My First solid night of CPAP, how does this look?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Miss Emerita
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Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: My First solid night of CPAP, how does this look?

Post by Miss Emerita » Sat Aug 10, 2024 12:02 pm

I see no reason for you to stop meditating. You might want to do it sitting so you don't fall asleep, if that makes sense for your practice.

A fair number of people take their masks off without being aware of it. One solution is to put tape across a mask strap, anchoring it on both sides to your face. That way you'll feel a tug when you try to take the mask off and -- we hope -- leave it in place.

Have you had a chance to start trying Flonase? As I say, it does take some time to kick in, but it could be helpful to you. You might also talk with your doctor about other ways to treat your congestion, depending on what causes it.

Do you have periodic testing to see whether your thyroid medication is at the right dosage? If not, that would be worth doing.

And of course it'd be worth talking with your doctor about treatment for the ADHD.

You had a fairly high index of arousals the night of your sleep study, no notable leg-movement findings, mostly respiration-related arousals. The good news is that you didn't have a lot of "spontaneous" arousals. (Those are arousals whose cause is unknown.) That suggests to me that with time, you'll experience fewer arousals and feel more rested.

Please feel free to share a chart link any time.
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

ladypreneur1
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Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2024 8:39 pm

Re: My First solid night of CPAP, how does this look?

Post by ladypreneur1 » Sun Aug 11, 2024 8:48 am

Thanks for all the good tips. I have not taken an oral decongestant but I will try that. I usually use a nasal spray if I feel the need, but not for more than 3 days since it can make congestion worse if you over-use them. A rinse is a good idea too.

I will try the tape if it keeps happening. I realized I had a tendency to over-tighten the mask to avoid leaks, so far I haven't done that and haven't taken it off in my sleep since!

I do have blood work done every few months or so for thyroid/hormone levels. I recently needed to increase the dosage, so that could be a thing. Honestly I believe things were all out of whack because of my lack of quality sleep. I hope better quality sleep helps the other things, we'll see.

I was also waiting on adhd meds because I wanted to get used to the cpap and see if that helped enough to make them less necessary (lack of sleep causing focus/memory/brain fog issues might be more of a culprit). I didn't want to throw a stimulant medication on top of sleep deprivation, seemed like a bad idea. I'd be curious to know how others have fared with that. But if I do decide to go that route I will update here.

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Miss Emerita
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Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: My First solid night of CPAP, how does this look?

Post by Miss Emerita » Sun Aug 11, 2024 1:10 pm

This all makes total sense. One clarification: Flonase is a nasal spray. It takes about 1-2 weeks to start having effects. My allergist says it's fine to use it indefinitely if it helps.
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/