Ive been diagnosed with Severe Sleep Apnea – Advice Please

zonker wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 08, 2021 11:53 am

i've been taking melatonin for the longest time. at least as long as i've been on cpap (6 years). do you think that i should cease? maybe my body has had time to adjust and i won't need it anymore.

I don't know. The jury is still divided as to long term need and efficacy. Some say no problem taking it forever and others say don't do it. I think that a lot is going to depend on dosage. I admit I haven't dug deep in this area though.
It's one of those things I really haven't had a need to form much of an opinion on since I personally can't take it without significant problems.
Other than noting that melatonin comes with baggage and most people take more than is needed...I really haven't thought much about it.

My job is only to provide information...not make decisions.

In general though I still adhere to the "if it ain't broke no need to go fixing it"...kind of thinking.
Not everyone has a problem with unwanted side effects...so if a person doesn't have a problem then there's no need to go trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist....IMHO.
Though if I were a male...the libido side effect would likely scare the hell out of me because I don't think it increases libido. Guys are kinda funny about Mr Woody. Mr Woody is real important to a lot of guys and I guess maybe secondary to a lot of gals as well. All depends on one's perspective I suppose.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 08, 2021 12:25 pm

My job is only to provide information...not make decisions.

yes. but your opinion is highly valued by anyone with a lick of sense.

as to the rest....no comment!

MMcG wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 08, 2021 7:59 am

If noise is bothering you, Ben, why not try ear plugs for a while. The natural wax ones are probably the best but they are fairly expensive (single use only recommended), but that can be stretched to a couple of nights without any problems, from personal experience. They block out maybe close to 50% of the noise, but you will become more conscious of the sound of your own breathing as a result, so a bit of a trade-off there.

BTW I have a beard and moustache and use a nasal pillow without any leakage problems. You don't need a perfect seal. Your mask/nasal pillow has in-built deliberate "leakage" anyway to facilitate exhalation. But you need to have it fitted tightly enough, so that it doesn't come lose or shift when you turn in bed. How tight is largely a process of trial and error, but lean towards what might feel slightly tight initially - just personal experience - I got used to it.

Thanks for the suggestion .

The ear plugs are some thing I'm going to try , I was thinking that when a mask was on my face there had to be no leaking at all for the machine to work correctly , so I tend to adjust the mask straps as tight as possible.

I'm learning some thing new all the time


Ben.

So its December the 8th and I arrived back at our house later than normal , so unfortunately no opportunity to try the machine and mask out during the day time.

I swapped the DreamWear mask to the MW size ( Medium Wide ) and this time I was sleeping alone .

This size of mask did not feel as comfortable as the Medium size , it was around 11.30 pm when I turned on my side to try and get some sleep , again I could hear the air coming into the mask

I was just laying there with my eyes close , but not actually asleep. Then some time later ( still not asleep , not sure exactly when ) I had the feeling that some thing was blocking my breathing and I panicked and quickly removed the mask and turned the machine off.

During the rest of that night I returned to laying on my side , but never really managed to get any long periods of sleep. One thing that sticks in my mind is this.......

When I'm wearing a mask and the machine is running , when some thing occurs like the '' some thing sticking in my throat '' feeling and I panic and remove the mask and turn off the machine , when I start to try and recall just what just happened , in my mind I'm thinking that I was actually dreaming at the time some thing happened . Not sure if that makes any sense

So to day I'm once more feeling tired and grumpy , and looking in the bathroom mirror I seem to have more dark areas under my eye.

This is the December 8th OSCAR report.

Ben.

It's possible to dream in any sleep stage, and when people have been in a light sleep, they may feel as though they'd been mostly awake. So you may have been sleeping and dreaming.

But what is becoming clear is that you need to find a way to master the reflex of panic and mask removal, as well as the behavior of not putting your mask back on when you've taken it off. You know how your mind works much better than any of us can; do you think you can tell yourself you're OK, you can keep your mask on, you can go back to sleep with it on? Do you think that you can get yourself to put it back on if you do take it off?

And as far as I can see, you ARE okay. There don't seem to be any glitches in your flow rate right before your panicky wake-ups. You can go back to zoom in on multiple Oscar charts yourself to confirm this.

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 12:36 pm

It's possible to dream in any sleep stage, and when people have been in a light sleep, they may feel as though they'd been mostly awake. So you may have been sleeping and dreaming.

But what is becoming clear is that you need to find a way to master the reflex of panic and mask removal, as well as the behavior of not putting your mask back on when you've taken it off. You know how your mind works much better than any of us can; do you think you can tell yourself you're OK, you can keep your mask on, you can go back to sleep with it on? Do you think that you can get yourself to put it back on if you do take it off?

And as far as I can see, you ARE okay. There don't seem to be any glitches in your flow rate right before your panicky wake-ups. You can go back to zoom in on multiple Oscar charts yourself to confirm this.

Hi and thanks for your thoughts , they are really appreciated .

So have I got this right , when trying to sleep with the machine running and a mask on , when I start to get the feeling of something stuck in my throat , instead of instantly removing my face mask and turning the machine off , I just try to stay calm and allow the machine to some how compensate for the situation and try to keep the mask on , until the machine compensates for the something stuck in my throat feeling and things then hopefully return to a normal breathing pattern.

In the past when I've experienced the something stuck in my throat feeling , ive instantly taken the mask off and turned the machine off, but I never put the mask back on again that evening.

Or have I got all of the above wrong in some way .

Last night , same symptoms as before , but for some reason the machines SD memory card did not record any thing .



Ben.

Don't think anyone's mentioned it here, but overtightening the mask is counterproductive, can cause new leaks and doesn't allow the silicone to inflate properly. It's just supposed to 'hover', not be cranked down like you've apparently done and if it won't fit otherwise without doing that, look at other masks, at fitting videos on YT, etc. etc.

Julie wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 9:35 pm

Don't think anyone's mentioned it here, but overtightening the mask is counterproductive, can cause new leaks and doesn't allow the silicone to inflate properly. It's just supposed to 'hover', not be cranked down like you've apparently done and if it won't fit otherwise without doing that, look at other masks, at fitting videos on YT, etc. etc.

Thanks for the advice.

I had in my mind that the tighter the mask felt on my face , the better the mask seal. I’m going to check out the YT videos .

I want to fully try out the 3 mask types I have , before buying any more .

one mask type ive recently come across that I did not know about is this type ....



Ben.

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 10:02 pm

one mask type ive recently come across that I did not know about is this type ....

That's almost a Resmed Airfit P10, it's what I usually use, when I'm not using the Bleep.
The specific one you pictured looks like something someone has as a competitor.

The P10 doesn't have an elbow, and the straps are a different color.

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 10:02 pm

one mask type ive recently come across that I did not know about is this type ....

If you would post a link instead of a screenshot, we could see which mask you are referring to.

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:38 pm

So have I got this right , when trying to sleep with the machine running and a mask on , when I start to get the feeling of something stuck in my throat , instead of instantly removing my face mask and turning the machine off , I just try to stay calm and allow the machine to some how compensate for the situation and try to keep the mask on , until the machine compensates for the something stuck in my throat feeling and things then hopefully return to a normal breathing pattern.

CPAP is not causing the throat issue. Leave your mask on, take a few slow, deep breaths through the nose, exhale slowly and completely through the nose. Swallowing a few times may help.

From your description, it cannot be determined what is causing the throat problems. Did you experience this before starting CPAP? Do you have allergies or similar issues? Do you clear your throat often during the day?

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:35 am

If you would post a link instead of a screenshot, we could see which mask you are referring to.

The OP appears to be referring to the bmc mask p2 nasal pillow mask.

If you're using Chrome browser, there is image search available by right clicking or by extended touch.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:35 am

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 10:02 pm

one mask type ive recently come across that I did not know about is this type ....

If you would post a link instead of a screenshot, we could see which mask you are referring to.

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:38 pm

So have I got this right , when trying to sleep with the machine running and a mask on , when I start to get the feeling of something stuck in my throat , instead of instantly removing my face mask and turning the machine off , I just try to stay calm and allow the machine to some how compensate for the situation and try to keep the mask on , until the machine compensates for the something stuck in my throat feeling and things then hopefully return to a normal breathing pattern.

CPAP is not causing the throat issue. Leave your mask on, take a few slow, deep breaths through the nose, exhale slowly and completely through the nose. Swallowing a few times may help.

From your description, it cannot be determined what is causing the throat problems. Did you experience this before starting CPAP? Do you have allergies or similar issues? Do you clear your throat often during the day?

Thanks.

The issue of feeling like some thing was stuck in my throat while trying to sleep at night time occurred before I underwent the sleep test , it was that '' stuck in my throat '' feeling that led me to take the sleep test.

I do not have any current medical issues like allergies or other medical symptoms . I don't clear my throat very often, but I am beginning to feel more tired and agitated / stressful as time goes by.

Tonight I will try your advice about , Leave your mask on, take a few slow, deep breaths through the nose, exhale slowly and completely through the nose. Swallowing a few times may help.

this is the web link to the face mask I posted .....


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001 ... 3060%22%7D

I will post back tomorrow how I get on to night .


Ben

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:42 am

this is the web link to the face mask I posted .....

Which country are you in?

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 10, 2021 9:32 am

Ben_Dover wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:42 am

this is the web link to the face mask I posted .....

Which country are you in?

Vietnam per a prior post. I suspect his mask choices are limited and rely heavily on the Chinese knock off BMC brand.

[I'm originally from England but currently staying with my Vietnamese wife’s family near the Vietnam boarder , to look after her sick mother. I underwent a sleep study and purchased the Resmed Airsense 10 machine back in the UK. I/quote]

You have exactly the right idea about calming yourself and keeping the mask on. To reassure yourself, you can look at the minute or two before mask removal in each of your Oscar charts. In fact, I think that would be a good idea in general, if you have the time.

I did some googling, and I've learned that the feeling of choking or having something stuck in your throat can be one of the symptoms of a panic attack. I don't know whether that's what is going on with you, but it's worth keeping in mind as you focus on calming yourself during these episodes.

Acid reflux, post-nasal drip, and asthma are other possibilities, but I think you'd have mentioned them if they were problems for you.

One additional thought: several web resources say that in calming yourself, you should just let the sensations play out -- noticing them, not fighting them, but reminding yourself that you're not in danger and the sensations will pass. Several resources also say that if you can't then fall back asleep easily, you should get up and do something very calming for a little while until you feel ready to go back to bed. Of course, when you do go back to bed, you should mask up and use your machine.