Best ahI in five months

Al N · Post by **Al N** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 6:21 am

Another update. Last night my ahI was .3. Best it has ever been. II am still waking up multiple times however. I can't even remember the last time I slept through the night without waking up. Still it's progress though and I will take it. I remember when I first found out I had severe OSA I was almost relived and definitely anxious. I had been so sick and exhausted for so long I was happy to maybe get some relief. I was hoping for one of those stories where I felt a huge difference right away and never looked back. Well that didn't happen and while I can't claim much improvement in energy. At least I am not starving for oxygen like I was. Talk about a slow painful death. 52 % was my lowest level in my sleep study. I am still terrified to sleep without my mask. So I will take any improvement I can get and keep hopping I didn't starve my brain for oxygen so long I will never recover. Thanks for all the support and advise from all the caring folks of this forum

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:18 am

Any idea what is causing the wake ups during the night?
Anything related to mask or machine? Pain? Bed comfort? Just the brain going 100 mph?

Al N · Post by **Al N** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:30 am

Re: Best ahI in five months
by Pugsy on Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:18 am

Any idea what is causing the wake ups during the night?
Anything related to mask or machine? Pain? Bed comfort? Just the brain going 100 mph?

_________________
Machine: S9 VPAP™ Auto BiLevel Machine
Mask: Swift™ FX Bella Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgears
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: I have both the S9 VPAP Auto and the PR S1 BiPap Auto.
PR S1 Software Options
SleepyHead download page
SleepyHead User Guide
SH Glossary of Terms
SH Tutorial under construction

Not for sure. Masks have been a big issue. I have tried five different ff with a lot of trouble. I tried and tried to get them to seal without being too tight. With no luck I watched videos practiced through out the day mask liners. Lanalon and even a gecko nasal pad no luck. Either had sores on my nose leaks waking me up or both. I've been on a nasal pillow for four days now seems to be working out. I've had to tape my mouth since the chin straps haven't came in yet. AhI seems to be better with the pillow though I haven't been able to look at the data on sh yet. Maybe just an adjustment period right now with the new mask. Waking up several times a night has been going on for years so not sure if some of it isn't habit. I do have some pains to so a lot of variables. Trying to track them down one at a time

Sheriff Buford · Post by **Sheriff Buford** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 8:44 am

I will bet if you keep at it, it will get better. My job is educating us on fatigue and sleep debt is a big deal to your body. Let us know in several months if this is still an issue.

Sheriff

Al N · Post by **Al N** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:03 am

I will bet if you keep at it, it will get better. My job is educating us on fatigue and sleep debt is a big deal to your body. Let know in several months if this is still an issue.

Will definitely keep at it. I believe the worst of it is over anyway but if not i am determined to make it work. If It is sleep dept I owe I am likely to be paying a long time

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:15 am

Al N wrote:Waking up several times a night has been going on for years so not sure if some of it isn't habit. I do have some pains to so a lot of variables. Trying to track them down one at a time

While we expect some adjustment to sleeping with an alien stuck on our face and lots of wake ups just to feel that it is still stuck on our face, we do need to try to limit those wake ups as much as possible and often it requires a lot of detective work to figure out the main culprit(s).

I had some pain issues myself. Great AHI after a bit of tweaking but still got crappy sleep and I never had a problem with mask comfort or leaks...so pretty much my wake ups were when I would turn over in bed (some bad arthritis issues). I would have 20 or 30 of the wake ups. Sure makes for crappy sleep..

Do what you can with the known wake up culprits. Mask leaks...if they wake you up then they are unwanted even if they are small and don't really impact therapy. Take a good look at your overall sleep hygiene and see if you are doing something that might promote wake ups.
I am a bad girl...usually up late on the computer. Or I do something like I did last night...had myself a cup of cappuchino from my new nespresso machine. I knew better but needed something to alleviate the boredom from the football game last night.
So I couldn't go to sleep until 1 AM despite my usual pain meds.

Anyhow. Try to isolate whatever is causing your wake ups and limit them as much as possible. Some of it may be habit and some of it may be other things. It isn't always about the AHI...wish it were that easy. Even now after nearly 4 years I fight a battle with wake ups due to pain. It is what it is and I do the best I can (most of the time). At least now I have the wake ups cut down to maybe 4 or 5 per night. It's taken a lot of experimentation to figure out how best to reduce the pain and some nights I am successful and some nights I am not.