New to all of this. Looking for insight.

[Troop88]

Finally after 12 years of being told I snore like crazy and hold my breath at night, I had a sleep study done. My ahi was 47 and oxygen levels dropped to 80. Been on dreamstation auto cpap for 3 nights now and its telling me on the screen that my ahi is an average of 0.4
I would assume that's pretty good. I did not get alot of info from the sleep doctor about what to look for or goals ect. I have not felt a huge improvement yet but am hopeful it will come. Couple questions.

1. How do I know my oxygen levels are good now that I'm on the cpap? Should I somehow monitor that ? If so what products are recommended?

2. I still notice that I breathe through my mouth. I have the full face mask. Is it ok to breathe through the mouth with that mask or should I be looking into a chin strap?

3. I have read a little bit about software to read your own data. What will that be able to tell me ? Should I be looking at more than my ahi that my machine tells me in the morning?

4. Any tips for a new guy to have would be very appreciated. Thank you.

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

I am short on time at the moment but thought I would address a couple of your concerns.
If you are using a full face mask it doesn't matter if you mouth breathe and there is no reason to wear a chin strap.
As long as your mouth is part of the circuit the pressure is maintained in the airway. The main problem with mouth breathing with a nasal mask is the loss of pressure out the mouth and you aren't losing anything since the mouth is a covered/sealed part of the mask circuit.

Actually to reassure yourself as to the oxygen levels being back up where they should be you can ask your DME to get a request from the doctor for an overnight pulse oximetry test to be done. Usually free or insurance will pay for it.
If you want to do it yourself there are products that you can use yourself...cost 50 to 100 bucks depending on features and where you get it from. Overnight recording pulse oximeters....make sure they record overnight though and not a cheap spot check unit.

Your AHI is great. How many hours of sleep are you getting? Are those hours fragmented with very many wake ups?
Do you take any meds of any kind? If so what?
What symptoms are you having that you say you don't feel any improvement yet and you expected to?

[Troop88]

I am getting about 9-10 hrs a night so far. I wake a couple times a night I think. I was just concerned if my oxygen was normal now that I'm on cpap. I'm a worry worm so when I heard him say that my oxygen was down to 80 it scared me a bit.

[Troop88]

Feel tired all day. Not alot of motivation. I do also suffer from PTSD and depression so I'm sure that's a huge contributing factor. Just want to make sure I'm looking at things I should be and not missing things.

[Pugsy]

As long as the sleep apnea is treated effectively and assuming that you have no other cause for the low oxygen levels...we will assume that your oxygen levels will return to normal.
Mine dropped to 73%. I opted to just ask the DME to get an overnight pulse oximetry order from the doctor and had it done about 2 months into therapy and everything was fine and I never paid anything for it.
At the time (10 years ago) overnight pulse oximeters weren't as common and they were a bit pricey and I didn't want to mess with it myself.
Now they are cheaper and the software for the patient to use is much more user friendly....so your choice depending on how much of a worry wart you are and how much you want or can spend.

Some examples of reports and models explained here
http://www.pulseoxstore.com/overnight-pulse-ox
If you want to do it....figure out which model you want and then check EBay or Amazon or by from Kevin at Cooper's (Kevin will help you but you pay for that help)....Amazon and EBay you are on your own but they are cheaper.

[Pugsy]

Fatigue can have many, many potential causes and sleep apnea is but one in a very long list.
Mental health is important and remember the cpap machine can only fix issues directly related to sleep apnea.
They don't do much for mental health issues unless the mental issues are made worse by the poor sleep.

Give yourself at least one full month before expecting/hoping for much improvement. Once you are sleeping better for longer periods of time and all that....hopefully the mental health will improve as well.

Any improvement will likely be gradual and not overnight. While we do read about people having an overnight miracle...they are actually in a minority. Most people find it takes some time for the body to heal and regroup from the years of sleep apnea damage.
You didn't get this way overnight...can't expect to fix it overnight.

It took me at least 3 months to see much change in energy levels...some people it takes even longer.

Finally...the mind is a powerful tool...sometimes it helps us and sometimes it hurts us. PTSD and depression ...the mind isn't helping us but it is really hard to fix those problems. Sometimes accepting the limitations is a step forward in dealing with those issues.
At least with proper sleep and no more ongoing damage from lack of oxygen the brain will have more good stuff to use to help you deal with the bad stuff. Give you a better leg up hopefully.
Give your body a chance to heal. If you broke your leg would you expect it to be fixed immediately with just putting a cast on it???
Of course not, you need time for things to heal.

[Smargie]

That's an impressive AHI for someone so new to CPAP!

I'm a huge worry wart, too. If you want, you can start by putting the model of your CPAP in your profile. Many machines are compatible with a free software program called OSCAR, which breaks down many different aspects of your previous night's sleep--what kinds of apneas you are having and when they occur, changes in pressure (if your machine is an auto), periods of irregular breathing, how many times you wake up, etc. I don't know if this would help you or not since your AHI is great so far. And if you are a really anxious person it could send you down a rabbit hole and maybe make you worry more for no good reason. I agree with Pugsy that checking your oxygen levels is a good place to start.

Are you getting treatment for your depression and PTSD? Do you see a psychiatrist and/or therapist? I'm wondering if the depression makes you sleep more than you need to, which can add to grogginess and low energy levels. Does your PTSD cause you to have nightmares? If so, that could affect the quality of your sleep, even if it doesn't cause you to wake up.

Best of luck to you. Mental illness is a bear and can wreak havoc in so many different ways. I'm glad you've made progress on your sleep apnea...it's a good start and will probably eventually give you more energy and mental clarity so that you can work on your other issues.

[Troop88]

Yes , currently seeing a therapist for the PTSD, Depression and anxiety. I tried putting the model in the bio. It's a dreamstation auto cpap. Prescribed pressure of 8-14. This morning my ahi was 0.2. I dont really have nightmares. I do dream though. I was told by the doc that my apneas were from OSA. I could just be overly anxious about all of it just dont want to be missing info I should be looking at.

[Okie bipap]

As others have said, your AHI really looks good. Some people show immediate improvement when they start treatment. Others, like my self, take a while to show any improvement. After I was in treatment for a month or so, I suddenly realized I could sit at the table and work the crossword puzzle in the newspaper and not fall asleep while doing it, and I could actually sit and watch a movie on the TV without falling asleep. Did you have an at home study, or one in a sleep lab? If it was in the lab, they probably did a split night study where the first part of the night determines you have sleep apnea, and the second part of the night is used to determine what pressure you need. If you had a lab study, get a copy of your study results. This will show your oxygen level prior to treatment and during treatment. Without the machine, by blood oxygen dropped to 63% before they put me on oxygen to complete the study. Once I was on the machine with the proper pressure, my oxygen level returned to a normal level.

[Troop88]

I had a sleep study at the hospital. Yes , the tech woke me up at I think 1am and put me on cpap. I will request a copy of the study.

New question. My whole life my BP has been perfect. 120/80 or lower. Yesterday I woke up in the morning and felt odd so I decided to take my BP. It was 142/91. Again today I took it and it was high 130s over mid 90s. Went into the ER today and got checked out. Everything heart related looked good. Blood work looked good. Ekg was good. BP continued to stay around the 137/96 the entire time I was in the ER today. Doc told me it was a bit high but I was stable. Told me to follow up with primary care , which I have tomorrow morning. The only thing that has changed for me is going on CPAP. Could this be causing the high BP ? If so why ? Body just not use to it ? Now I'm debating using it tonight. Anyone else experience anything like this when first starting therapy ?