Sorry, I'm getting a little mixed up on the thread.ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 12:32 pmThe study results show mild obstructive apnea with relatively minor desats (blood-oxygen levels below normal). CPAP could fix the apnea if the mask problems could be solved.onward60 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:52 amIf this is mild and fixing the apnea isn't going to fix my problem, then I wonder why I am going through so much stress and difficulty trying to find a mask that works. I'm very discouraged. And very, very tired. If my apnea is mild, why am I so tired? I don't understand this.
Here is my recommendation. Take a two-week hiatus from CPAP. When you go to bed, try to avoid back-sleeping. Sleep on your sides or stomach. We can give you some tips to avoid back-sleeping, but avoiding it entirely is difficult. You might consider avoiding back-sleeping a good part of the night to be a success. Which position are you accustomed to sleeping in?
The reason for avoiding back-sleeping is that obstructive sleep apnea is most severe in this position. Gravity is pulling the tongue and soft palate directly into the airway. In the other positions, the effect is not as great.
If you decide to take a break from CPAP, come back to this thread in a week or two and let us know how things are going.
BTW, did you ever say why you sought a sleep study to begin with?
I was always a side sleeper my whole life. Not long after after menopause, I began to have such laxity in my joints that it was painful to sleep on my side. It was very hard, but I forced myself to learn to sleep on my back so the pain stopped waking me up over and over. I can't sleep more than a few minutes on my side without the pain waking me. I have to sleep on my back.
I have been so tired for so long and after menopause could not sleep at all without medications (been through the gamut of meds and their terrible side effects).