Just be careful with the Ambien. My brother drove me to work (30 miles) and then drove back home and had absolutely no recall of ever taking me. He never used Ambien again.
In my case of restless legs, if my legs get too warm, I have problems. So, I wear socks to bed and leave the blanket off my legs. For my sisters, they need extra warmth on their legs or they get restless legs. In addition, low iron, magnesium or potassium can cause restless legs (or at least make them worse). Not something you can really diagnose yourself however.
I have a suggested topic - sleep apnea, cpap machines and high eye pressure. The ophthalmologist and sleep doctor keep passing the buck on this one. If you have glaucoma or other high eye pressure issue, you risk blindness, so yeah, it's an important issue! How high is too high? What mask design, besides the FitLife makes eye pressure worse?
The reality is that you (with the assistance of your insurer or Medicare in many cases) have paid for this machine. In my opinion, you have the right to know all the intricacies of how to operate that machine. In addition, even if you don't adjust pressures, there are a lot of basic things that you can, as the owner of the machine, may need to adjust such as the time (daylight savings), which can only be accessed in the clinical settings area.
Convenience (or necessity depending on your situation) is also a factor. I live in a Medicare Competitive bid area. Access to the DME is by appointment only. I live 45 minutes away. By not being able to access the machine, I have to make 2 trips: one to the sleep doctor and then one to the DME to make changes to my machine. The days of the DME coming to your home are pretty much over in my area unless your doctor has an order in that you are homebound. My BIL lives 45 MILES from the nearest DME and that is the VA. My sister would have to drive 100 miles to get to a Medicare approved DME. These are smart people, perfectly capable of reading a screen and adjusting things themselves.
I do agree though, working with your doctor is vital to rule out other issues.
I'm a newbie myself, but others have suggested that if you have continuing problems with nasal pillows and don't want to give up on them, try switching with a nasal mask on alternate nights.
