Multiple Wake Ups... Can it be fixed? Any Experiences?

Sorry this is happening, it can be maddening, especially if its either preventing REM or your gasping because of a clear airway issue or snoring problem, whatever.

Have you examine the possibility of another factor, such as overmedication, reflux, low cortisol, adrenaline from panic attacks, etc?

This isnt necessarily a cpap issue, although it certainly could be.

What are the most significant signifcant factors in your sleep data just prior to waking? For me its snoring, clear airway events, or hypopneas. I wish i could say I'd solved all those issues. With snoring, i was at a much higher pressure, and preventing some snoring, but I was too high, and self-titrated back down and im getting better AHI numbers. Trade off.

Keep being a detective and you'll find out whats happening. Sometimes its something seemingly unrelated, such as eating after dinner, sleep position, or even being low on serotonin. An integrated approach might help the most.

welcome to the forum..I too felt like I was suffocating with the mask on..I actually had someone on here suggest put my starting pressure up to number 6 and it felt much better. I am like you too...I have been on the cpap now for 5 weeks and only the last two nights I have actually slept through the night without waking up!! before I was still waking up at least two to three times a night and laying awake for hours at a time. I had the mask on and off all night. I believe others on here are right in that its hard for your body to break a pattern and takes time. I was in complete shock when Sunday night for the first time in years I slept all night. My hubby said he was even checking to see if I was breathing when he woke at 5am and I was still fast asleep!! lol. As I said I havnt been on it very long but the people on here are amazing . The support I have had on here so far has kept me going when I would have otherwise given up after 2 weeks. Good Luck to you and hang in there, kind regards , Daisy.

I have successfully been on CPAP for 6 weeks now. My AHI is down to under 2. It was 24. I no longer wake up with my heart pounding super fast and hard (which was due to low oxygen saturation. Dropped to 53% in my sleep study!). I no longer wake up with the throbbing headache. In fact I have not had a headache at all since I started my therapy. Also, my blood pressure is down to 117/77 from 140/90. So I definitely see positive changes and I know it is working. However, I still wake up every 2-3 hours. It is so frustrating. I have not slept threw the night in over 9 years. I saw my sleep doctor yesterday and she said it's nothing to worry about as long as the apneas are under control. She said most people wake up every 2-3 hours or when each sleep cycle completes, just some people are more sensitive and literally wake up whereas others just sort of roll over and not really wake up enough to become alert.

Hi
I have had similar issues to you, with nasel pillows, keep waking up in the night. After about 8 months on CPAP I bought a chin strap and now I only wake 1-2 times a night. My mouth must have been dropping open slightly causeing minor leaks but enough to wake me. I noticed on my charts with sleapyhead software my leak rates went right down with the chin strap.'

Welcome to the group. This is a huge step in helping you to adjust to the cpap therapy. Doctors and DMEs don't seem to help us much. It takes experienced cpap users to help people get through the trial and error process.

First, can you clarify which machine you have? You have mentioned the Elite twice now, but you also mentioned an auto range, which implies the Autoset, not the Elite.

Second, can you download the software and show up a graph of a typical night? There are two programs you can use for free. One is Sleepyhead, and one is ResScan.


ResScan: http://www.resmed.com/int/assets/html/s ... c=patients
ResScan Tutorial- http://montfordhouse.com/cpap/resscan_tutorial/


Now, are you using the ramp feature? Some people like it, some people hate it. One thing you should know is that it is often programmed to start at a very low level, and most people find that it is too low to feel comfortable. We feel like we are suffocating. So, even though your prescription setting is in the middle range, if your ramp is starting at 4 or 5, you may be struggling for awhile with a pressure that is too low. And every time you get up and restart the machine, you will be back at that really low setting. If this is a problem for you, it would be better to set the ramp to start at a higher pressure, say 7 or 8 and then ramp up to your pressure. Or even turn it off.

Tell us about any problems you are having, and we can help you solve these problems. The good news is that just about anything you are dealing with, several people here have been there, done that, and can help you with it. You have come to the right place