So Many Questions...

[Frankie84]

Hi Everyone,

Can someone help me answer any of the following questions regarding the management of OSA and hypopnea?

1. Does stress play a part in how bad a given night is? If so, what do you do to keep stress levels down?
2. Does pregnancy make them worse? Should I see my sleep doctor if I get pregnant?
3. Are there other lifestyle changes (i know about avoiding alcohol before bed) that can help me to keep the numbers down?
4. Does caffeine have any effect?

I just want to get the most out of my machine. I just came back from getting my data downloaded and it says my AHI (Apnea/Hypopnea Index) ranges from less than 3 to up to 7. We theorized that the reading of 7 were the high stress days as I had higher numbers this last week which has been high stress. Btw- I used to be 16. Low I know compared to many of you but I seem to react quite severely to such a low number. Not sure why. Anyway, I'm obviously capable of lower numbers so just seeing if there is any information I'm unaware of that will help me to do that without having to go back to the specialist to increase my flow.

thank you

[Elle]

It's hard not to attribute any 'off' night to the cpap but even people without sleep apnea have good and bad nights. I have to say that I have had fewer restless sleeps since starting cpap. If you have a night where you just can't get comfortable that would have been one of those nights that anyone could have...stressful day, too much caffeine etc.

I think "acceptance" and faith that it will be ok is the trick to it working. There is no point in fighting it because you wish you didn't have OSA or it isn't fair. It just is.

I think the pregnancy thing would also be one of those 'some nights are better than others' situations as well as far as comfort goes but maybe someone with more knowledge would know whether there is a medical reason why it would be different.

Anyway, glad you found cpaptalk. It is a fantastic resource. I couldn't have managed without it.

[Frankie84]

Elle,

It appears you have misunderstood me. I sleep between 7-10 hours a night without waking. I have no problem with the machine, my mask or restless nights. My issue is with having nights that result in days of feeling like I need to go back to bed all day. These relate to the days where my apnea is higher so I'm looking at ways to reduce the apneas. For instance, you shouldn't drink alcohol in the evening because it will make your muscles relax more when you sleep resulting in more severe apneas during the night. The person who downloaded my data for me today (the man who sold me my machine) said that stress can also play a part in a worse apnea night because it puts you into a deeper sleep (or something like that). So basically I'm looking for things people have heard along the way that I can do in combination with my machine to prevent the peaks in my nights. Currently, there are more around 6/7 than there are around 3 and I'd much prefer 3/h.

I have no problem having sleep apnea. In fact, it's a blessing. The previous diagnosis' I had were Rheumatoid Arthritis and then Fibromyalgia due to my widespread body pain. Fortunately, once I was diagnosed with OSA and started CPAP all my "Fibromyalgia" symptoms disappeared. There have been studies that showed people with sleep deprivation also had "Fibromyalgia-like symptoms" so I assume that's what it was. I am just so glad that the simple solution of a CPAP machine can make me live again! I spent almost 3 years disabled with severe pain so this is a godsend! I can't praise it enough. Besides my husband and my baby, getting a diagnosis of OSA is the best thing that has happened to me.

[Elle]

Hi Frankie, I did understand you while I was reading your post but I have a concentration problem and then forget and get off track....sorry about that. I think there will be more people with actual helpful information around during the day so I hope you get some answers. I tend to ramble once I get on a topic so again sorry.

[Frankie84]

Elle,

I think we all have concentration problems that stem from our sleep disorder. No need to apologise.

[Julie]

Hi - I think if you''re asking about stress busters, you'd be better off to just Google that because everyone seems to have lots of answers, everything from meditation to running marathons.

As far as coffee goes, I would just test it out myself (allow a few days to get past the withdrawal symptoms for a real effect) and as far as being pregnant goes, I'd much, much sooner talk to a gynecologist rather than a sleep doctor who may know next to nothing about hormones, etc. which are partly going to be implicated in stress levels of pregnancy.

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.
Would you mind please checking your machine against the one you have chosen in your profile. It has not been supplied since prior to 2007 and does not work with the humidifier that you have chosen.
So unless you are using and old machine from a friend...I am thinking you probably have a Philips Respironics System One Remstar Pro with CFlex+. In the equipment drop down menu it is listed as PR System One Remstar Pro with CFlex+. If you have this machine you have software choices easily available so you can see your own reports and possibly spot something on your data that may have impacted your sleep and thus how you feel.
I have some examples of your software choices here. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64906&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... re+options

Even without stress our bodies will sleep differently from night to night. It would be expected that you feel less rested on the days after a higher than wanted AHI. I would want to make sure that there wasn't something going on with the reports before I blamed stress as sole culprit. Might be that stress caused more tossing and turning and more leaks and more leaks let the events sneak past the defenses. Could be no tossing and turning but still having leaks.

Finally if nothing on the report jumps out as a factor...then perhaps lay the blame solely on stress and work on whichever method of relieving stress works for you. I like a cup of hot chocolate which goes against a lot of rules but it works for me.

[DoriC]

You don't mention your pressure, perhaps it's something as simple as tweaking your pressure a bit higher. Was that mentioned? You do list Encore Viewer as your software, are you checking the data yourself? Keep us posted.

[Suetois]

Re: the pregnancy question. You might want to keep an eye on your AHI. Pregnancy hormones relax muscles, so it's certainly possible that having more relaxation in your throat would worsen (or start) apnea symptoms. Weight gain can do the same thing. If you get pregnant and you see your AHI starting to trend upward, calling your sleep doc would make sense. (Your OB would probably just refer you to the sleep doc anyway.)

[Frankie84]

Yes, I'm not sure I have my machine right so will look into that - thanks. What you suggest Pugsy sounds like the one I have. Clearly I'm not great and finding the right info. lol

I don't actually have the software myself sorry. I didn't know I could get it. Perhaps I will enquire on that, thanks. That way I can do what Suetois suggests and keep an eye on my AHI during pregnancy (amongst other things)

My pressure is set at 8 and there was some discussion about whether putting it up one might help but we also mentioned reducing stress as an alternative (certainly cheaper than going back to the specialist).

There were absolutely no mask leaks in my machine data so we can rule that out.

Thanks everyone. most helpful

[chunkyfrog]

It is not unusual for subtle changes in stress making significant differences in cpap numbers--for me at least
I wonder if anxiety causes tighter muscles in face and throat--affecting fit and function.
I don't really know why, but there appears to be some kind of pattern.
I just stick with the program and hope for the best.
Good oxygenated mommy will certainly be good for baby.
Hoping for you! Grandma frog wants to hear when you have news. . .

[Pugsy]

You can get SleepyHead here. Free and actually very stable for being young software.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/sleepyhead/

http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/s ... sers_Guide

[Frankie84]

Thanks Pugsy and chunkyfog (aka Grandma frog? lol).

I will try to remember to pop on here to let you know when there's news, Grandma Frog I'm hoping that being treated will prevent the next one from being premature too but only time will tell.

I'll work on trying to keep stress at bay.