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Thanks so much for the info.
This is what grabbed me "UAR including nasal valve collapses." I was showing my provider how one of my nostrils will close if I take a deep breath but swore it was fine. I have no allergies to any medication except isocyanates (adhesives). I never had luck with melatonin (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23691095) but I take it anyways ER 3mg (more has been shown to do the opposite of that study above). Other suggestions I have looked into. Thanks for taking the time to respond I appreciate it.
Good Evening,
While I am new here I am not new to OSA. I have been struggling since about 2013 and its just gotten worse. Interestingly, I was diagnosed with "mild" OSA @ 245lbs and my ramp is only to 6psi. To make a long story short - I am still unable to get used to the mask. I have been so god damn persistent putting it on literally every single night but this is how it has worked: Put mask on, feel anxious and restless (I have RLS, putting the mask on sometimes can be described as not taking my RLS meds). I am not an anxious person AT ALL it was a new feeling for me actually. My face will sometimes sweat as well. I have the dream mask right now and where it touches the nose can sometimes just get hyperhydrosis sweaty (I clinically have been diagnosed with hyperhydrosis). Thing is...I am a chemist and wear SCBAs, hazmat gear, and large respirators regularly - I feel comfortable in them never clostrophobic and its not the dark either. It gets to a point where I am soooooooooooooooo tired I finally do sleep through the night with the mask on - but then the cycle starts over. So i probably get 1 maybe 2 actual nights of sleep a week. Usually if I do fall asleep with the mask on its off when I wake up and its subconsciously happening. Its made me have sleep anxiety - I stress out about how I am going to feel like shit the next day and now that prevents me from sleeping. 2mg of Xanax? Does nothing. Tried just about every class of benzodiazepines they do nothing to me in fact nothing so far will knock me out even tried MJ nothing. Its gotten so bad I cant even walk my dogs a mile before I go to work because I will pass out from exhaustion within 2 hours. Going to the gym is impossible unless I set aside the rest of the day to do nothing and rest. I can actually nod off while talking to someone - just the other day I am training one of my techs and I am nodding off while showing them an Excel spread sheet while talking to them. Sitting down really really seems to bring it out makes sense i guess. I dont let myself drive sometimes either because my body seems to think that is a great time to sleep. I also DJ and will fall asleep while DJing unless I am in public interacting with people. Being in front of a computer makes me fall asleep whether its working from home on a white paper or playing video games on a 100inch projector - I got about 10min before I nod off. Loud noises do nothing to keep me awake - like blasting heavy metal while I work. Sounds like I need stimulants but everything I am describing above is while on 250mg Nuvigal when I wake up and a 20mg dose of adderall few hours later as well as two cups of coffee mixed in there. I have tried to stop all stimulants as well to see if that was preventing me from sleeping somehow but no difference. I am in bed about 10 hours a day as well. To say I am discouraged is an understatement.
Thanks for letting me vent here. Now the point of all this was to ask how you guys/gals have gotten used to your masks? Maybe there are some things I have not tried. Does any of this sound out of place for a diagnosis of mild OSA? We bumped up the ramp to 9psi due to the severity of my symptoms but if the mask is either being subconsciously removed by myself or removed so I can sleep... not sure it matters what the thing is set to if its not on my face.
My wife had this issue and it was diagnosed as OSA because she also snores. For her, it was actually over active turbinates and it took about 6 ENTs and a 2nd sleep study before she got to the bottom of it. Some ENTs suggested reducing them, some removing them, some were against messing with them and trying similar treatments for allergies some mention above. Please do get lots of opinions if at all possible - as you can see from her experience she had a lot of conflicting advice on how to handle over active turbinates.
