I went from apap to cpap to apap now to bipap??

[elena88]

(EDITED TITLE AGAIN AFTER DOCTOR VISIT TODAY AUGUST NINE.. update at end of thread)

I have been on apap at a wide pressure range for almost five months, and yesterday I practiced during the day at pressure ten while watching tv,
it wasnt easy, but I watched an entire movie with it on!

Thanks to everyone who suggested I try it, I was relunctant, but I decided to bite that bullet!

I was really excited about last night to try it, and I had my mind set that I was going to keep it on, no matter what, and I did!

Also, when I woke up, I just told myself, Im going to wear this thing as long as I can, I logged thirteen hours!

Of course I was not sleeping all that time.

Anyway, for someone who didnt think they could handle it, I did! (okay, my epr was three, but I couldnt have done it without that help)

So, for all you newbies who are struggling, hang in there!

here are last nights graphs.. I feel like crap today, but what else is new? At least I got thru a straight cpap night!

A= practice during the day

[KC5cychris]

GOOD JOB!
BABY STEPS

We all have to take each day on step at a time.

Chris

[DreamOn]

Good for you, Elena!!! The more you do it, the easier it will become too!

If you can lower the EPR to 1 or 2 and keep the CPAP pressure at 10 for a while, that would be good. If you're unable to lower the EPR, then just keep it as it is. The pressure may need to be raised eventually, to catch more of those obstructive apneas and hypopneas, but it would help to stick with pressure at 10 for a while to get a better idea of what's going on. You continue to have a lot of central apneas, and I'd like to see if those lessen as you begin to sleep more soundly.

Elena, I have a question for you. Were you more awake or asleep during the first half of the night? And what about the second half?

[elena88]

baby steps, you got it, thanks Chris!


I did it dreamon!

I CAN sleep GET to sleep with it at ten, I knew I of course could sleep thru it, but this was the first time I FELL asleep with it..
I am sure practicing while awake did the trick, that really does help your brain get used to it!
I was sleeping pretty soundly I think when I had those centrals, and they dont always show up at leaks, or when Im turning in bed..
but that is still plenty under the cut off where they would even bother to mention it, Im still way under five, so hooray!

I wish I could have slept more during my sleep study to see what really would have happened.. oh well..

okay, Im going to do it again tonite! I dont think I will try lowering the epr for awhile, because its just so darn hard to exhale..


thanks for the tips and encouragment!

[liv2kite]

Why did you switch from APAP to CPAP ?

[elena88]

Elena, I have a question for you. Were you more awake or asleep during the first half of the night? And what about the second half?

I was awake at "A" that is during the day, and I was awake a little while before I fell asleep, and I dont now what happened after that, I think
i was sleeping.. might have woken up for a few minutes.

Why did you switch from APAP to CPAP ?

Well, its just a little experiment I was trying.. I have been struggling with sleeping with the apap, and it was suggested that perhaps the
pressure range was disturbing my sleep, as Im a very light sleeper.. so I am trying a straight pressure.. if I get one dialed in, I have the choice
of using that, or of changing my apap to a much tighter range. I never had a titration study in a lab, just a home study.. so Im still tweeking
stuff.. When I started my range was five to twenty, and that was just too wide open.. Maybe I will end up with eight to twelve as has been suggested..
The great thing about an apap, is that you can change it back and forth.

[bdp522]

Ya done good!!!!!!

Brenda

[torontoCPAPguy]

Congrats and keep at it!

I cannot empathize with your issue with APAP vs CPAP as I don't experience the same thing as you but rather, the opposite (I sleep better with APAP). I can empathize totally, however, with the frustration, as I have that T shirt. I found with APAP that I set the range at the bottom to the minimum that gave me my best numbers, more or less. And the high end I kept bringing down until it was just above the highest that the APAP pumped out to keep those events down to a minimum. I arrived at 11.8 - 15 cm after about 6 months of trial and error. My original Rx was for 9.8 cm and I knew that wasn't doing the job for me almost immediately. I have my EPR, BTW, set at -3 cm all the time and find that it makes for a more comfortable sleep. Interestingly, I have tried 11.8 cm and -3 EPR on my ResMed Escape II CPAP and I find, for some reason, that exhalation is NOT as easy as on the S8 Autoset II or now the S9 Autoset. (I have not tried the S8 Autoset II again as I had two of them and have sold and shipped one and the other I am awaiting the two fellows who were interested in them to make up their minds until Tuesday as it is a long weekend here in Canada anyway. It was also suggested to me that I compare the S8 and S9 with the same settings.... which I am thinking I would really like to do out of curiousity to see if the numbers are crazy different).

In any event, I am still going to play a wee bit more with the pressures but I think that I am about where I need to be. It isn't an overnight process IMHO. The only thing that I think might be of improved benefit to me is multiple sleep studies to see via polysomnography (did I get that right?) with EEG, exactly what my sleep patterns look like (i.e. REM, etc.). I monitor my blood oxygen saturation regularly with the CMS50E recording oximeter and take my BP with an automatic and recording BP unit (an Accutor 4) but can't leave it running as it wakes me up when the cuff inflates.

Still, although I feel as good as I have in many months I do not feel quite fully rested as I once did on awakening - otherwise I might just call it a day as far as playing with pressures is concerned and keep an eye on SO2 and BP on an ongoing basis.

Congratulations on your progress and keep at it! It does take time and effort... and certainly it takes being willful enough to work outside your comfort zone. I was up at the airfield with my son who is on a flying bursary yesterday again, while my wife was at our 'group's' pool party and she was telling me that one of the guys who has severe sleep apnea was dozing off constantly all afternoon and evening .... am wondering now if he is getting the therapy that he needs and am about to call him to talk CPAP/APAP/sleep studies/etc. I don't want to lose any more friends to heart attack/stroke, etc.

[echo]

That's great Elena! I'm glad you're able to sleep now with that pressure. I hope it continues to go well, and I really really hope you see an improvement. Don't get discouraged if you still get a bad night in the next few days, I find that still sometimes I really have trouble falling asleep with the cpap, for example when it was in the 90s and we had no airco in the bedroom! Just work through it! You now KNOW that you CAN handle it!!

(BTW, I think *I* won the bet with Den now )

[elena88]

Ya done good!!!!!!

Brenda

Thanks Brenda! I keep thinking of that old trash bag commercial, when they say in this little high mouse voice.. 'WIMPY WIMPY WIMPY"
and I dont WANT to be that!

I cannot empathize with your issue with APAP vs CPAP as I don't experience the same thing as you but rather, the opposite (I sleep better with APAP).

The jury is still out on this one torontocpap guy! I may be right behind you!

That's great Elena! I'm glad you're able to sleep now with that pressure. I hope it continues to go well, and I really really hope you see an improvement. Don't get discouraged if you still get a bad night in the next few days, I find that still sometimes I really have trouble falling asleep with the cpap, for example when it was in the 90s and we had no airco in the bedroom! Just work through it! You now KNOW that you CAN handle it!!

(BTW, I think *I* won the bet with Den now )

Oh crap, YOU won the bet with the wulf? NOW, I have to stay at cpap, or do you have another bet how long I will last till I WIMP out?


here are last nights goodies! I put the hose above my head again, not sure that worked out so great, but mouth was taped, but may have come loose..

A = awake B = spike mask adjustment..

[ww]

Hi Elena. Yes, it is one baby step at a time. I believe you will see a lot more improvement at the same CPAP pressure if you can get control of your leaks, which appears that you are losing a lot of your therapy through your mouth. Taping your mouth, using a chin strap, training yourself to only breathe through your nose, sleeping with your tongue firmly panted against your teeth in the roof of your mouth, or using a full face mouth should make a big difference! Your leak line should show 0.0 with the smiley face once you get control of this leakage!!! This was how bad my mouth leakage was and how a near zero leak line looks. viewtopic/t54207/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33 ... ne#p288619 Good luck and keep after each and every problem and you will solve them one by one!!!

[echo]

(BTW, I think *I* won the bet with Den now )

Oh crap, YOU won the bet with the wulf? NOW, I have to stay at cpap, or do you have another bet how long I will last till I WIMP out?

I've lost track. There was only one bet, and that was whether you would stick to straight CPAP (somewhere between one day, three days, or one week). Whatever, at least you're sticking with SOMETHING xPAP related.

here are last nights goodies! I put the hose above my head again, not sure that worked out so great, but mouth was taped, but may have come loose..

Oh gosh, that's the start of a train wreck all right! I'm wondering, i read in another one of your posts that you're cutting a small hole in the tape so that you can cough. While I totally understand the motivation for this, I'm wondering if that isn't setting you a few steps back. Leaking is leaking regardless of whether it's pouring out of your mouth or seeping out slowly. Your leak line is GREAT while you're awake, btw. (hey just trying to be positive here )

Are you getting chipmunk cheeks now that you're taping? (you know, where your cheeks blow up because the air just *has* to escape out your mouth?).
Leaks aside, THAT can also be a cause of arousals and therefore poor sleep in the absence of a high AHI. Some of us eventually went the full face mask route just because of that (Ozij comes to mind. My reasons were numerous but that was one of them). OK, don't mean to discourage you here, just working in full troubleshooting mode.

[elena88]

I find that still sometimes I really have trouble falling asleep with the cpap, for example when it was in the 90s and we had no airco in the bedroom! Just work through it! You now KNOW that you CAN handle it!!

Im going to up the pressure tonite, to see if that takes care of those few little obstructives.. maybe to 11, oh Im so brave!
OMG, you slept without airconditioning in the nineties with that! geez, you are a tough cookie!

(BTW, I think *I* won the bet with Den now )

Oh crap, YOU won the bet with the wulf? NOW, I have to stay at cpap, or do you have another bet how long I will last till I WIMP out?

I've lost track. There was only one bet, and that was whether you would stick to straight CPAP (somewhere between one day, three days, or one week). Whatever, at least you're sticking with SOMETHING xPAP related.

Okay, so if I stick with cpap for a week, you win, and if I dont he wins? Oh geez, louise! I WAS so tempted to go back to apap with a tighter range, but
I know that wulf would want to huff and puff and blow my dial back to cpap!
Its ONLY been a couple days, so maybe I will get used to it.

Are you getting chipmunk cheeks now that you're taping?

No, chipmunk cheeks, geez, that happened once and it freaked me out! That is just weirdorama! Oh my little slit in my tape, you want to take
THAT away from me too?? oh boo hoo! okay, I want do it tonight.. (note freudian slip) I think I had the chipmonk cheeks when my mouth was taped awhile back.. Thanks for all your sluething my dear!

[Wulfman]

Still following this ongoing saga to see what the outcome is........

Oh geez, louise! I WAS so tempted to go back to apap.......

Go ahead......make my day.


Den

[sleepmba]

Interesting, thanks for posting! Please post your progress.