My new diagnosis - ready for next steps

Hey Gang. First post! I have been reading a lot of the posts but now it's
time to ask some questions....

My situation is probably very familiar to long term members here. On
recommendation from my Dr I did a sleep study and that report said I had an
AHI of 32... no wonder I was so tired during the day... it sounds like that is a
fairly high number... falling maybe between moderate and severe...

Been trying to get my head around my apnea diagnosis. The first few weeks
were all a bit of a shock, initially.... my Dr at first was
suggesting some surgery to expand my airway which, ah, sort of freaked me
out as he described it, but then he decided on the CPAP route. So, that was
a couple of months ago now and things are starting to fall into a routine.

So, now each morning I now fire up EncoreViewer and pull the data off the
SmartCard and compare that to how I feel my sleep was. After increasing the
pressure upwards a few times (min) 5->7->10 (with my Dr's advice) my AHI dropped
down to 2 and even to <1.0 a few nights!! I still take that number with a grain
of salt because it's probably low, but that's still a good feeling and it does seem
to make a difference...

I also took the idea of members here and used the medical tape to keep my lips
closed as well. It's a little hard on the lips when I remove it each morning.. I even
had chapped lips that lasted a week(!)... that was hard to explain at the
office when you don't live in a cold climate... also the marks of the mask
on your face too... ugh.. my skin is fairly soft so I tend to wake up with those
pillow wrinkles even before I had to wear this mask...

First question... is it practical to analyze my sleep stages (how often am I
in REM stage, say?) .. well, they did that at the sleep clinic but
what sort of machines can a consumer buy to do that? What I'm looking for
is to check if I'm starting to wake if/when an apnea happens... also, I'd like
to know what percent of the time I'm spending in the deep stage sleep
(it was 11% of the total sleep time the night I did the sleep study.)

Next question.. so I was fitted for a Remstar Auto M-Series A-Flex and
the respiratory therapist said he was surprised to see me because (most? all?)
of his patients are over weight. My friend had the same response "my mom
has apnea but she is 30 pounds overweight" and I'm not overweight - I'm in
good shape.

Are there other people on this forum that are exercise nuts like me but also
are battling apnea? To put it in context, I don't think anything of spending 2 of hours
at the gym or going for a jog for a couple of hours (but not both on the same day,
sorry .. . my initial impression is that excess weight is the most common
factor in apnea.. I sort of feel like I'm alone here or in a tiny minority perhaps.

That's it for now.. I'm sure I'm going to have to ask some mask related questions
because that's my next task, getting a good mask fit and all...

Many people who suffer from OSA are overweight, it can be one of the factors, but can also be a result of OSA. On the other hand, many, such as myself are not. I'm 5'4" and weigh 115. Neck circumference can be an indicator and thus there are those who are athletic and muscular who have OSA. Many are over 50 years of age, but there are plenty Dx'd w/OSA in their 20s and 30s and even young children. There are no one size fits all indicators for OSA, just generalities of the most common factors. Except for the PSG (polysomnogram).

There is an item, if I remember correctly, it is called a SleepTracker, which while obviously not as accurate and thorough as the EEG of a PSG, does give some indication of deeper and lighter sleep you might want to check into. That is about the closest to what you are asking about that I am aware of that is available to the general public.

Welcome to the forum, Jasonh! It sounds like you've been doing a lot of reading and are taking charge of your therapy And it's especially good to hear from another person who's doc is willing to work with them in this journey!

See my comments in bold below....

jasonh wrote:So, now each morning I now fire up EncoreViewer and pull the data off the
SmartCard and compare that to how I feel my sleep was. After increasing the
pressure upwards a few times (min) 5->7->10 (with my Dr's advice) my AHI dropped
down to 2 and even to <1.0 a few nights!! I still take that number with a grain
of salt because it's probably low, but that's still a good feeling and it does seem
to make a difference...

It sounds like you're doing well! I don't think you need to take those numbers with much salt at all.

First question... is it practical to analyze my sleep stages (how often am I
in REM stage, say?) .. well, they did that at the sleep clinic but
what sort of machines can a consumer buy to do that? What I'm looking for
is to check if I'm starting to wake if/when an apnea happens... also, I'd like
to know what percent of the time I'm spending in the deep stage sleep
(it was 11% of the total sleep time the night I did the sleep study.)

About a year ago someone mentionned the "SleepTracker" which is a watch-type of gizmo that supposedly figures out what stage of sleep you're in. I think it was around $200-ish. I don't know how well it works or how accurate it is. I debated trying it but even moi, the gadget geekess, drew the line there. However we all have different urges for gadgets

Next question.. so I was fitted for a Remstar Auto M-Series A-Flex and
the respiratory therapist said he was surprised to see me because (most? all?)
of his patients are over weight. My friend had the same response "my mom
has apnea but she is 30 pounds overweight" and I'm not overweight - I'm in
good shape.

You'll find that there are plenty of people who have apnea and are not overweight. I have a friend who can't weigh more than 90 lbs and has severe sleep apnea.

About chapped lips - there are gentler ways to do mouth taping; there have been many suggestions on the forum and each of us needs to find what works for us and what we can tolerate. Personally, I use a chin strap and then wrap a piece of J&J 2-inch wide "Hurt-free" tape over my mouth and tie behind the back of my head. Then I lightly wrap one of RestedGal's panythose tights legs over that. I have rather sensitive skin and this works for me and doesn't cause irritation.

Keep up the good work - you sound very motivated and seem to be on the right track!

Mindy

Jason.......

Give 2" Blue 3M Delicate Release painter's tape a try.....it's available at Lowe's paint Dept.

Remove by pulling parallel to your face. If you pull the tape perpendicular to your face, you'll find removal to be uncomfortable.

I tried the medical tape....and didn't like it. I've been using the blue tape for a year....works great.

Gerald

Thanks for the responses. It's great that cpaptalk is so active!

PS. I will give the blue tape a try - I didn't think of that :-
)