Please help out a new member!!

Greetings all. I just joined CPAPtalk.com so that I could correspond with members and get advice on how to best resolve some difficulties I'm having adjusting to CPAP. I've been reading many of your postings and am amzed by the wealth of knowledge demonstrated by the user community. Many of you seem to possess even more knowledge than the doctors treating this illness. First, some background. I'm a 40 year old male with a BMI of approximately 32. So I'm definitely overweight but not in terrible physical shape. I play recreational ice hockey in a local men's league and skate 2-3 nights per week. I've been a poor sleeper all of my life. My older brothers used to make fun of me for snoring even when I was a child. As I got older and grew I began to notice a structural abnormality that likely caused my apnea.....a somewhat recessed mandible that resulted in a narrow airway. An orthodontist diagnosed this at 16 years old and recommended double jaw surgery to my parents. However the surgery is highly invasive and at the time was presented solely as a cosmetic issue. If I had known then the medical issues it would cause later in life, I would have forced my way into the operating room. An ENT sent me for my first sleep study in 2005 when my new wife told me that I stopped breathing during sleep. The test, performed in a hospital lab setting, showed that I had a AHI of 124! The doctor mentioned that it was one of the highest test results he's ever seen. I was prescribed a CPAP machine but only used it intermittently. For some reason it felt like sleeping on my back or side with the CPAP machine actually caused me to wake up gasping for air even more than usual. I've slept on my stomach since childhood, probably my way of counteracting the effects of gravity and keeping my throat open through the night. Also I have a deviated septum which requires me to have a full face mask, which was somewhat annoying as well. So even though I knew that I needed the CPAP machine, I stopped using it because I was young and stupid. Fast forward to 2014 and I wound up in the hospital with my first atrial fibrillation episode. I self converted to normal sinus rhythm in the hospital the next morning and was sent home with a prescription for beta-blockers to keep my heart rate low and to treat borderline hypertension (yes, I know..also a side effect of sleep apnea). 5 months later I was back in the hospital with Afib but this time needed to be cardioverted and on blood thinners for 4 weeks afterwards. Through internet research I was able to read up on the link between sleep apnea and Afib and went back to the ENT who ordered a second sleep study. This was a home test that, unlike the original test, allowed me to sleep on my stomach as I usually do. This test indicated an AHI of 52, better than the original results but still considered severe sleep apnea. The doctor prescribed a new CPAP machine, a Philips Respironics. Once again though I'm non-compliant. Even though I know that my health is likely suffering because the machine sits in my closet, I can't seem to make it through even one full night with the mask on. Any advice would be welcomed.

Does anyone sleep on their stomachs while using the CPAP machine? Is it safe to do so?
Anyone with Afib episodes that appear to be less frequent with CPAP treatment?
Has anyone noticed their blood pressure improved with CPAP?

Thanks!!!

FrankLV wrote:Does anyone sleep on their stomachs while using the CPAP machine? Is it safe to do so?
Has anyone noticed their blood pressure improved with CPAP?

yes, to stomach sleeping, and many to the blood pressure question.

Hi - click on User Ctl Panel under the logo on the left and hit Profile. Fill out your equipment in good detail, machine & mask and please do it in text vs icons. It'll all appear under every note you write to help us know the basics... oh, and add your pressure settings please too.

FrankLV wrote:Does anyone sleep on their stomachs while using the CPAP machine? Is it safe to do so?
Anyone with Afib episodes that appear to be less frequent with CPAP treatment?
Has anyone noticed their blood pressure improved with CPAP?

Here's a big question, why did you take the mask off? Was it a conscious thing to take it off? Think aboout it. Was it the air pressure, the feeling of the mask, etc.

We need to know which Respironics machine you have. Take the water out and look for a REF# on the bottom of the blower not the humidifier. This link will help you list your equipment in your profile. wiki/index.php/Registering_Equipment_in_User_Profile

Several members sleep on their stomach. I slept on my stomach most of my life and even did at my sleep study. I now sleep mostly on my side but sometimes on my stomach or back. With the right combination of mask and pillow you are not limited in your sleeping position.

The Afib episodes may or may not decrease in frequency. I had PVC'S at night that have almost become nonexistant. Whether it decreases or not you know that you are not doing further damage when using your CPAP.

Some people have decreased blood pressure but there are many variables with blood pressure, so it's a maybe.

FrankLV wrote: Does anyone sleep on their stomachs while using the CPAP machine?

I sleep on my stomach most of the time.

FrankLV wrote: Is it safe to do so?

If you are sleeping good, sure.

FrankLV wrote:Has anyone noticed their blood pressure improved with CPAP?

Specifically no, but I've made a lot of other changes over the past 10 years using my CPAP, yes over time.

I am one of the fortunate?? folks who have AFIB but almost never notice it until the doc hooks me to an EKG or Holter monitor and share the results.
My first Echocardiogram the doc stopped me half way through although I didn't perceive any reason to stop.

I use my PAP every night because I believe the alternate is not acceptable. I suggest you do the same. but do tell us about your equipment and the problems you are experiencing so we can offer some appropriate help

I sleep on my stomach, both sides and my back. If you answer the questions the other forum members have posted I am sure they can help you figure out how to get more compliant. When I first started C-pap I was so uncomfortable I stayed awake for much of the night - the pressure of having the mask on my face was painful. It took quite awhile to find the right mask and to get used to the whole thing, but from the first night, no matter how miserable I was, I kept the mask on because I before I got diagnosed I was so exhausted I was barely functional. I just knew getting the therapy would help. Best of luck to you!

I can only really speak to the element of time and repetition...I sleep on my back and side, and have high blood pressure that's hereditary and hasn't fluctuated much...But I've been on my CPAP machine for about 12-13 years now. I can probably count on one hand the number of nights I've slept without out since I started taking my therapy seriously. I too had a noncompliant phase I went through at first. It was 90% mental (disappointed in myself for needing a machine to sleep, afraid of never sleeping without one again, confident that I could do it on my own) and 10% discomfort (finding the right position/mask/pressure setting).

It's a "living" process in the sense that some things will always needs adjusting and fine-tuning, even after 13 years...But the rewards you reap in actual restful sleep become your ammunition to tackle the next day!

Stick with it - I've just joined myself, but have lurked the forums here for years seeking answers to general questions. The folks here will steer you in the right direction, but pull that CPAP out of your closet and force yourself to use it a whole night - You may lose sleep, but that's nothing new right? You only have potential to gain each night you experiment and adjust your setup...Good luck!

Forgot to mention...I had a deviated septum too...I'm sure it's been suggested to you before, but a nasoplasty will do wonders. I couldn't even blow my nose before my surgery and that's no longer an issue - Good thing too because the pollen season gets out of control where I live!

I am confident that my AF was a result of years of untreated sleep apnea. A shot of adrenaline every minute in order to avoid suffocation takes its toll on the heart. After the second ablation, my AF was gone. Then I tackled the apnea as I was starting to have new arrhythmias. It took months before I started sleeping better. I slept worse due to leaking.
If you can get used to sleeping while suffocating, you can get used to CPAP. It takes time and effort to find the best system. Commit to CPAP and work with the help of this forum to get your CPAP system the best.

Seek out support and encouragement from others who have gone or are going through it. You need to find a way to become compliant. Manage the symptoms and stay on top of it. Once you get it worked out (and it may take an ENT to make it work, like it did me) you will be much happier. Stay positive.

Thanks to all for the quick responses. I've updated my profile to include machine, mask, humidifier, and software. I plan on trying it out again tonight and will keep you posted. The strange part is that I basically have asymptomatic apnea. I get 8 hours of sleep and wake up feeling pretty good every day. When I use the machine I barely get any sleep and am tired throughout the next day. But I guess I don't have much of a choice. I need to get used to the machine or suffer the health consequences. Thanks again to all who responded!

Your machine didn't show up. Some of the links are broken. If you could take the water out and look on the bottom for the REF# that would help us. And type it into the additional comments area. Once we know the exact machine we can help you get your Clinical Manual and give you better answers.