To suserbec re: back pain

Hi,
I saw in one of your replies to felineperson that you are experiencing back pain. I posted an email afew days ago asking if anyone had experienced back pain on cpap, as I am definitely struggling with it. I'm surprised actually, as I've only been using cpap for 5 days. But it started immediately and every morning I wake up with a really sore back. Initially it was the mid to upper centre of my back, today it is more the lower back. My supplier said it might be because I'm not moving around as much in my sleep, and someone else suggested in this forum that it might be due to the effort my lungs have to make when I'm expelling air ( this person used a high pressure and had back issues, and I actually have a pressure of 15cm which I've been told is higher than the average ). I find it ridiculously hard to fall asleep with that much air blowing at me, so I am trying a machine that you can hit a button and it'll give you 20 mins to gradually work up to the pressure that you need. This atleast lets me fall asleep without fighting all that air. Could this be an issue for you as well? I hate the idea of popping pain killers every day to ease my back pain, but I am generally very happy with the difference that cpap is making in my sleeping habits. My husband has been great about it too. When I mentioned that others in the forum were upset about their spouses having to wear these things and did it bother him, he looked at me like I was nuts. I guess the lack of snoring is a huge bonus for him! Take care,

Hi Jennifer!
I am so excited to be talking to a woman about this! (No offense, guys). Yes, we are both very lucky to have husbands who support this. I was kind of hard on someone in another part of this forum who felt like it was an invasion of their bed.

My back problem started immediately too. I've always had back problems and take medication for osteoarthritis for my lower back. But this was in a new spot, right between the shoulder blades and a little more center. I asked my doctor about the pressure on the lungs and such and he said the air pressure is only opening the airway and is not forcing it into my lungs. I told him I could never breathe or take deep breaths before and I wondered if my back just wasn't used to that. He seems convinced that it is a muscle spasm due to lack of movement because I sleep so deeply now. I look forward to going to bed now that I can sleep but towards morning is when I start sleeping more lightly and notice the uncomfortable soreness. After I am up for a little while and especially when I get in the shower, I feel better and it doesn't bother me anymore. It's only the few hours towards morning right before I get up.

My machine is set at 11 and I thought that was high! I'm diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I have the machine with the ramp so I push the button and it starts at 5 until I get to sleep. I am usually asleep within five minutes!

I feel so much better finding someone who is experiencing this back thing. Both my doctor and my respiratory therapist had never heard of this particular complaint.

Thanks for answering!

You are not alone - I too have been having similar back stiffness recently. I started CPAP 6 weeks ago.

My stiffness, like yours, is in the cervical spine around discs C5, C6 - that area between the shoulder blades. I also become aware of it early in the morning - like at about 4 or 5 am. Once I get up and the joints mobilize the stiffness disappears quickly.

Who knows??

Paul

Maybe its your ribs/lungs because the air is being forced at a consistant pressure into your lungs.

I have so many other aches and paines that I don't notice if I have that. I am now on an Autopap so its not a constant high pressure all night long.

Just my theory.

Ladies, First I want to say my husband & I were married 6 months when I got my first CPAP, he has been great, he worried when he would see me jerk and stop breathing before the mask, plus no more snoring to keep him awake.

Then the back, yes I have been on CPAP for almost 7 yrs, and it took me a long time to get used to sleeping on my back, I was a stomach sleeper, I eventually learned to sleep on my side, hang in there, you will get the hang of it and your body will adjust.

So good for me, too, sorry guys, to have women on here, you know we seem to be the minority in the sleep apnea area...

get this before my CPAP my inlaws visited for a week, and mom in law said, "Oh, how do you sleep with him snoring so loud all night,", I laughed and said, it is not him, it is me, soon after I discovered it was apnea....

Sweet Dreams,
Apnatic

HooraY! Back pain has finally subsided, after about two months! Also, the bridge of my nose is not sore anymore. It just takes time, patience, and persistence, AND is definitely worth the trouble!

What a great forum! I look forward to reading up every day. It's quite a comfort to know there are others out there like me.

Hi Apnatic

You mentioned: "sorry guys, to have women on here, you know we seem to be the minority in the sleep apnea area..."

heheh, yep, we women are here too. The traditional profile for OSA sufferers is "middle aged male, overweight, thick neck...yadda yadda" when in fact OSA occurs in all ages, genders and body types. Thin people, women, children, and non-snorers have it, too.

I wonder sometimes if the supposed less-likelihood of OSA in women isn't due in large part to some things that may be leading to under diagnosing?

Maybe the shortage of women in the statistics is due to.....
a) doctors in general aren't very aware of sleep apnea.
b) if a doctor does become more aware of the possibility of OSA in his patients, he then looks at the famous "profile" and discounts signs of it in his female patients - ascribing "depression" more readily to women.
c) many women themselves think "being tired" is just part of a busy life while they juggle job and family duties. They keep pushing themselves without going to a doctor, or they end up with a doctor who is not aware of the prevalence of sleep apnea - vicious circle.

Perhaps the profile itself is still based on an old, outmoded way of thinking about sleep apnea that got more men diagnosed in the first place - and left out many women who should have been included all along.

Yes, I had blamed many other things on my "tired" and mood swing days, and eventually, I was convinced to have a sleep study;my brother has apnea, then many things made sense to me, but women usually, take it and go on, we don't always pursue a pain when we should.

Have a good one.
Love this forum
Apntic, A Survivor by the Grace of God Psalm 91:1,2

Hi Jennifer,

When a month is up, if you're still feeling it very difficult to breathe up at your pressure of 15, perhaps talk to your doctor about letting you try a bi-pap machine, or at the very least, a cpap with C-Flex. Either of those can be set to drop the pressure each time you exhale - can make breathing much easier on this kind of therapy and up at the pressure you've been prescribed. I'm not a doctor or health care person, but I've sure read about a lot of users getting much more comfortable therapy on bi-paps or with a cpap that has C-Flex.

Another alternative would be an autopap (which is what I use). If you don't really need your full titrated pressure blowing full tilt all night long, the autopap can be set at two pressures - a high and a low. The machine will sense what you need all through the night, upping the pressure off the low only when you need more pressure to keep your throat open, and backing back down to a more comfortable pressure when your breathing indicates you don't need the higher pressure. In many cases, a person will spend most of their night down at the lower pressure. A gentler treatment throughout the night.

Any of those machines are more expensive than just a straight plain jane cpap, so most insurance companies require that you be started on a cheaper straight cpap first and "prove" it doesn't suit you, before they will pay for a diifferent machine. I suppose that going on record often enough with your doctor - "I can't breathe against this pressure. I'm going to have to stop this treatment." might qualify to get you moved to another kind of machine.

Ramp alone is not going to keep that high pressure you're working hard to exhale against from bothering you at many points during the night. You may have gotten used to 15 by now, but if not, do talk to your doctor about a bi-pap instead of straight cpap. Don't suffer in silence or they'll think everything is going o.k. Good luck!

Unfortunately, my back pain has returned, as well as my headaches. I was doing great for about 6 weeks and then started to slip. They thought I was opening my mouth at night so I've gone back to a full face mask, the ultra mirage, which is the nicest of the three I've tried but still somewhat uncomfortable.

My back pain seems to return every time I try a different mask. GRRRR

My blood pressure also goes sky high when something is wrong.

Still trying to figure it all out and get the right combination. Can be very frustrating, especially after having a few weeks where I felt wonderful. Now, don't feel so great.

Anything else I should try?

Just followed up on some of your recent comments and I realized I haven't posted that my pain has stopped. Perserverance paid off I'm happy to say. To everyone out there, just keep on keepin' on and you'll find that things have a way of becoming the "norm" when at the beginning you think it'll never get better. Thanks,
Jen