Hello, I have just found this forum & find it very interesting & quite helpful. Having only just been diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea, I am feeling quite 'overwhelmed' & suspicious. It is occurring to me I really have to try much harder to get used to the dreaded machine & hose & mask......and, actually having this problem!!!!
I had a sleep study last October 2010, did a CPAP Titration Sleep study & Report in February this year, & am to have my 1st month's review on Tuesday next 8/3/2011.
I am not succeeding in sleeping all night with "my new friends" having only achieved 4.3 hrs continuously 1 night with a result of AHI 1.8 & a smiley face for the mask fit. Other readings have been 2.5Hrs AHI .3 & - 1.7hrs, AHI 1.8. Mostly I sleep for around 1 - 2 hrs then wake with readings of 0 & 0.9. One night I had readings of 2hrs & AHI .00 before getting up, then another 1.1hr AHI .09 for the whole 3.1hrs added together!
I have the ResMed Auto machine with humidifier (hired for 2 months) & half mask which seems to fit reasonably well. I was sent the FX nasal pillows to try as I wear glasses & thought they might be better if I could read a while, but find pressure builds in my mouth & blurbs out waking me.
I am getting less sleep than before "my new friends" came into my life.
My questions are:- Is one ever cured of sleep apnoea? Is it ever controlled to the point I no longer need "my new friends"? And the Q everyone must ask, which machine is best to purchase?? I am in Australia.
My SLEEP STATS at Titration Study was:- for 290.5 out of 577.4 mins of available sleep time, reflecting 59.3% of sleep efficiency.
Sleep latency was prolonged at 57.0 mins & latency to REM was prolonged at 133.0 mins. 0.0% Slow Wave sleep & normal % of REM (21.7%) were observed. I do not understand any of this!
Sleep Architecture was fair with CPAP therapy controlling obstructive resp events fairly well & somewhat normal sleep cycles observed. (Doc said I had nearly 3hours sleep, tech said it would be the worst night of my life & I thing he may have been correct)
The total arousal index was 19.0 per hour. Supine REM sleep was recorded.
RESP PARAMETERS during the study was 0 apnoeas & 8 hypopnoeas were observed. Overall AHI was 1.7 events per hour of sleep.
CPAP pressure of 10cmH2) the AHI was 1.7 per hour REM disordered breathing persisted at this CPAP pressure however. Snoring was elimintated at 4cmH20.
BP morn & night was good & heart rate of 58.
Baseline arterial oxygen sat was 95% awake. Minimum was 90%. None of total sleep time was spent at 90% or less.
I do not wish to bore you with all the normal newby info & Q's, but I am - sorry about that.
Can anyone shed some light at the end of the tunnel on this info.? Hope you can understand my shortened version.
Hopefully waiting.
newly diagnosed
8 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Re: newly diagnosed
Could you please take the time to formally register at the forum. It is free and no spam. Once registered you will see the User Control Panel in the upper left corner under the banner. Click on the User Control panel and go to your profile tab the the equipment page. List your equipment in text please (images are small and require a link to the product to see what you use). This puts your equipment on any of your posts and we don't have to keep asking.
Renting the Auto ResMed for 2 months. Have you had it for 2 months or will you be getting something else at the end of 2 months. Did you know that there was software available to see the daily details instead of the averages on the LED screen? This might give us an idea what is going on with leaks and events while you are sleeping.
Not sleeping well at all. When this does happen,. Can you isolate any possible causes? Pain with mask. Leaks. General nerves with all this strapped on you?
Apnea is never cured in the sense that you probably want. There are therapies to help us manage this problem.
The CPAP machine is the most common therapy and despite it being a pain in the bum, it is much less invasive as the alternative therapies that don't even have good results. A tracheaotomy is a final permenent treatment. Permanent hold in neck to put the tube in each night to breathe.
Your hours of use are so short. Did you sleep other parts of the night with the mask off? We can't expect any improvement with sleep hours totaling 2 or 3 hours.
So what do you think your problem is? Why can't you get more sleep? Nervous, anxious, wide awake? mask leak?
Did you have trouble sleeping even bore getting hooked up to the machine?
You asked for explanation about sleep study comments.
You slept 290 minutes out of a total possible 577 minutes which gives you sleep efficiency of 59 % This percentage is on the low side. Sleep latency was prolonged 57 minutes (took you that long to fall asleep) that is long.
REM latency was prolonged at 133 minutes. The is how long after you got to sleep it took before you went to REM stage sleep. Normal is around 90 minutes. Percent of time in REM sleep was approx 22 %, that is fairly normal.
The ResMed S9 autoset that you seem to be renting, is an excellent machine. It is really 2 machines in one.
While it will do the variable pressures in APAP mode, it can be switched over to straight CPAP mode easily.
I would think you would like to keep it or get on like it.
Renting the Auto ResMed for 2 months. Have you had it for 2 months or will you be getting something else at the end of 2 months. Did you know that there was software available to see the daily details instead of the averages on the LED screen? This might give us an idea what is going on with leaks and events while you are sleeping.
Not sleeping well at all. When this does happen,. Can you isolate any possible causes? Pain with mask. Leaks. General nerves with all this strapped on you?
Apnea is never cured in the sense that you probably want. There are therapies to help us manage this problem.
The CPAP machine is the most common therapy and despite it being a pain in the bum, it is much less invasive as the alternative therapies that don't even have good results. A tracheaotomy is a final permenent treatment. Permanent hold in neck to put the tube in each night to breathe.
Your hours of use are so short. Did you sleep other parts of the night with the mask off? We can't expect any improvement with sleep hours totaling 2 or 3 hours.
So what do you think your problem is? Why can't you get more sleep? Nervous, anxious, wide awake? mask leak?
Did you have trouble sleeping even bore getting hooked up to the machine?
You asked for explanation about sleep study comments.
You slept 290 minutes out of a total possible 577 minutes which gives you sleep efficiency of 59 % This percentage is on the low side. Sleep latency was prolonged 57 minutes (took you that long to fall asleep) that is long.
REM latency was prolonged at 133 minutes. The is how long after you got to sleep it took before you went to REM stage sleep. Normal is around 90 minutes. Percent of time in REM sleep was approx 22 %, that is fairly normal.
The ResMed S9 autoset that you seem to be renting, is an excellent machine. It is really 2 machines in one.
While it will do the variable pressures in APAP mode, it can be switched over to straight CPAP mode easily.
I would think you would like to keep it or get on like it.
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/ |
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.
Re: newly diagnosed
Thank you Pugsey for your swift reply, you have been most helpful. I have registered as you asked & hope I have correctly supplied the information regarding equipment. As I mentioned I had my Titration Study last month 9/2/2011 & have hired the Resmed Machine for this month & next. I am not sure which mask it is I have been supplied with originally, the FX Nasal pillows were posted to me last week. I go for a review next Tuesday 8/3/2011. Have to travel to Brisbane for this.
You asked about my sleep patterns.......well, before my "new friends" came into my life, I had no difficulty falling asleep - usually within half an hour. I woke about 2 - 3 times a night with a ritual of Bathroom, drink of water, then back to sleep with no trouble - (unless I had things worrying me of course). Now it is difficult to fall asleep & I wake more often, usually after an hour or two - then can not seem to get back to sleep for hours after putting the machine back in use. Sometimes I am so tired I will not bother to do that, to get better sleep. I have always needed up to 9hours proper sleep a night - my Mum used to say that when I was a teenager Yes I am been guilty of leaving the equipment off after getting up. I have to try harder, I realise.
My Husband told me I am a quiet snorer & shallow breather. I also dream a lot & very vividly, often waking & going back into the same dream.
I usually sleep on my side, but am like a rotisserie all night due to discomfort from various aches & pains from Arthritis etc. So maybe, trying to stay on my back now is a bit of an issue.
Would Three Hours tell the technicians all they need to know during the sleep study & titration Study?
I truly appreciate your input.
You asked about my sleep patterns.......well, before my "new friends" came into my life, I had no difficulty falling asleep - usually within half an hour. I woke about 2 - 3 times a night with a ritual of Bathroom, drink of water, then back to sleep with no trouble - (unless I had things worrying me of course). Now it is difficult to fall asleep & I wake more often, usually after an hour or two - then can not seem to get back to sleep for hours after putting the machine back in use. Sometimes I am so tired I will not bother to do that, to get better sleep. I have always needed up to 9hours proper sleep a night - my Mum used to say that when I was a teenager Yes I am been guilty of leaving the equipment off after getting up. I have to try harder, I realise.
My Husband told me I am a quiet snorer & shallow breather. I also dream a lot & very vividly, often waking & going back into the same dream.
I usually sleep on my side, but am like a rotisserie all night due to discomfort from various aches & pains from Arthritis etc. So maybe, trying to stay on my back now is a bit of an issue.
Would Three Hours tell the technicians all they need to know during the sleep study & titration Study?
I truly appreciate your input.
_________________
| Mask | Humidifier | |||
 |  | |||
| Additional Comments: Also have half face mask not sure of brand etc.equipment is rental at present had 1 month so far | ||||
Re: newly diagnosed
If you are just getting started it is normal to take some time getting used to the machine. DO NOT go back to sleep without the mask on. you want your body to learn that the best way to feel reed is with your mask. You don need to stay sleeping on your back, this is the worst position for you to sleep in. Sleep however you are most comfortable and find a pillow that allows the mask to fit without leaks. the swift FX is great for side sleeping, i have even slept on my front with it. I dont know what all those other numbers mean but it looks like pugsy was able to help with that. Welcome to the forum
Re: newly diagnosed
I do completely understand about the tossing and turning from arthritis pain. Been on that road myself. It's sort of a double whammy. We can't sleep well because of the pain and then we add all our little friends, as you call them, to our face. Makes for an interrupted night for sure.
You slept better (at least longer) before cpap and now just a few hours each night. Talk to the doctor about this when you go back after the trial is over. Part of it could just be needing to get used to being hooked up and part may be leaks disturbing things. The hardest part of all this is sorting out what is being a problem and learning to actually sleep without leaks and in a comfortable mask. It's kinda bad that what we need to sleep better is actually making us sleep less. For the moment anyway.
Tossing and turning can displace the mask some but I do understand that when we have pain we have to toss and turn.
Like you I am mainly a side sleeper and always start out that way but I know that I end up on my back at times. Wake up because it hurts. Assume any sleeping position you want, don't try to stay in one single position if it gives you discomfort. You will in time get more used to being connected to your friends. Talk to the doctor about it though.
Maybe there is something that can be done to help with the frequent awakenings. In my case the arthritis pain sort of kept me in sleep where I was easily awakened with each toss and turn. Discuss your options with the doctor.
Yes 3 hours during the sleep test will tell the tech enough or at least get them very close. You had 290 min in some stage of sleep, that is almost 5 hours. Should be more than adequate.
Getting used to the mask is the hardest part. Gotta get more hours of sleep with your new friends attached to you to have any chance of ever seeing improvement. Once you get permanent machine we can work on maybe getting some software to see if there is something like leaks that needs worked on to help get more hours of sleep.
Don't know if your neck is part of the arthritis thing, but mine is. Evaluate you pillow and see if there is anything that needs to be improved upon. I use a buckwheat hull pillow. Works great for my old neck and allows me to make a little spot for my mask when I am on my side. I use the Swift FX too.
You slept better (at least longer) before cpap and now just a few hours each night. Talk to the doctor about this when you go back after the trial is over. Part of it could just be needing to get used to being hooked up and part may be leaks disturbing things. The hardest part of all this is sorting out what is being a problem and learning to actually sleep without leaks and in a comfortable mask. It's kinda bad that what we need to sleep better is actually making us sleep less. For the moment anyway.
Tossing and turning can displace the mask some but I do understand that when we have pain we have to toss and turn.
Like you I am mainly a side sleeper and always start out that way but I know that I end up on my back at times. Wake up because it hurts. Assume any sleeping position you want, don't try to stay in one single position if it gives you discomfort. You will in time get more used to being connected to your friends. Talk to the doctor about it though.
Maybe there is something that can be done to help with the frequent awakenings. In my case the arthritis pain sort of kept me in sleep where I was easily awakened with each toss and turn. Discuss your options with the doctor.
Yes 3 hours during the sleep test will tell the tech enough or at least get them very close. You had 290 min in some stage of sleep, that is almost 5 hours. Should be more than adequate.
Getting used to the mask is the hardest part. Gotta get more hours of sleep with your new friends attached to you to have any chance of ever seeing improvement. Once you get permanent machine we can work on maybe getting some software to see if there is something like leaks that needs worked on to help get more hours of sleep.
Don't know if your neck is part of the arthritis thing, but mine is. Evaluate you pillow and see if there is anything that needs to be improved upon. I use a buckwheat hull pillow. Works great for my old neck and allows me to make a little spot for my mask when I am on my side. I use the Swift FX too.
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/ |
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.
Re: newly diagnosed
Thank you again Pugsey & Imtired for your replies, very helpful.
Yes Pugsey have neck problems - body 1 BIG PAIN ..... But have learned to live with it, & help from some pain killers occasionally. I have two " bionic knees" also - best thing I ever did. Can walk & stand now with not too many problems. I will look for a Buckwheat pillow as I have been searching but not sure which type would suit me.
Would it be any good to take sleeping tablets for a night or two (if doc allows of course)? I do not like any of these things, though would try - am anti drugs & only take BP meds & the occasional pain relief as stated. I take Vit.B & other vits. & try to eat properly. I am hoping this CPAP therapy will allow me to go off the BP meds & pain will settle down. I also have a cronic cough which lasts for over an hour to the point of heaving - I read one article CPAP stopped a user's cough! Oh Hopefully
I visit the sleep spec. tomorrow & have lots of q's, I can't help wonder if it is all a money making endeavour - 'suspicious'. But, after reading all the success stories I must try harder. I hope they will help me with the FX nasal mask fitting also. Ok Thank you so much for the very useful tips. Val
Yes Pugsey have neck problems - body 1 BIG PAIN ..... But have learned to live with it, & help from some pain killers occasionally. I have two " bionic knees" also - best thing I ever did. Can walk & stand now with not too many problems. I will look for a Buckwheat pillow as I have been searching but not sure which type would suit me.
Would it be any good to take sleeping tablets for a night or two (if doc allows of course)? I do not like any of these things, though would try - am anti drugs & only take BP meds & the occasional pain relief as stated. I take Vit.B & other vits. & try to eat properly. I am hoping this CPAP therapy will allow me to go off the BP meds & pain will settle down. I also have a cronic cough which lasts for over an hour to the point of heaving - I read one article CPAP stopped a user's cough! Oh Hopefully
I visit the sleep spec. tomorrow & have lots of q's, I can't help wonder if it is all a money making endeavour - 'suspicious'. But, after reading all the success stories I must try harder. I hope they will help me with the FX nasal mask fitting also. Ok Thank you so much for the very useful tips. Val
_________________
| Mask | Humidifier | |||
| | |||
| Additional Comments: Also have half face mask not sure of brand etc.equipment is rental at present had 1 month so far | ||||
Re: newly diagnosed
Some people do report a drop in BP with good cpap therapy, so there may be hope there for you. I had borderline high blood pressure when I started nearly 2 years ago but while I did see some drop, it still doesn't quite stay down there in the normal range all the time. No meds for it though. So there is hope.
Pain? Yep, it really messes with things. Take something for pain and it may make the OSA worse. On the other hand don't take anything and have pain and don't sleep well and still feel like crap... Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Discuss it with your doctor. There are some that aren't quite as bad as others. Muscle relaxers very bad for the OSA part of it. I didn't like them anyway because didn't help that much with pain and left me very groggy next day. We settled on an occasional ambien or mild small dosage hydrocodone type. I normally take Ultram for pain during the day but while it is good pain relief the darn things wire me up something awful. Mainly I just need something that helps me sleep just a little bit deeper so I don't wake up 30 times from the pain. We have now added small dose of generic Elavil so I don't seem to need the other meds. He hasn't mentioned the fibromyalgia word but I suspect that is what it is for. It has helped tremendously with the morning headaches. I do feel more rested finally.
Much of my feeling rested happened with the new bed. I will say it cut my morning pain in half. Got one of those fancy sleep number beds. My old mattress was shot and the memory foam topper finally lost its support. I adapted fairly easily to cpap but my other issues prevented me from seeing any huge improvement.
I use the buckwheat pillow in the link below. Mine is the small one but I think there is a larger version now.
I can't use a large poofy pillow because of a metal rod in my neck. I need small sort of flat with just enough elevation to support the neck. I would love it even if I didn't have to use the mask. There are others out there that would probably do the same thing.
Good luck and keep us posted.
While we would like to wave the magic cpap wand and have it fix all our other problems it simply can't if the problem is unrelated to OSA. OSA might aggravate some conditions but it didn't give us the old arthritis. That we for sure can blame on something else.
http://www.pur-sleep.com/products/produ ... ategory=14
Pain? Yep, it really messes with things. Take something for pain and it may make the OSA worse. On the other hand don't take anything and have pain and don't sleep well and still feel like crap... Damned if you do and damned if you don't. Discuss it with your doctor. There are some that aren't quite as bad as others. Muscle relaxers very bad for the OSA part of it. I didn't like them anyway because didn't help that much with pain and left me very groggy next day. We settled on an occasional ambien or mild small dosage hydrocodone type. I normally take Ultram for pain during the day but while it is good pain relief the darn things wire me up something awful. Mainly I just need something that helps me sleep just a little bit deeper so I don't wake up 30 times from the pain. We have now added small dose of generic Elavil so I don't seem to need the other meds. He hasn't mentioned the fibromyalgia word but I suspect that is what it is for. It has helped tremendously with the morning headaches. I do feel more rested finally.
Much of my feeling rested happened with the new bed. I will say it cut my morning pain in half. Got one of those fancy sleep number beds. My old mattress was shot and the memory foam topper finally lost its support. I adapted fairly easily to cpap but my other issues prevented me from seeing any huge improvement.
I use the buckwheat pillow in the link below. Mine is the small one but I think there is a larger version now.
I can't use a large poofy pillow because of a metal rod in my neck. I need small sort of flat with just enough elevation to support the neck. I would love it even if I didn't have to use the mask. There are others out there that would probably do the same thing.
Good luck and keep us posted.
While we would like to wave the magic cpap wand and have it fix all our other problems it simply can't if the problem is unrelated to OSA. OSA might aggravate some conditions but it didn't give us the old arthritis. That we for sure can blame on something else.
http://www.pur-sleep.com/products/produ ... ategory=14
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/ |
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.
Re: newly diagnosed
Well, - had my 1month review & Doc seemed pretty happy with results!!!!! Said I was doing well, when I had not used the machine such a lot!!!! Said he had readings of 4hours at an acceptable AHI level often. I did not think I had!
Agreed the pressure was too high (was set at 15 apparently) & gave me a prescription for some sleep meds......Temaze 10mg. Said to take for 2 weeks.
I was experiencing the 747 Jet flying out of my mouth just on going to sleep also.
Then passed me on to Technician who reset the machine to all Auto, gave me an FX for Her nasal pillows mask & helped me to fit it.
Am home & first night I slept 2.5hrs & 0.0 AHI. Unbroken sleep, then had to get up & was guilty of going back to sleep without machine.
Second night (last night) Unbroken sleep 3.7hrs & 0.2 AHI.
I am finding this mask a lot better to use & the pressure seems to be staying round 4. I have not used sleep meds yet.
I am about to go away for a week to visit my terminally ill brother, so I hope I manage to use the equipment successfully whilst there.
Back to see Doc in 1 month.
Thanks so much for all your help everyone.
Agreed the pressure was too high (was set at 15 apparently) & gave me a prescription for some sleep meds......Temaze 10mg. Said to take for 2 weeks.
I was experiencing the 747 Jet flying out of my mouth just on going to sleep also.
Then passed me on to Technician who reset the machine to all Auto, gave me an FX for Her nasal pillows mask & helped me to fit it.
Am home & first night I slept 2.5hrs & 0.0 AHI. Unbroken sleep, then had to get up & was guilty of going back to sleep without machine.
Second night (last night) Unbroken sleep 3.7hrs & 0.2 AHI.
I am finding this mask a lot better to use & the pressure seems to be staying round 4. I have not used sleep meds yet.
I am about to go away for a week to visit my terminally ill brother, so I hope I manage to use the equipment successfully whilst there.
Back to see Doc in 1 month.
Thanks so much for all your help everyone.
_________________
| Mask | Humidifier | |||
| | |||
| Additional Comments: Also have half face mask not sure of brand etc.equipment is rental at present had 1 month so far | ||||
8 posts
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