introduction, and a history of apap->bipap->central apneas?

[palerider]

@palerider - Hope you had an ok week as well.

Good enough, thanks.

it's amazing how much better I have been able to breathe through my nose and I slept like a baby.

I stopped the medicines after 3 days. slept ok, but not great.

Maybe you should continue them...

1. Has anyone found a device that helps keeping the nose propped open? or I guess maybe switching to the P10 might help with this? Does anyone use the P10 + breathe right strips, or is that a dumb idea? maybe taping the P10 in place? My nostrils move around so much from inhalation to exhalation I'm scared they will pop or force the p10 right out.

My guess is that it wouldn't be an issue, because there would be pressure inside the nostrils that would effectively stent them open, the same way it does your throat. The upcoming Bleep Dreamport system might work well for you, too.

Since it's difficult to breathe during my nose during the day as well, is it worth it to look into sleep surgery? I really hate the idea of surgery and always try to avoid it all costs, but I don't know if it's any better to have to take decongestants for the rest of my life. And I love my nose, but my nostrils are comically small and collapse to the diameter of half of a pen upon expiration. No wonder I've looked at noses as nearly completely futile for breathing and only useful for smelling.

Breathing through your nose is how it's supposed to work... So, yes, you might look into nasal, not sleep surgery... At least check into it.

[dogsarelife]

Zonker - thanks for the input! I tried to order the p10 from cpap.com but am waiting on my doctor's prescription. I've been calling their office but no response, and I wonder if or why they would object to buying a mask from cpap.com instead of through my DME.

is it ok to ask how do others circumvent the doctor's prescription you are supposed to have to buy a mask and still support cpap.com...


As to Flonase - I will look into it. There was a book called "UARS Relief" that I took with a grain of salt. The guy talked about rotating Flonase, claritin, Allegra, and Afrin. He recommended rotating meds because he after a while they each lose their effectiveness. That is my experience with the meds I used, Nyquil and Afrin, plus Afrin having the painful rebound congestion if you use it for more than 3 days.

I knew someone who was addicted to Afrin and I didn't understand it at the time but I certainly do now (is there is a face that translates into something very basic dawning on someone)


Palerider - Thank you, I will look into the thread on the Bleep dreamport. Thanks for the correction that I want a referral to I guess an ENT for nasal surgery (oh no, not again, not another doctor ), not sleep surgery.

Btw, I thought about asking Jason my question about arousals, but then thought better of it once I realized my nostrils are completely collapsing and I am 90% sure that's my cause of arousals.

Thank you for helping me peel back another layer on my sleep onion!

[palerider]

Zonker - thanks for the input! I tried to order the p10 from cpap.com but am waiting on my doctor's prescription. I've been calling their office but no response, and I wonder if or why they would object to buying a mask from cpap.com instead of through my DME.

is it ok to ask how do others circumvent the doctor's prescription you are supposed to have to buy a mask and still support cpap.com...

I get my stuff on amazon and ebay for the most part.

Thank you for helping me peel back another layer on my sleep onion!

Certainly!

[zonker]

Zonker - thanks for the input! I tried to order the p10 from cpap.com but am waiting on my doctor's prescription. I've been calling their office but no response, and I wonder if or why they would object to buying a mask from cpap.com instead of through my DME.

is it ok to ask how do others circumvent the doctor's prescription you are supposed to have to buy a mask and still support cpap.com...


As to Flonase - I will look into it. There was a book called "UARS Relief" that I took with a grain of salt. The guy talked about rotating Flonase, claritin, Allegra, and Afrin. He recommended rotating meds because he after a while they each lose their effectiveness. That is my experience with the meds I used, Nyquil and Afrin, plus Afrin having the painful rebound congestion if you use it for more than 3 days.

I knew someone who was addicted to Afrin and I didn't understand it at the time but I certainly do now (is there is a face that translates into something very basic dawning on someone)

oh, sorry. i didn't realize you didn't have a prescription. then, i'd do as palerider says and go an alternate route of purchase.

and afrin? yeah, that kind of stuff scares the absolute HELL out of me. i'm a timid soul who doesn't want to become addicted to something. the flonase works for me so i'm sticking with that.

good luck!

[palerider]

and afrin? yeah, that kind of stuff scares the absolute HELL out of me. i'm a timid soul who doesn't want to become addicted to something.

now I know what to use to make zonker behave.. :cackle:

I got a three pack from Costco, and I'm not afraid to use it!

[Okie bipap]

You can order the mask assembly kit and the head gear separately from cpap.com for the same price as the complete mask. This will give you a complete mask and does not require a prescription to purchase. Mask parts can be purchased without prescriptions.

[zonker]

and afrin? yeah, that kind of stuff scares the absolute HELL out of me. i'm a timid soul who doesn't want to become addicted to something.

now I know what to use to make zonker behave.. :cackle:

I got a three pack from Costco, and I'm not afraid to use it!

oh no! you're going to get a crop dusting plane and fly low over my house, aren't you?

[palerider]

and afrin? yeah, that kind of stuff scares the absolute HELL out of me. i'm a timid soul who doesn't want to become addicted to something.

now I know what to use to make zonker behave.. :cackle:

I got a three pack from Costco, and I'm not afraid to use it!

oh no! you're going to get a crop dusting plane and fly low over my house, aren't you?

Heck no, these days, I'd just use a drone...

[zonker]

and afrin? yeah, that kind of stuff scares the absolute HELL out of me. i'm a timid soul who doesn't want to become addicted to something.

now I know what to use to make zonker behave.. :cackle:

I got a three pack from Costco, and I'm not afraid to use it!

oh no! you're going to get a crop dusting plane and fly low over my house, aren't you?

Heck no, these days, I'd just use a drone...

too bad. i was picturing you in leather flying helmet, goggles and a scarf whipping out behind you.

[palerider]

and afrin? yeah, that kind of stuff scares the absolute HELL out of me. i'm a timid soul who doesn't want to become addicted to something.

now I know what to use to make zonker behave.. :cackle:

I got a three pack from Costco, and I'm not afraid to use it!

oh no! you're going to get a crop dusting plane and fly low over my house, aren't you?

Heck no, these days, I'd just use a drone...

too bad. i was picturing you in leather flying helmet, goggles and a scarf whipping out behind you.

Oh, I will be, I'll just be on the ground, across the street... Just like this:

Mozilla-Publishes-Firefox-Test-Pilot-Results-2.jpg

[dogsarelife]

you guys are funny

zonker I don't know what it is that scares me so much about being addicted to Afrin either, but I've heard it's *very* painful to wean yourself from it, and I think I've got my hands full enough with sleep apnea and all the things that arose from it or got worse from it.

Palerider Ah so amazon is the source of your supplies! I forgot that you would know best how to circumvent a doctor since you mostly went about this xpap journey all by your lonesome self. I'm trying to push my brother to do the same.

Okie bipap Ah, I knew there was a way to circumvent the requirement for a prescription! thanks for sharing your trick too.

hope you all get to enjoy the rest of your weekend!

[palerider]

you guys are funny

zonker I don't know what it is that scares me so much about being addicted to Afrin either, but I've heard it's *very* painful to wean yourself from it,

I woldn't say it's painful... you just get wicked rebound congestion when you stop after getting dependent on it.

So, the trick is to just stop on one side... let that one get all blocked up, and keep using it on the other side, till the first side clears up and you can breathe... then stop using it on the other side.

I've used it for nearly a month, without any issues, but only at night.

[dogsarelife]

Palerider - I see, the people I know who used it must have tried to go completely cold turkey. I'm glad it works for you using it conservatively at night. I wish my nostrils weren't so flimsy

Also the picture of the fox with the the Indiana Jones head cover and motorcycle glasses just loaded for some reason. Gave me a good chuckle!

do you ride a motorcyle in real life?

hoping no one does *actual* crop dusting the way I'm thinking of it....

[dogsarelife]

Hi - I had written another post and palerider reminded me to move it back to here, so that people could see and be reminded of my history, and also I realized that the sticky post for newbies recommends to keep everything together unless it's been a significant amount of time.

So here is me moving my post back to its correct location.

Apologies for the confusion and not following the rules.

as always, thanks if anyone can help! I sure do appreciate you all.


The other night I'm pretty sure I had some awful events - woke up feeling like I was hit by a truck, feeling all the pain, irritability etc.

the AHI technically was fine, but I guess I'm confused about how the AirCurve 10S marks events.

1) for example - how did that time period I am showing in sleepyhead not get marked as a hypopnea when there was a pretty drastic reduction in flow for about a minute? I'm so confused because I've seen hypopneas get marked that are actually nothing because it was just an arousal, but how does the software miss what seems to me (and felt like) a pretty obvious hypopnea?

2) is it true that the AirCurve 10 S doesn't mark flow limitations and only the vpap does?

I am asking this question because I thought I read someone say that the AirCurve 10 S doesn't measure flow limitations because it has no way to respond to them, but I could be wrong.

side note: As many of you might guess (or not!) - the UF1 and UF2 are user-flagged 1 and user flagged 2 events, using the functionality in sleepyhead to flag reductions in flow rate that meet certain criteria. I believe user flag 1 is a reduction of flow (I forget the %) for 8 seconds or more, and user flag 2 is a reduction of flow of 50% for 5 seconds or more.

I know there is a note to use caution with that setting, but I have found that the UF1 and UF2 catch events where my heart rate monitor/oxygen saturation monitor is going bananas (drop in oxygen sat levels, but huge spike in heart rate) but for some reason the bilevel pap is not catching these times or marking them as events.

3) and then the whole point of asking these questions - would a vpap auto have raised pressure in response to the reduction in flow shown below? does a vpap auto work better at dealing with flow limitations than my machine?

thanks everyone.

Also - it's crawfish season where I am. or mud bugs as some people call them. I don't know why but I love them and all the corn and potatoes and spices they get cooked in. sad for everyone if they don't get to enjoy them this time of year!

030219-b.png (121.45 KiB) Viewed 3588 times

[palerider]

1) for example - how did that time period I am showing in sleepyhead not get marked as a hypopnea when there was a pretty drastic reduction in flow for about a minute? I'm so confused because I've seen hypopneas get marked that are actually nothing because it was just an arousal, but how does the software miss what seems to me (and felt like) a pretty obvious hypopnea?

2) is it true that the AirCurve 10 S doesn't mark flow limitations and only the vpap does?

I am asking this question because I thought I read someone say that the AirCurve 10 S doesn't measure flow limitations because it has no way to respond to them, but I could be wrong.

3) and then the whole point of asking these questions - would a vpap auto have raised pressure in response to the reduction in flow shown below? does a vpap auto work better at dealing with flow limitations than my machine?

1) It's *possible* that you're running into a sleephead bug, but the only way to know would be to load that data into Resscan and compare, to see if there was a flag there... it looks to me like there should have been, but I've never been good and eyeballing hypos.

2) As far as I know, the S doesn't do flow limitations.

3) yes, the Vauto would raise pressure. Autosets (and vautos) raise pressure for snores, FL's, hypos and apneas.