Newbie

[mike291068]

Chicagogranny - I totally screwed up that last post! To answer your question, I was waking acting out my dreams swinging and kicking. I decided to video myself and noticed every time I seemed to drift into deep sleep I would stop breathing/choke/snore and wake up.

[zonker]

ah! i see firnd dog slobber has answered.

so do like that!

Careful who you're calling firnd.

and i suppose you aren't a big fan of lutefisk?

damned anti-norwegian!!

[mike291068]

I was still tired this AM(go figure) so decided to take mask off and see what happened. I did fall back asleep for a bit and got "different" sleep. I can't even really describe how it's different but it doesn't feel bad and I'm wondering if this helping, hurting or doesn't matter??

It matters and it's hurting.

CPAP therapy is not just about getting better sleep. it's about harm reduction to your body.

Sleeping with untreated Sleep Apnea damages one's body.

You are also creating an association, whenever you're not sleeping well or can't sleep, your solution is to take the mask off. This association will become stronger, then habit, then potentially lead to more bouts of not using the mask.

You've only been using the mask for a couple weeks, your body still hasn't completely adapted to it, the more you wear it, the more accustomed you get.

You're not going to get permission from too many here to keep taking it off, unless there is a compelling reason too. Poorer sleep quality in the first few weeks is not that reason.

Yes I take my mask off during the night when I have to take my dog out and/or go the bathroom only. I do not/have not taken it off whenever I'm not sleeping well. I decided the last couple of days after 8-10 hours of CPAP to see what would happen without it. Not getting defensive but maybe I didn't explain properly. Thanks!

[jimbud]

I haven't had uninterrupted sleep in decades. Some nights my sleep seems to be improving, others not so much. I don't see the frequent wakeups going away anytime soon but who knows.


My assumption and hope is that the CPAP is helping and my body has been so sleep deprived for so long it is going to take a while to adjust but I don't know for sure. I can sense the frustration in you guys just imagine being me

I have had interrupted sleep for many years also. Still do.

The difference with Apnea interruption and garden variety interruption is:

Someone waking you up using a rubber hose.

Someone waking you up with a gentle shake.

Patience is a virtue.
Use the CPAP.
JPB

[mike291068]

Here's my last few nights. I increased minimum to 8 last night and am thinking it is too much. Had a rough time sleeping, had to tighten mask to prevent leaks, etc so am thinking of going back to 7 for now or maybe somewhere in between. Also the aerophagia was worst last night but tolerable I suppose. Pepto bismol seems to have taken care of the diarrhea issue. I got a call from sleep doc's office and said he wants to see me "face to face" Not sure if I will get scolded for changing pressure on my own, we shall see but at least he cares(I think) lol. My follow up wasn't scheduled until next month but I will now be going to see him tomorrow. Any thoughts/input?


Oh and the big gap Saturday I woke up wide awake and decided to get some work done!

[Miss Emerita]

Glad to hear the diarrhea cleared up. One nice thing about your machine is that you can raise pressures by tiny increments. You may need some more pressure for the remaining obstructive events, but if you go slowly, you’re less likely to have problems. Try .2 increases, each one for at least 3 days. For me, it can take several weeks to adapt to even a small increase. At any rate, be patient!

[mike291068]

Thanks Miss E! I am being as patient as my condition allows I have received varying opinions on how much/quickly to raise the pressure. Last direction from my sleep doc he suggested raising the minimum to 8 or switching to a fixed pressure of 10. I am curious what the implications would be given my issues but I'm assuming that fixed at 10 would be way too much at this point? Unless the fixed pressure of 10 results in an "effective pressure" that is lower?? Like my title says, no clue! Still learning the ropes trying to figure this all out.

[zoocrewphoto]

ah! i see firnd dog slobber has answered.

so do like that!

Careful who you're calling firnd.

and i suppose you aren't a big fan of lutefisk?

damned anti-norwegian!!

Uff da!

[zonker]

ah! i see firnd dog slobber has answered.

so do like that!

Careful who you're calling firnd.

and i suppose you aren't a big fan of lutefisk?

damned anti-norwegian!!

Uff da!

[mike291068]

my latest. I felt like I slept reasonably well aside from waking from a dream kicking my legs like I was swimming and scaring the crap out of my dog. The CA's seem to be much higher than I've had in the past and my AHI was not good at all. Any insights as to what might be going on? I see sleep doc tomorrow which I am looking forward to. Any insights as to what might be going on?

[Pugsy]

The bulk of the centrals/CAs seem to be happening around 06:00 shortly after a known awake time where the machine was turned off and back on again. I am betting those are awake flagged events and probably don't count. If that's the case the few OAs and hyponeas around the same time are also false positives.

Now why you woke up....can't really get an idea from the data we are given.

[mike291068]

The bulk of the centrals/CAs seem to be happening around 06:00 shortly after a known awake time where the machine was turned off and back on again. I am betting those are awake flagged events and probably don't count. If that's the case the few OAs and hyponeas around the same time are also false positives.

Now why you woke up....can't really get an idea from the data we are given.

That is the question - why did I wake up? I wake up all night long, was hoping it was due to sleep apnea but can't be sure. Anxiety has played a major part in my life to date but I think I am finally getting a handle on it. I am hoping it is not REM sleep behavior disorder which I appear to meet some of the criteria but we shall see. Does it look like it would be beneficial to up the minimum sooner than later?

[Pugsy]

I think I probably have already done the arousal speech with you but just in case I haven't....
2 kinds of arousals/wake ups.....those from airway related issues (sleep apnea or UARS or flow reductions or something else in the airway)...and spontaneous arousals which could be anything else and unrelated to airway issues. The list for potential culprits for spontaneous arousals is probably a mile long.
Sleep maintenance insomnia IMHO is primarily caused by spontaneous arousals in most people.
I will take the worst OSA any day of the week over spontaneous arousals because we have some semblance of control over airway related wake ups using cpap.

I don't know what to tell you about increasing the pressure....it comes with the nasty side effect of aerophagia in a lot of people and I seem to remember you might be one of those people...so even if your arousals are airway related and more pressure might reduce them you have the potential for more spontaneous arousals from belly issues or some unwanted daytime symptoms that negate any gains you might get during the night. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

If you are taking any meds for the anxiety....those meds will often cause unwanted arousals during the night. They just mess with sleep quality in all sorts of ways.
Even if you don't take any meds that might be a factor...there's the anxiety itself which also can cause sleep disturbances.

Figuring out the cause of wake ups...not an easy task at all for a lot of people.

[mike291068]

Thank you Pugsy - yes you went over it and yes the aerophagia has been an issue but seems to be under control with the pressure at 7 and some OTC meds. I just didn't know if something stuck out right away that says yes! simple! the pressure needs to be increased. I do intend to raise the pressure and just need to figure out when and how much. I know I know patience is a virtue

Thanks again

[Pugsy]

Nothing stands out screaming "fix me" that I can see. FLs aren't bad at all and the bulk of your AHI is central and probably related to wake ups.

When you decide to try more pressure...go up slowly....very slowly in small increments.
I don't think that your wake ups are related to airway issues but I could be wrong and hope I am because if they are a little more pressure might just be the trick needed.

Tweaking stage....takes time and small changes and LOTS of patience which of course no one ever has enough of.