Sleep Study - Hall of Famer - Need Guidance

A few months ago I had a sleep study and made the Hall of Fame for loudest snoring. Not my greatest achievement....

Now I need some guidance.

My pressure setting is 14cm. I've been on a trial machine (Respironics REMStar Plus w/ Heated Humidifier) for about 6 weeks. (Apparently it's so old Respironics doesn't have it on their website - Pre C-Flex.) My fatigue level is the same, prior to the CPAP. I still need about 9 hours of sleep a night. I wake up more at night than I ever use too. I feel like a balloon with the amount of air being pumped into me. Blood Pressure has gone up since starting treatment. At least the snoring stopped and my wife won't completely lose her hearing. Been through 3 masks... have settled on the Comfort Curve (no leaks) for now. Considering the Comfort Lite 2, I toss and turn a-lot and heard this would help, or the new Optilife mask. Considering all this, I am sure this is not the correct machine for me.

My doctor, great guy, but not so knowledgeable in CPAP's. (me neither) APAPs, CPAPs, CPAPs w/ C-Flex, APAPs w/ C-FLex BiPAPS, etc etc...

What machine(s) or machine types should I talk to my doctor about?
And what does it all mean?

Thank you all for any help...

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, humidifier, C-FLEX, CPAP, Comfort Curve

Since you asked, my recommendation is to get an Auto-PAP, or APAP and software to monitor your treatment. You indicate that your current treatment isn't working for you so you need to figure out why. An auto-PAP with monitoring software is the surest way to do that.

It also sounds like you get aerophagia from the high pressure of 14 you've been on. (Don't worry, it's not serious.) The APAP helps control that blown up like a balloon feeling for many of us by allowing us to sleep at lower pressures much of the night, and only raising the pressure to the highest levels for the short times they are needed.

Welcome to cpaptalk.

Regards,
Bill

Sounds like you might be suffering from aerophagia. I don't know much about it so I'll leave that to our learned fraternity, but someone will soon tell you about it.

Cheers

Peter

Caveman,

Your CPAP isn't necessarily "old". There are still models available that don't have C-Flex.

Six weeks is not all that long to experience a "recovery", yet. Sometimes it takes months......and months......it all depends on the person.
You many not be snoring, but do you wake up with a dry mouth? If so, you may be leaking therapy air out your mouth. If so, try taping your mouth or using Polident adhesive strips to keep your mouth shut......or go to a full-face mask.
Since you're doing a "trial" on a machine, ask them to switch it out for one that at least has C-Flex......and preferably an Auto. Short of that, ask for a REMstar Pro 2 or an M Series Pro. All of those machines have C-Flex and sleep data recording capabilities. The M Series Pro (and Auto) has data available in the LCD screen.

Best wishes,

Den

[quote="Caveman"]A few months ago I had a sleep study and made the Hall of Fame for loudest snoring. Not my greatest achievement....

Now I need some guidance.

My pressure setting is 14cm. I've been on a trial machine (Respironics REMStar Plus w/ Heated Humidifier) for about 6 weeks. (Apparently it's so old Respironics doesn't have it on their website - Pre C-Flex.) My fatigue level is the same, prior to the CPAP. I still need about 9 hours of sleep a night. I wake up more at night than I ever use too. I feel like a balloon with the amount of air being pumped into me. Blood Pressure has gone up since starting treatment. At least the snoring stopped and my wife won't completely lose her hearing. Been through 3 masks... have settled on the Comfort Curve (no leaks) for now. Considering the Comfort Lite 2, I toss and turn a-lot and heard this would help, or the new Optilife mask. Considering all this, I am sure this is not the correct machine for me.

My doctor, great guy, but not so knowledgeable in CPAP's. (me neither) APAPs, CPAPs, CPAPs w/ C-Flex, APAPs w/ C-FLex BiPAPS, etc etc...

What machine(s) or machine types should I talk to my doctor about?
And what does it all mean?

Thank you all for any help...

Wulfman's comments are spot on. An For many of us, it takes time to see the benefits, but they DO come. You may have a substantial 'sleep debt' built up that takes a while to 'pay off'.

Good luck, and hang in there!

Snoredog wrote:If you are experiencing aerophagia (swallowing of air), then lower pressure and CFLEX are about the only thing to resolve it. Once your LES toughens up it should go away, but that can take weeks to months or depending on your pressure never go away.

For completeness, BiPAP would do wonders as well IF you're experiencing aerophagia.

I think that there are so many variables here that you should discuss this with your doctor. It's very much in their best interest to get you happy with XPAP, so bring up your concerns and see what they have to say.