DanM

Great idea! I know of a few patients who have taken data from Sleepyhead to their physicians for discussion. Please let us know how things progress!

Hi KindJadeMoose5661. I'm sorry to hear you have had such issues with your ENT. Is the third party company able to assist at all with your questions? Unfortunately, we cannot provide information on changing your machine settings. The machines are regulated by the FDA and require a prescription to dispense and set the pressures(much like a medication), although many users have figured out how to change their settings. If you do adjust your machine, please be careful to have your data monitored, as pressures that are too low may cause sleep apnea to remain untreated, and pressures that are too high can cause other problems.

As for sending the data to your wireless router, I am not aware that it is possible with any machine to send the data directly to yourself. Some manufacturers provide applications and websites that provide some information from your machine for models that are capable. ResMed, for example, provides the myAir app. Many users like the Sleepyhead application that allows them to directly download data from their machine's data card and then view detailed reports. There is quite a bit of information posted here on the Forum about Sleepyhead, and a quick search of the Forum and of the internet should provide some information. Hope this helps!

Hi linnietee. Breathing normally while awake should not contribute to your AHI. Also, as we age and our bodies change, our CPAP pressure requirements can change. Have you considered discussing the need to have your CPAP pressure checked with your physician?

Hi Angela. Good questions, and I hope I can help answer them. For patients who go for a sleep study and are already on oxygen, it is normal to remove the oxygen to get a true "baseline" reading of the O2 levels. It also helps determine whether oxygen requirements have changed (does he need less, more, etc.). Also, sleep apnea can be completely independent of his COPD and hypoxemia issues and is a completely different diagnosis, and oxygen will not treat the sleep apnea. The obstructions that occur with sleep apnea can contribute to poor oxygenation levels, and they can contribute to the worsening of other health conditions. Research has show us that patients with sleep apnea are more likely to have high blood pressure, other heart conditions, and that sleep apnea is associated with diabetes. For some patients, even those with underlying COPD, treating the sleep apnea can sometimes improve blood oxygen levels and eliminate the need for oxygen at night. For others who may have more severe COPD, oxygen may be used in combination with CPAP (or other types of PAP treatment) to help treat both the sleep apnea and the hypoxemia.

I am not sure why they called your husband's sleep apnea "mild to severe" unless he has distinct periods when his apnea is mild and then times when his apnea is severe. Mild sleep apnea is usually diagnosed when a person has somewhere between 5 and 15 events per hour, and severe sleep apnea is when there are more than 30 events per hour. Some patients can have mild sleep apnea when they are on their side and not in REM sleep, for example. However, apnea may become severe when the patient sleeps on their back or is in REM sleep. I encourage you to speak to his physician and ask for an explanation of his diagnosis. Your physician should also be able to explain why it is important to treat sleep apnea in addition to the low blood oxygen levels, but we are always happy to try and answer questions too! Hope this helps, and best wishes!

Welcome, and congratulations on starting your therapy! Our community members are excellent, and we enjoy sharing what we can to help others. Please keep us posted on your progress, and feel free to ask any questions! Also, if you want to change your Forum display name, click on the tiny down arrow in the top bar of your screen and go to the Settings page. You can change your Forum name field to something you prefer if you don't want to be BrightAzureJaguar5129.

Hello. Many patients experience difficulty during the first few days of treatment, but because you mention chest pain, I encourage you to call your physician to discuss the problem. When I started treatment, it was several weeks before I could actually sleep through the night because I was having difficulty adjusting to the mask and air pressure. I seem to recall there was a period where I felt more tired initially because I felt like I was fighting with the mask and tubing. A really good respiratory therapist gave me a tip that I've shared several times on the Forum here. She told me to take the machine out of the bedroom in the evenings and practice wearing it while reading or watching television. I wore it for at least an hour prior to getting in bed, and this experience helped tremendously. Best wishes, and please keep us posted on your progress!

Hi @WittyVioletDogfish2940. If you cannot get help from your equipment provider, I encourage you to call your sleep physician's office and request assistance. Your physician's office may be able to assist or contact the equipment provider on your behalf.

Hi StraightforwardCeriseAlligator6641. Wiredgeorge makes a good point about the equipment providers. They are generally in the business of providing the equipment and supplies, and they usually provide the details of treatment to insurance providers that require it and sleep physicians who request it. I have found that it is very rare for the equipment providers to provide data directly to patients. I encourage you to contact your sleep physician to talk about how things are looking. Many users here on the Forum have downloaded Sleepyhead software and have learned to look at their data through that software. And congratulations on being proactive with your mask fit. Proper mask fit is probably the most important factor in successful treatment. Best wishes, and keep us posted on your progress!

Hi Jules. It sounds like you are definitely going through some issues with your sleep apnea and the machine. I am glad to hear you are working with your physician to try and sort it all out. Please don't give up! Medications can definitely have an impact on your breathing and your sleep, and pain medications are known to cause some breathing changes. A good sleep physician will understand what is happening and work with you to treat the issues. I hope you persist to get your apnea treated while still being able to manage your pain! Please keep us posted on your progress, and best wishes!

Hi Hopalong86. Pain of any kind can certainly interfere with sleep. I have worked with many patients who suffer from chronic pain issues related to some of the conditions you mention. Pain control can certainly help with improving sleep, but it would be interesting to try to find out why your AHI varies so much on some nights. For some patients, and depending on the treatment type, it can be body position. Some patients have sleep apnea symptoms that worsen when they are on their back, for example. While my particular machine does not give me numbers on a nightly basis, I can download the card and look at the data in Sleepyhead software. If you are interested, you might consider downloading the software and taking a look at your own data. I have known patients who have taken the reports to their physicians so they can talk about what looks good or not so good and what might help improve their sleep. Education is key, and you seem to be looking for answers! Congratulations, and I hope you find helpful information here on MyApnea.Org!