people. Sleep on your back if that works better for you. They probably made you sleep on your back in the lab and did your pressure settings based on that.

[simarik]

thx archangle,

i do not have a copy but the doctor told me on my side it was 28 and on my back 54.
i was tested with a device on my chest whitch i took home and returned it the next day.