Question...

Hi,
I have had sleep apnea for along time, I dont recall ever sleeping well.
I had a Uvuaplasty,Septuplasty ...no help. Before that I Just drank excessively ...not concisely
to sleep but it seemed to work..not well but the hangover made it hard to tell I was feeling bad.
6 months ago I got a sleep study and my levels of o2 were lower than this Dr had seen.

I have a EPR auto set II (thats all I see on it) ots kinda oval and has the humidifier in the front (which I dont fill it just annoys me) ...I do fine putting it on, falling asleep... but at some point (seems to my wife about an hour) I take it off...cant keep it on very long ...though it helps somewhat ...just feel blah,, instead of crappy.

Cant take ambien, woke up 6 blocks away in the car...dont drink anymore if that was an option ,,,melatonin, sleepytime...do nothing...any suggestions??

and how do I find the profile to post what equipment I have.

Mirage Quattro Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Resmed S8 AUTOSET II with EPR, Heated Humidifier and Mirage Activa Combo

YELOOCD wrote:I got a sleep study and my levels of o2 were lower than this Dr had seen.

Hi,

Lets translate that one into plain english. Your breathing is so bad that your body is starving for oxygen. The low oxygen levels are causing permanent damage to your heart and brain cells. Left untreated, it is a toss-up of whether you have a stroke or heart attack first. This is life threatening, so you are going to want to take it very seriously.

YELOOCD wrote:I have a EPR auto set II (thats all I see on it) ots kinda oval and has the humidifier in the front (which I dont fill it just annoys me) ...I do fine putting it on, falling asleep... but at some point (seems to my wife about an hour) I take it off...cant keep it on very long ...though it helps somewhat ...just feel blah,, instead of crappy.

With low O2 levels and only using the machine 1 hour per night, you should feel crappy. You are lucky that you don't feel far worse than that.

The bottom line is that you have to find out why you are taking your mask off, and find a way to correct that behavior.

Is it not comfortable? If comfort is the issue, work with your DME or RT to get a different mask. The first mask is almost never the best fit for you. In my case, I have a whole graveyard of dead masks that I accumulated before I found the right one.

Is it an ego issue? Some men are far too macho to use a mask and machine. If that is the case, consider how macho you would look in a casket.

Are you doing it without even knowing that you are taking your mask off? If so, try one of the newbie tricks that others have discussed. One is to tape your mask on with some white tape. You don't have to tape it on very heavily...just enough so trying to take it off will wake you up and you remember to stop pulling it off. Another is to wear socks on your hands so you cannot grab the mask. Yet another is to wrap something around your head like a headband to make it difficult to take the mask off.

Ponder this a bit, and give one of these a try. I want to see you successful. Having that kind of low O2 is a real bummer, so you need to figure out a solution.

-john-

[quote="YELOOCD"]and how do I find the profile to post what equipment I have.

At the top of the Home Page is "User Control Panel". Click on that, then select Profile. Then select Edit Equipment. Select your equipment from the options listed. It is easier for members to read text format, rather than try to identify from the image of your equipment.

Fortunately you have a machine that can give you information to assure your settings are therapeutic. I'm sure some folks familiar with your machine will come along and give you instructions for accessing that data. Generally taking the mask off stops after it becomes less foreign, but at an hour a night, you can't get used to feeling it there. Your data may give clues as to why you feel the need to take the mask off if it's related to the effectiveness of the therapy. Can you be more specific as to why you can't keep it on longer? If I were you I'd want to delve into this and take steps to resolve it before the sun sets again. Seriously.

If accessing the data in the screen on your machine, it needs to be done before noon or the machine resets. If you have a copy of your sleep studies, you might want to look over them and see if there was mention of limb movements, or does your wife mention you kicking a lot? Are you on any meds known to disturb sleep? Are you saying once you take the mask off you can't sleep after that?

Best wishes on moving forward and making this treatment work for you.