The Daily Blowdown

4/14/2011

AHI 4.8
Leak 2.4

Not a bad night, still getting up groggy though. I know, I have to give it time, and I'm willing to do so. Leak rates are still well controlled, the weekly review of the graphs on Sunday should bear that out.

What I learned: The human body can adapt to a lot of stuff! I'm already used to sleeping with the mask, waking up in the AM with very little awareness that it's there until I turn off the air flow.

TalonNYC wrote:...
Not a bad night, still getting up groggy though.

The biggest reasons that I've found for myself being groggy in the morning are 1) not getting at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep, and 2) an alarm clock waking me up from REM sleep. The latter seems to cause a fog that lasts for much of the day even if I got 7 hours of sleep.

TalonNYC wrote:...
What I learned: The human body can adapt to a lot of stuff! I'm already used to sleeping with the mask, waking up in the AM with very little awareness that it's there until I turn off the air flow.

That's probably also a good indication that you've found the right mask. Not only am I not aware of my mask, I'm usually not even aware of the air being blown into my nose when I first wake up.

Thanks Bernie! Yeah, I've never been a good morning person, so this isn't necessarily a side effect of treatment LOL

I'm still worried about the divot on the bridge of my nose, but with the silicone pad at least it's not getting worse. If it heals up soon, then I found the mask for me!

4/15/2011

AHI 3.6
Leak 3.8

Woke up in the middle of a dream, groggy as hell, but this means that I'm sleeping much more deeply, so I'll take the trade off =)

What I learned: My DME (Apria) requires a large amount of hand-holding to do anything. Called to get my mask preference change, and was told "hmm, looks like there's no mask preference in here at all..."

4/16/2011

AHI 4.8
Leak 12.2

First, thanks to EVERYONE who sent prayers and well wishes. The fever actually broke about an hour before I went to bed. I was still kinda shaky, and felt horrible, but it was getting better instead of worse =) This am I'm still achy, and so that probably explains the tossing and turning last night and the leaks caused by it.

What I learned: Whatever caused the fever spike most likely was also responsible for the grogginess over the last two mornings. I woke up back on track (though a bit achy) this AM. Still not a morning person

Glad to see you are feeliing better!!!

4/17/2011 and weekly wrap up

AHi 3.8
Leak 0.0 (!!!)

I checked the graphs on this one, as the 0.0 Leak was way out of the ordinary. Charts show that I has some leaks, but overall it was zero. Very cool!

What I learned: minor leaks near the eyes can be VERY annoying.

4/18/2011

AHI 5.8
Leak 3.2

Urgh, bad night. Still getting over whatever this stomach thing was, so not totally unexpected that I was tossing, turning and sleeping rough. I do feel a lot better today, so should sleep better tonight.

What I learned: If the upper support band of the headgear at the back of my head slips, the mask leaks like mad. Since the first leaks are usually RIGHT into my eyes, I figure out that something is wrong very fast =)

4/19/2011

AHI 2.8
Leak 1.2

Great night's sleep! Lots of dreaming going on.

What I learned: I definitely mouth breathe once I fall asleep, so using the Oracle for the next week or so (it arrives today) shouldn't be an issue while my nose bridge heals up.

4/20/2011

AHI: skewed

UGH! Well, that experiment was a dismal failure! Oracle mask felt comfortable - more comfortable than even the Mirage that I was using, but did not work well for me at all. I kept waking up and waking up and waking up over the course of about 4 hours. Finally, my body gave me the unmistakable signals for "you are now going to STAY awake." Checked the S9 and in my groggy state noted only that the AHI was in two digits =(

Popped out the Oracle, checked my schedule for this AM, calculated I could get another 6 hours and not screw anything up, just skip my usual morning routines except for a shower. Took another melatonin, popped on the Mirage FFM, lowered the humidifier back to normal levels (it had been slightly higher for the Oracle) and went back to bed.

As soon as I hit the pillow, I was out cold. Woke up with the alarm and checked the stats. My overall AHI for both sessions was 9.8 - figuring I've been hovering around 3 with the FFM, that means the Oracle was not extremely successful (to say the least) at controlling OSA events =(

Not the end of the world, my nose is slowly healing even with the FFM, just very slowly. So I will use the Mirage, be patient, and chalk this one up to experience.

For those interested in the nose plug stuff, I found that the medium plugs did work well, but the lack of nasal venting seems to have amped up my OSA somehow. So, while the plugs stayed in place and only leaked a little, the overall treatment didn't go so well.

Sorry to hear that the Oracle experience did not work for you.

WhoDatSleeping wrote:Sorry to hear that the Oracle experience did not work for you.

Thanks, I suppose they can't all be wonderful experiences LOL

4/21/2011

AHI 2.8
Leak 8.1

Great night's sleep. I think I only woke up once (which is very normal for me for as long as I can remember) and fell right back to sleep. Back on the Mirage Quattro, and barely noticed it all night.

What I learned: with the silicone nose pad thing, the bridge of my nose is very, very slowly healing, but it IS healing.

Mike, when you use the Quattro, do you find yourself breathing through your nose or mouth?

@whoDat: I'm actually an odd breather when I sleep. When I'm drifting off to sleep, I breathe through my nose exclusively - unless something is stuffing me up. Then, when I fall asleep, I start mouth breathing. As I begin to wake up, it's back to nose breathing.

I only know about the mouth breathing because of the drool and the sleep study results =)