Where did all the help GO??

JohnBFisher wrote:Zantac as in an antacid? Hmmm... It's possible the stomach acid was causing you to awaken during the night. That would trigger sleep state transition apneas - which appear to be a real struggle for you. Yes, I can believe that that's what helped.

But don't panic if it doesn't always work. It sounds as if getting to you fall asleep and stay asleep can be a struggle. Those nights always are lousy for me, as well. Be patient. You will find you tend to sleep better more frequently. But it requires patience on your part.

And here's hoping you will have found the secret to help you get better sleep. Best wishes for much more!!

I think he meant a Xanax:

racprops wrote:racprops on Sat May 18, 2013 7:45 am BREAK THOUGH!!! NO EVENTS!!!!

I felt it was time for a desperate act, so far I have not slept over 4 hours at one time on the machine..and that seemed to only happen after many nights of one hour at a time..

So last night I took a Zantac.
Rich

racprops wrote: racprops on Sat May 18, 2013 2:48 pm PS I will point out it took a Xanax and sleeping in my recliner is a near upright position. There is still work to do.

Nate

Another great success story!!! Very happy for you, Rich!

Well as I feared I am still fighting to stop my waking up cycles.

Even the use of Xanax did not stop me.

The great night of two nights ago I believe was aided by my being very exhausted and thus I slept the sleep of the dead.

Last night was still good as I only had a total AHI of 5.55

Here is the upper part of sleepyhead’s report.

Rich

5.5 is nothing to complain about compared to your apnea prior to treatment. You are headed in the right direction, Rich!

It appears that you turned your machine off 5 times during the night. Any reason for that?

Regards, Nate

Those are when I woke up...

That is now my new problem getting at lease 4 hours of sleep at one time non stop.

For the past decade I have not been a great sleeper, I would wake up two to four times a night, some I would stay up for a hour or two before going back to sleep.

Looking back I can see some of this problem in the years before I knew what it was.

Rich

I'm going to say what everybody else is thinking. Hey, you can't have a great night every night,especially right off the bat. I advise you to chill out, keep experimenting, stop beating yourself up and give it more time. There, I said it.

racprops wrote:

NateS wrote: It appears that you turned your machine off 5 times during the night. Any reason for that?

Those are when I woke up...

That is now my new problem getting at lease 4 hours of sleep at one time non stop.

For the past decade I have not been a great sleeper, I would wake up two to four times a night, some I would stay up for a hour or two before going back to sleep.

Looking back I can see some of this problem in the years before I knew what it was.

Rich

Rich,

What do you do - turn your machine off everytime you wake up? And if you are not getting air through your machine, how do you breathe? Do you take your mask off each time? If so, sounds like you may be building an old bad habit into your new routine.

Just a suggestion - I wake up many times during the night and consider it part of a normal night. But I don't turn off my machine everytime I wake up, and I actually think I fall back asleep quicker if I continue to be hooked up and breathing through the machine.

Why don't you try that. Don't switch off the machine. Just lay there and relax with it on. You just might fall back asleep quicker. After all, your intervals with it off are not all that great, and they might be even shorter if you left it running and stay hooked up.

Don't let yourself get upset each time you wake up during the night. It's normal. Just look at your bedside clock each time and tell yourself how wonderful it is that it is still early in the night, and you've got so many hours left to just relax and lie in bed. Don't try to force yourself back to sleep and don't fret over being awake. Just stay stretched out and relaxed and keep breathing through your mask and machine. You might even try to play a little game with yourself and think about what you'd like to dream about next if and when you fall back asleep. Sort of like writing a humorous little play in your mind. Just don't start laughing out loud and wake up your wife!

Try it!

Good luck, Nate

racprops, I don't know if I will chime in with what everyone else is saying. To me it sounds as if you might have a little bit of that deadly condition, known as OFS ... You know ... Old Fart Syndrome!!

And trust me on this when I tell you "it takes one to know one!" .. .. The good news is that waking fairly frequently during the night is pretty normal as we age. It's a pain. And in your case, it's a big issue (due to the transition between sleep and wakefulness and back again). That tends to trigger a lot of "normal" central apneas. Unfortunately though normal - you get them longer and in greater quantity than most people. That's part of my problem as well, so I do understand your frustration.

But learning to trust the machine and just fall back asleep is part of getting acclimated to the ASV therapy. Soon you won't even really notice when you awaken and then fall back asleep. When you allow that to happen you will soon fall deeper asleep and have more restful sleep. Again, I know that from personal experience and that of others here.

You are making good progress ... well, not against the OFS, but the no one seems to make a dent against that!

So, hang in there "Pardner!" .. You will continue to see improvement.

Thanks all.

I am not upset about waking, but the next day I am a little when I am having poor day.

I have gotten so used to the waking it does not upset me.

I will try to just go back to sleep IF I don't need to pee or get a drink of water (dry mouth...) or have a kink somewhere that needs getting up and moving around (remember I am still sleeping in my recliner...)for.

Ideally I will sleep three to four hours at a time and get two to three of these complete sleep cycles and wake up with a good day.

That is my new goal.

I know NOW I can get a good night on the machine and will work to do that more often. (and not change a setting...it works..)

I found out taking Xanax is OK even my heart doctor likes it, so I will be taking it for a while to help set up a new habit of better and more relaxed sleep.

Rich

Regarding Xanax (alprazolam is the generic), I have a decade of experience, so I am a vet on that front line.

Please, tread carefully with this drug classification which is nicknamed Benzos, they do have their place in treatment, but they also have their risks. Take the time to inform yourself about such issues as dependency, rebound insomnia, mental confusion and possible neurological damage, to name just a few. I encourage you to search this forum for the terms 'xanax', 'benzos' and 'alprazolam' - you will find a wealth of information, plus a lot of controversy. Love benzos... hate benzos... it's all there.

Wow here is a demo of positional apneas.

I found myself lower and flatter in my recliner the other morning and hoped it was sigh that I was wanting to sleep in my bed..so last night I tried to return to bed.

Here is what happened.



It looks like I may be trapped sleeping in a recliner for the rest of my life.

Rich

Not necessarily. But it might take a while to adjust to the therapy and then adjust to the bed. Go with the recliner for a few days. Get good sleep. Then go for the bed one night. See how things go. At this point you need to get the good sleep, so go for that at this point.

Getting better, another full night in the recliner, but this time ONLY ONE WAKE UP!!!!!

Sleep for near 3.5 hours the first season and the second season was also just short of 3.5 hours,total was 7.10 hours sleep and my total AHI was 6.98.

Again this was done by a Xanax pill and a night again in my recliner.



Rich

From looking at your previous post why dont you sleep on your side since it shows a very good outcome

If you sleep well in your recliner, I would suggest you raise the head of your bed to keep the head of the bed higher about 6 inches when you go back to it. I have mine on a couple of 2x4's and use a high pillow to keep the head of the bed higher. I tried books and bricks but settled on the 2x4's.