Just don't feel any better

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
The Tired Vet
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Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Thu Aug 18, 2022 7:02 pm

It's been a frustrating nine months of trying more than two dozen different masks and not finding anything that really works well (I have a long narrow nose and most cushion air holes don't line up with my nostrils. I'm on the Dreamwear pillows with a chin strap and maybe four out of five nights my leak is below 24 L/min. AHI tends to be under 3.0 most nights. My machine is set to a constant 14 cmH20 (this pressure doesn't bother me, tbh). Problem is, I still feel awful, as if nothing has improved, except that I have to sleep with all sorts of uncomfortable stuff on my head. I saw a new sleep doctor a week ago and she (like everyone else before her) didn't seem to care that I wasn't feeling any better, nor was she remotely interested (also like everyone else before her) in looking at any data besides the AHI. Using Oscar, my breathing is an irregular cycle of decreased breathing followed by a few big breaths. Every once in a while I do that long enough to register as a hypopnea on the Resmed Airsense 10, but more often it doesn't.

One thing: I did find one full face cushion that got both my AHI's and leak down very low, but I had to tighten it very tight. After four months of waking up every morning like I had just run a marathon I realized I was probably forcing my jaw back and restricting my airway. That morning feeling went away after I switched to nasal cushions. Now I feel merely exhausted :)

The question really is: how the heck do I start sleeping better? What am I missing?

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zonker
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by zonker » Fri Aug 19, 2022 11:04 am

The Tired Vet wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 7:02 pm


The question really is: how the heck do I start sleeping better? What am I missing?
ahoy!

you're using oscar, so it's time to post some charts so the experts here can see what's going on. please read this for some details-
viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... STING.html

if you still have trouble posting, let us know so we can help.

and please keep to this one thread for awhile as it is now your very own therapy thread.

good luck!
people say i'm self absorbed.
but that's enough about them.
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onward60
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by onward60 » Fri Aug 19, 2022 12:49 pm

The Tired Vet wrote:
Thu Aug 18, 2022 7:02 pm
It's been a frustrating nine months of trying more than two dozen different masks and not finding anything that really works well (
I am a newbie, too, but I wonder if you have considered the Bleep Dreamport?

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Janknitz
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by Janknitz » Fri Aug 19, 2022 2:06 pm

Although by standard criteria, anything under 5.0 AHI with CPAP is considered "treated", 3.0 isn't really optimal. I think those of us who really feel the benefit are getting AHI's well below 1.0 per night.

Was the fixed pressure of 14 prescribed after a titration, or is that the best pressure to be able to achieve the 3.0 that you've found? Do you have an auto-adjusting PAP?

Please let us know your equipment because that will help us help you.
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Deborah K.
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by Deborah K. » Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:16 pm

I too think that maybe the bleep system would be good for you. There is no actual mask and no straps. I love mine. :) Here's a link to their website.

https://bleepsleep.com/
Machine: Resmed AirSense 10 Autoset For Her
Mask: Bleep Dreamport mask system

The Tired Vet
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:00 am

Here are the last two nights of Oscar reports. Hopefully I'm doing this right...

8/19: I felt decent, like I hadn't had much leak overnight. Unfortunately, while I sometimes do wake up feeling really tired, I usually can't tell how badly I slept until I'm about halfway through the day when I get completely run down.

8/18: completely exhausted all day. So much so I only worked out around 15 minutes (normally it's close to an hour).

Equipment: Resmed Airsense 10, Dreamwear nasal pillow, Sunset Ruby chin strap. Note about equipment: I'll put up with anything if it makes me sleep better and get my energy back during the day.

The Tired Vet
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:06 am

Oh, I was on 12-14 until a week ago when the new sleep doctor said to switch to 14 constant pressure since that's where my pressures were staying mostly. I had gotten to the 12-14 range by looking at where my pressures were before. The original setting from the first sleep doctor almost a year ago was 6-12 but I would spend the whole time at 12 unless I woke up, and the rapid changes in pressure were waking me up so I narrowed and eventually elevated the narrowed range a bit.

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Pugsy
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by Pugsy » Sat Aug 20, 2022 8:24 am

Do take any medications at all? Even OTC. If so,what?

How many hours of actual sleep are you getting on average? Real sleep not necessarily time in bed if you are spending much time on the machine and not asleep?
Are those hours fragmented by many wake ups? If very many wake ups any idea what caused them?

How old are you?

Male or female?

Any other physical or mental heath issues?

Exactly what are the daytime symptoms you are having that you wished you didn’t?
Be specific please.

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If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

The Tired Vet
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:09 am

Medications, all OTC: vitamin D3, omega-3 FA, Digestive Advantage (for lactose intolerance)
age: 52
Male

Symptoms: I have been an athlete my whole life and starting around 7-8 years ago I developed more and more intolerance to exercise. I still do it, mind you, but at much less intensity and it tends to exhaust me. I was a marathon runner until 2014 when I had a back injury, so I started powerlifting and Olympic-style weightlifting, and then rowed and swam to supplement. i did that until COVID began and now my daily regimen is 40 minutes on the rowing machine, three days a week of some weights and three days a week of weighted planks. When the sleep is consistent, even if mediocre, I can manage all of this. Sometimes I just can't, though. I am frequently falling asleep when i am seated, and just fogging and feel weary all day.

Amount of sleep: I'm glad you asked the question that way, because the sleep doctor I just saw looked at my printout and declared that I am getting 7.5 hours of sleep a day--that's great! I insisted I was not sleeping for much of that (I would estimate between 6 and 6.5 hours of actual sleep), but she didn't seem to want to explore what was happening there. So, the machine is on me for 7.5 most nights but I wake up a lot, especially each day in the early hours and then just stay awake.

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Julie
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by Julie » Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:19 am

When's the last time your GP did a once-over, with labs, etc? There are other conditions, etc. that sneak up when you pass 50 (even if only by 2 yrs) and maybe need looking into.

The Tired Vet
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:38 am

I'm still in the military so I get a full physical exam and bloodwork annually.

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Pugsy
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by Pugsy » Sat Aug 20, 2022 12:05 pm

Probably a combination of factors involved and not so easy to fix factors coming into play.

6 to 6 1/2 hours of sleep is far from ideal number of hours of sleep for one thing. Add in the chance of multiple awakenings during the night messing with sleep stages and a person isn’t going to get optimal quantities of each sleep stage as well a total hours.

So it sounds like you have both fatigue and excessive sleepiness during the day. They aren’t necessarily the same thing and I know I can have bone crushing fatigue but nt necessarily be all that sleepy.

Google Sleep maintenance insomnia……this is where we either wake up a lot during the night or wake up too early and can’t get back to sleep.

Target trying to get more sleep to start with and trust me know just how difficult it is.
Gotta try to identify the problem first before we stand any chance at all to fix the problem

_________________
Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

The Tired Vet
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2022 6:49 pm

Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:42 pm

I should clarify that I am trying to sleep 7.5 hours. It's just that 7.5 hours of lights out, head on pillow and CPAP turned on is not 7.5 hours of sleep. That said, I've had some nights where I slept through the night with only short and infrequent wake-ups, only to be dragging all day. Since I've started CPAP I've been much better about going to bed and getting up at the same times all week, with the caveat that I have begun dreading putting on all the CPAP equipment, and while I'll still stubbornly do it, it doesn't make me look forward to sleep.

I just did the Google search you suggested and will absorb that :)

Here's the data from the last three days:

August 19th: https://imgur.com/3iszzoR

August 18th: https://imgur.com/OIkoUEH

August 17th: https://imgur.com/zLi8RLD

I also started using a Wellue O2 Ring last night. I will if if I can upload images of that data to imgur in the coming days.

The Tired Vet
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by The Tired Vet » Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:47 pm

A little more info:

I was getting leaks under 24 L/min until a week ago. The doctor told me to stop using the chin strap and not to worry about leak. That night I got 77 L/min, the following was 100 and the night following that it was 77 again. The doctor didn't respond when I asked her how much leak was too much and what the goal of this was so I went back to using the chin strap after three days of feeling horrible. I haven't quite gotten back to the levels I was at before that three-day change, and can share the data from before if that'd be helpful.

To say I have not been impressed with the physicians calling themselves sleep specialists (every one I have gone to has been board certified) is an understatement...

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zonker
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Re: Just don't feel any better

Post by zonker » Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:51 pm

The Tired Vet wrote:
Sat Aug 20, 2022 5:47 pm

To say I have not been impressed with the physicians calling themselves sleep specialists (every one I have gone to has been board certified) is an understatement...
you have learned a very valuable lesson. this right here is why this forum exists.
people say i'm self absorbed.
but that's enough about them.
Oscar-Win
https://www.apneaboard.com/OSCAR/OSCAR-1.5.1-Win64.exe
Oscar-Mac
https://www.apneaboard.com/OSCAR/OSCAR-1.5.1.dmg