CPAPtalk.com

hi everyone! this is my first time posting here. i've posted on a couple other forums like reddit and apneaboard, and am just trying to get as many opinions as possible to figure out what's going on and why i still feel tired. i have OSCAR readings below if anyone would be so kind as to take a look at them to see where i might be able to improve.

quick rundown of some info:
me: age 29, F, 175lbs, no other significant health issues aside from some hypermobility and sustained a concussion last march. diagnosed with OSA in november. using CPAP since 12/1.
sleep study: indicated an AHI of 13.5 with O2 dropping to 86%, total time under 90% was 3mins
equipment: resmed airsense 11, N20 nasal mask, using tape to hold mask on and over my mouth as i suspect mouth breathing at night. was prescribed 4-20 pressure range, upped it myself to 6-20.
additional info: i'm a side sleeper FWIW.

i recently was diagnosed with mild/moderate sleep apnea back in november after a debilitating "insomnia" episode in september. i chalked my symptoms up to a concussion i sustained earlier in march of 2023, until i had a sleep study done in november indicating that it turns out i have OSA. i suspect i've probably had sleep apnea for a few years now, but it was only until as of august of this last year that things really started impacting my life, though i believe 2022 was really when things gradually were on a downhill climb.

i have been using my CPAP since 12/1. months before i started my CPAP machine i practically felt like a zombie--i was forgetting things constantly, could not concentrate whatsoever, had very bad brain fog, mood was all over the place. today at 5.5 weeks i'm finding that i'm doing a lot better. a lot of the fog has lifted but still struggling with tiredness and fatigue, as well as lingering memory/concentration problems.

today, i had my first appointment with the pulmonologist since my initial appointment and expressed my concerns to her, and she said that since my numbers look good and that my AHI is under 1, my symptoms can no longer be attributed to SA. she also went as far to tell me that "fatigue" isn't the same as "sleepiness" (which i agree to an extent, but when i expressed that i am still struggling with feeling sleepy during the day as well, she brushed me off... i have been yawning all day, and this past week ive had to take evening naps here and there despite sleeping 7-8 hours a night.)

i'm unsurprised i essentially got the "too bad, so sad, see you in a year" from my doctor as it seems to pretty much be a pretty common experience among sleep apnea sufferers, but i was hopeful my appointment would have gone otherwise. i thought she would at least narrow my pressure range down or at least give me some pointers, but the only advice she had would be to reach out to my PCP even though i've tested for what feels like almost everything at this point.

so yeah, any help appreciated. im just trying to figure out what else can be done within my power, or if almost 6 weeks still too early to really see the benefits of CPAP? or if i'm just screwed? lol. as i mentioned, i've gotten advice from people on reddit and someone on apneaboard after posting my OSCAR readings a month ago, and i've been advised that i seem to be having microarousals throughout the night and potential leak issues. i've been taping my mouth at night for a couple weeks now but i'm unsure if it's helping or not, so i'm not really sure what else to do. i tried a full face mask but i think i unhooked it in my sleep one night and woke up in the middle on another so i switched back to my N20. i really dont want to have to go on stimulants if i dont have to, and i dont really know how im going to hold a job if the rest of my life looks like this. hoping this is not forever as i had to move back in with my parents throughout all of this.

i've included my OSCAR readings from the past week, i hope it's not too many. i'm still trying to figure out how to interpret them, charts and graphs have never really been my strong suit and when i'm dealing with this much fatigue it's even harder to learn the ins and outs.

thanks so much in advance!

EDIT: looks like my OSCAR readings didnt attach, so here they are as links:
1/8: (last night): https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 965e4fae28&

1/7: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... ba0b18a6ea&

1/6: https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... height=662

1/5: https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... height=662

1/4: https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... height=662

1/3: https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... height=662

1/2: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... 7b26ba7dc0&

(sorry if thats a lot, i tried to use the link function but it was being weird)

The reports you shared are unremarkable. Nothing on them that just screams "this needs to be improved upon so you will feel better".
I know that isn't what you wanted to hear but there's just nothing there unless those very minor leaks are causing wake ups.

So...some questions to see if anything stands out in those answers.

Do you take any medications of any kind? If so, what?
Do you have any other physical or mental health issues going on? I understand about the concussion but not sure if that is part of the problem or not.
You seem to be getting adequate hours of sleep....are those hours pretty much solid in terms or sleep quality or do you find that you seem to wake up often?

It is entirely possible that you simply just need more time using the machine. There is some truth to the old advice "give it time".

I don't see anything on your reports that is exciting or worrisome.

BTW and FWIW
I had several symptoms that went along with my OSA but only one of those symptoms went away straight away and that was the nocturia. That alone made me a believer and I have said even of none of the other symptoms improved that the absence of getting up to pee 4 or 5 times a night is well worth it.

The other symptoms....it took me probably 3 to 6 months to say that I was seeing noticeable improvement in the daytime issues commonly associated with OSA. It took me a full 4 months to have one single day where I felt like superwoman.
Those days have been rare (been on cpap 14 plus years now) but I have other health issues besides OSA that mess with my sleep.

equipment: resmed airsense 11, N20 nasal mask, using tape to hold mask on and over my mouth as i suspect mouth breathing at night

You are using a nasal mask to cover your mouth? Or did I misunderstand what you wrote?

I haven't looked at your data yet, but this by and of itself is absurd.
Get a Full Face Mask if you're a person who needs to breathe through your mouth.

If you're only mouth leaking, cover your mouth with the tape to keep it shut.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 09, 2024 9:31 pm

The reports you shared are unremarkable. Nothing on them that just screams "this needs to be improved upon so you will feel better".
I know that isn't what you wanted to hear but there's just nothing there unless those very minor leaks are causing wake ups.

So...some questions to see if anything stands out in those answers.

Do you take any medications of any kind? If so, what?
Do you have any other physical or mental health issues going on? I understand about the concussion but not sure if that is part of the problem or not.
You seem to be getting adequate hours of sleep....are those hours pretty much solid in terms or sleep quality or do you find that you seem to wake up often?

It is entirely possible that you simply just need more time using the machine. There is some truth to the old advice "give it time".

I don't see anything on your reports that is exciting or worrisome.

hi Pugsy, thanks for your response.

i've been advised since crossposting this that it is in fact very possible that even though they're minor leaks, they could be waking me up. zooming in, a good deal of spikes in my flow rate do correlate with the leaks.

also, i don't take any daily medication, sometimes i take ibuprofen but really that's about it.
i've struggled with mild depression and anxiety but those things didn't prevent me from living my life and overall i'd say are under control, but of course struggling with a chronic condition is going to exacerbate those feelings regardless.
at this point i don't attribute my fatigue to my concussion as i was starting to feel better in may/june, only for things to start going downhill in august or so.

ozij wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 09, 2024 11:17 pm

equipment: resmed airsense 11, N20 nasal mask, using tape to hold mask on and over my mouth as i suspect mouth breathing at night

You are using a nasal mask to cover your mouth? Or did I misunderstand what you wrote?

I haven't looked at your data yet, but this by and of itself is absurd.
Get a Full Face Mask if you're a person who needs to breathe through your mouth.

If you're only mouth leaking, cover your mouth with the tape to keep it shut.

um... you are definitely misunderstanding haha. i'm not using a nasal mask to cover my mouth... i was referring to the tape, which i do use over my mouth. bolded above.

Ozij, I see on another forum that the OP uses tape on the STRAPS of the mask to help her keep from removing it in her sleep.

To the OP: you might be especially sensitive to leaks, or the leaks might be caused by some disruption that also causes you to have an arousal from sleep, e.g., a change of position. You might want to try a fairly low and firm pillow to avoid having the pillow move your mask around. You might also want to try the ResMed P10 mask. The pillows tend to anchor the mask a bit, even though they just rest on the ends of your nares. Also there is less circumference from which pillow masks can leak.

About fatigue and sleepiness: Fatigue is when you have trouble exerting yourself. An extreme example is finding it almost impossible to get up from bed when you have the flu. Sleepiness is when you badly want to sleep. Both of them can include difficulty thinking or concentrating. Do you have fatigue as well as sleepiness, or mainly just sleepiness?

If you can, try to put a stop to evening naps. Those will mess with your night-time sleep for sure. Maybe move your bedtime forward if that helps?

As Pugsy has already said, it can take time for PAP to reach its maximum helpfulness, so hang in there.

5.5 weeks is just a beginning.
Be patient and diligent.
You are doing well--just keep it up, and trust it will continue to improve.