Still Feeling Terrible After 3 Months

Hi everyone

I've had my struggles with CPAP so far and trying to battle this out. I have been working with someone on Reddit and have lowered my max pressure to 12 which have lowered my CA. I am still feeling tired and waking up on a regular basis around 4-5am. Can someone review my OSCAR data and see if I still need to lower my pressure? BTW I've tried mouth tape and had a burning reaction to the off brand KT tape as well as BSN medical stretch roll tape. I also tried the F30i full face mask and had more leaks from that and felt way worse over not using CPAP at all.

I'm currently using the N30 mask but might have better luck with the N30i small sized headgear mask. I originally had the normal sized and that kept slipping off. I would appreciate any help as my NP is useless and doesn't even review the OSCAR data.

Thanks

https://imgur.com/fl05ZPk
https://imgur.com/X1Ph0SX
https://imgur.com/5oryVAK

You could try lowering your pressure a little if you want to. I say that because you aren't having any OAs. Possibly that would help you sleep more restfully; at any rate, it's an experiment worth trying. It could also be interesting to see whether your flow limitations go up if your pressure goes down. See what happens if you go down to 9-11; leave your ramp where it is or turn it off.

You might consider trying a nasal pillow mask, because the pillows can anchor the mask a bit. It's hard to tell, but it seems possible your leaks are waking you up.

You might try a box of Somnifix tape strips. They're pricey but very gentle on the skin. If you do well with them, you could try some other brands of tape to see whether you can find something cheap and non-reactive for you.

Does anything happen around the time you usually wake up? Light starts filtering into your room? Your pets get restless? The furnace turns on? Or ... ?

Thank you for your reply. I will try the 9-11 and see. I need the ramp up because I tried a while back to start at 10 and could not fall asleep with that pressure.

I initially tried pillow masks but that was with a lower pressure (5 instead of 7.4 now) and thought I was suffocating. Once I get the smaller gear I can give it a try again. I'll also look into ordering the Somnifix and see if it helps. I am willing to spend money to fix my issue.

I have dark curtains as well an don't know why I wake up around that time. I hate to be one of those tin foil crazies but could it be some type of EM issue?

I'll report back in a few days on the newer pressure settings and then once they new equipment arrives.

Thanks again for all of the help.

Here is the update with the lower 9-11 pressure:

Friday night https://imgur.com/taCoFXh
Saturday night https://imgur.com/zYtDou4

During Friday night I can't explain after I wake up why I had so many clear airways as I was still awake. In any case I've ordered the SomniFix as well as Nasocort to try out. I'm running out of things to try so hopefully something here works. I also bought another stretch roll tape but UPS delivered it to the wrong address.

npolite wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 01, 2024 7:55 am

I can't explain after I wake up why I had so many clear airways as I was still awake.

Because our awake breathing is very irregular compared to asleep breathing and the machine doesn't measure sleep status....instead it measures air flow or breathing which sometimes, when awake, gets a central apnea/ Clear Airway flag while we are awake.
They mean nothing (except we weren't asleep) if flagged while awake.

As Pugsy says, you should just ignore CAs that are flagged when you are pretty sure you were awake.

I don't see a big change in your flow limitations with the lower pressure. You could try going lower to see whether that helps -- say, to a range of 8 to 10. This is just an experiment, in case higher pressure is making it harder for you to sleep soundly.

You are not getting enough sleep, in all likelihood. If you usually wake up quite early, can you try going to bed earlier to see whether that helps you feel more rested the next day?

Your leaks are looking better; I hope that's a trend.

Next time you post a chart, could you close the calendar first so that more of the data on the left panel will show?

Thank you both. Crazy enough I have not used mouth tape just switched back to the N30i mask. I will also close the calendar and try lowering the pressure next weekend. I don't want to make matters worse and feel even more tired with work.

That's a lot of leaks. I didn't feel better until I got my leaks down to zero. If the leak is coming from your open mouth, I would try several different tapes until you found one that didn't bother you.