Data shows increase in activity

DoriC wrote:Hi BB, good to see you but sorry you're having these medical issues. It sounds like the after effects of surgery and hopefully things will get better soon. As for the O2, when Mike was started on it at 2L I asked the Dr if he could just use 1L to start with and he said (I'm paraphrasing), "with 1L you might as well not bother, it will have no effect". In his case he was diagnosed with occasional Afib and since using 02 since March 2012 he's had no episodes. You might want to check with your Dr to be sure. Keep us posted, wishing you well.

Hi, Dori, and thanks.

My sleep doc at the time (in 2010, I think) suggested the added O2 at 1LPM because I live at high altitude, so I've had and used the concentrator since then. She stopped practicing not long after, and I haven't had another sleep doc since. (The only other sleep doc available to me on my insurance was the first sleep doc I had, and we old-timers know how that relationship worked out... )

Anyway, with no sleep doc to consult, I turned it up to 2LPM to see if it helped (can't think of a reason it would hurt). To be honest, I don't feel the difference, but my data seems to be a bit better so far (which could just be due to the timing after surgery, as maybe I've finally turned the corner on bad sleep). But whatever the reason, it's a good thing.

I was exhausted yesterday, but I was able to stay awake until last night's World Series game was over (GO Red Sox!) and then hit the hay a little while later. I woke up whimpering after a little more than five hours DUE TO A DREAM! (which I haven't had - or at least haven't remembered having - in more than two weeks now) where I went back to retrieve my car after the game, and it wasn't in the car park; apparently, the woman I'd left my car with was a scammer and took off with my car.

Anyway, here I am in the middle of the night, checking to see if the deep(er) dream sleep is reflected in my data... It's not, but the data for tonight so far looks better than it has recently.



I'll be going back to bed shortly with hopes that the data will reflect more better sleep when I wake for the day. Thanks for the suggestion. It never occurred to me that 1LPM might be useless, but turning it up seems to have helped. Hope you and Mike are happy and well.

JohnBFisher wrote:

BleepingBeauty wrote:... They recommended that I change my settings to accommodate higher pressures, which I did, and my therapy’s been good again since then.

Fast-forward to now. One of my medical maladies required surgery just over two weeks ago. My therapy’s been off since ...
...
Perhaps I should leave everything alone, nap as needed, and just wait until my body has recovered more from the surgery? ...

Sorry I did not see this sooner. I've had some issues that are slowing my ability to read and find posts.

While I don't like to do this personally, I suggest patience. My guess - and it's just that - is that your surgery has impacted your ability to get deeper sleep. As a result, you may be going though more frequent arousals. Which of course means you are also facing that sleep / wake barrier, when we all have an increase in central events. And going through that change from wakefully to sleep and back again will increase your periodic breathing and central apneas.

Of course, if you are taking anything stronger than Tylenol for the pain you might be seeing a side effect of the pain medication. Any opiate based (or even derived) medication tends to depress the central nervous system. Which will also increase periodic breathing and central apneas.

If this is due to pain, there is little that you can do to make it much better than anything you are doing now. If you have more pain killers to take more of the edge off of the pain it often leads to poor sleep.

But if this continues to be a real problem after a couple months, do go back and talk with your doctor. Hopefully a few extra naps will help in the mean time. So, best wishes on your recovery.

Thank you for replying, John. Sorry to hear you're having additional troubles lately.

I have no patience, myself, so I can relate. But I've come to the conclusion that this ugly data is simply a result of the assault on my body, and I will give it more time. I asked the surgeon about my poor sleep, and her suggestion was to speak with my sleep doc about it, so I was really on my own.

I haven't taken anything for pain (prescribed or OTC) for two weeks now, so it's not that. It's crummy sleep as a result of the trauma of surgery, and I'll just have to give it more time and hope things go back to normal for me as my recovery progresses. I feel better, mentally, now that the surgery's done; just have to wait for my body to catch up, I guess. And until that happens, I have to deal with being physically exhausted, and that annoys me. (There's that lack of patience again.)

Thanks for your input.