Still wake up every 2 hours

[hopeforsleep]

I've been on CPAP for 10 months now. While my energy level is better than it was, I'm still waking up every 1.5 to 2 hours all night long. Sometimes I'm covered in sweat, sometimes not. I'm on Prempro hormones for many years and obGYN says the sweats are NOT menopause. So today the sleep doctor didn't really know what to do with me. She said we could do another sleep titration study but she really didn't think it would show anything different. She suggested a two week trial of a biPap machine. From her tone, she didn't sound too hopeful but seemed like she wanted to do something because I was almost in tears..
So my question is, what's been people's experience with biPap machines? Is there hope for me? I didn't have time to get the machine today, will have to go back next week.

[Nick Danger]

Of course, there's hope. I'm sorry that you have the Resmed 9 Escape - that has very little data capability, so we can't tell whether your treatment is working or not (nor can your doctor, btw...). I suggest you take your doctor up on the bipap trial. I don't think any of those are bricks (a brick is a machine that, like the Escape, provides very little data). If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will be along shortly to let you know which Bipap's to avoid. Tell your doctor that you would prefer to try a Bipap with autoset capabilities (that will kill two birds with one stone - that will give your doctor the titration data she is looking for).

[robysue]

I've been on CPAP for 10 months now. While my energy level is better than it was, I'm still waking up every 1.5 to 2 hours all night long. Sometimes I'm covered in sweat, sometimes not.

If it were NOT for your waking up covered in sweat sometimes, I'd be suggesting that you're just waking up post-REM and that you need to focus on not worrying about the wakes. Seriously: It's pretty normal for people to wake up after many REM cycles for just a minute or two to make sure that everything in the sleeping environment is "ok". And then go right back to sleep. And because the wake lasts less than 5 minutes, the person probably won't even remember them in the morning. And these normal post-REM wakes only become a serious issue if the person experiencing them is waking themselves up enough to prolong the wake---usually by worrying about the fact that they're awake in the middle of the night.

But given that you're waking up covered in sweat, that does make it seem like there's something else at work.

Unfortunately, the Resmed S9 Escape that you are currently using records no useful data. It's possible that you are still having a few clusters of events in REM cycles and the body goes into "fight or flight" mode and you wake up in a sweat during the post-REM wake. But there's no way to test this theory since your machine doesn't record the necessary data.

I'm on Prempro hormones for many years and obGYN says the sweats are NOT menopause.

I can't speak to what the Prempro hormones might be doing or not doing. I do know that when I went through menopause I did have some nights where I woke up drenched in sweat. Not many, but enough to know what it's like. (As a side note, menopause seems to have permanently reset my internal thermostat: For years I was chronically cold; now I'm usually comfortable, but more often I get hot than I get cold.)

So today the sleep doctor didn't really know what to do with me. She said we could do another sleep titration study but she really didn't think it would show anything different. She suggested a two week trial of a biPap machine. From her tone, she didn't sound too hopeful but seemed like she wanted to do something because I was almost in tears..
So my question is, what's been people's experience with biPap machines? Is there hope for me? I didn't have time to get the machine today, will have to go back next week.

I was switched to BiPAP after about 8 weeks of being absolutely miserable on CPAP/APAP. I was having really bad problems with aerophagia and I was not getting much high quality sleep.

I liked the feel of the BiPAP much better. It took the edge off the aerophagia, but I still had to do a lot of work to bring the insomnia under control.

One advantage I can think of in doing the two week trial on BiPAP: All BiPAP machines record full efficacy data. So since your current CPAP doesn't, you will be able to do some serious investigation into what the data shows is going on if your sleep patterns don't improve while using the BiPAP.

[JDS74]

Frequent wakes at night accompanied with intense sweating could be an endocrine problem. Ask your OB/GYN for a referral to see what might be going on. It is not likely that it is a menopause issue since you've been on premarin for some time and this is new. I've been doing the same thing for several years without any clear diagnosis so I hope it is something easy to find and correct.

If you had just stopped the hormones, then I would have said "Aha" as my wife is doing just that.

[avi123]

Looks to me as JDS suspect a glandular hormone or medication that you are taking. For example, Metformin causes cold sweats. In my case, waking up in sweats (occasionally) has to do with my borderline type 2 diabetes, and I also suspect some kind of food. If it was b/c of a sleep disorder then any CPAP should have made some difference in your sleep pattern.

You may also need to keep a sleep diary for two weeks. This includes information about what time you went to bed each night, when you woke up in the morning and how many times you woke up each night. This will help the doctor see your sleep patterns, which could contain clues about how to diagnose and correct your sleep problem.

A sleep medicine physician will also try to determine if there is something else that is causing your sleep problems or making the symptoms worse, such as:
•Another sleep disorder
•A medical condition
•Medication use
•A mental health disorder
•Substance abuse