MarkHanson

Yes My sleep care has involved a collection of suggestions and observations by not just my sleep doctor , also my
dentist - a mouth guard custom made that aligns my jaw and stops me crushing my teeth neurologist - a cervical collar to better support my neck while I sleep and reduce pinched nerves ear nose and throat - annual checkups that addressed my balance and dizziness especially experienced laying down pulmonologist - to learn about my lung conditions and the need for an inhaler primary care - to point me in the right direction for referrals when I present symptoms None of them see the whole picture - but as I collected diagnoses and did as I was guided to do - combined with my daily use of CPAP and with the check-ins with my sleep doctor my sleep has improved - a lot. And, to reiterate - my dental appliance has become a key to my improved sleep.

I have OSA. I have been using CPAP for years. I have had chronic breathing issues since my teen years and recently learned that I needed a device showing my O2 and pulse.
I bought a pulse oximeter on Amazon for about $30 which is serving me well. Several of my doctors seem glad that I have one. The doctor at my last incident told me that if my rate went below 90 I needed to check in to the Emergency room. It, and the simple plastic flow meter I got at my last incident give me data that seems to match with how I perceive my breathing.

Hello, Patience tied to persistence are the most important attributes of this process. If I read you right you experienced basic training - and so you know that resilience leads to survival leads to success. But something the service did not explicitly tell you was that determination is essential. Believe in your own decision on the decisions for your sleep and give yourself the time to succeed. The only magic-bullet is the one you build for yourself - in your brain (determination) - give it time. You just invited trauma . NOw allow healing.
PS there is no magic!

I have similar symptom in mine and find it is temporarily resolved by un-seating and re-seating the reservoir. I also found that refilling the reservoir when I am using my CPAP for a nap during the following day seems to delay/eliminate the noise.

Fears are not irrational until you understand them and then they may be if you let them. I feared using CPAP because I was not briefed on the system well enough to really understand it. I was convinced that I was at risk if I did not - so I did. Years with CPAP convince me that it is the mask - not the machine - that is the issue for most folks, myself included. I am lucky. I am able to sleep with my mouth exposed, so I never had to deal with a full face mask, I used nasal buds. I now use a dental appliance because I was crushing my teeth, so my mouth is occupied.

I was luckier still to be at a conference in Denver and be shows a newer sort of mask - which is great --- for me. Respironics Dreamwear Nasal Mask Frame Medium and Softwraps It is wicked comfortable and very light weight. When my original one wore out I found I could buy a replacement on Amazon, so I did.

It took months for me to become comfortable using the CPAP. A major inducement was the support of my wife who remarked that with it both I, and she, seemed to sleep better. No snoring. After years of use and a machine upgrade after about four years I am committed to using mine at night -- and napping. I travel with mine.

Give yourself time and be patient.

I had a whistle on my ResMed the other day. My wife heard it easily so I knew it was not my hearing things I found a quick fix. I move the CPAP to a less congested part of the stool it was on, Then I took the reservoir out and re-seated it, And the whistling went away. I suspect I had not fully seated the reservoir when I had refilled it for the night.

This happens to me when I am in an unintentionally meditative state. I have read about this happening to folks practicing yoga but I am not a practitioner, just a thoughtful person. I notice this and after it happened a few times I was able to calm myself and not see this as dangerous. BUT I suspect it is. I am not worried and trust that if I stay in that state I will take a breath soon enough. And so far I have. Probably not the best attitude but that is mine.

Excellent and very informative. I already have a dental appliance fitted by my oral surgeon that I use every night!

I wonder if playing another wind instrument or singing has a similar beneficial effect. I do recall that in basic training in the early 70s our Drill Instructor had us sing as we ran - for what started as one mile but after 8 weeks was two miles. I know I slept exhausted but ave no idea if my sleep was improved because of the waking exercise linked to singing..

My hack is to listen to all of my physicians and then do the collection of their suggestions - which seems to work well: Dentist - custom mouth appliance to stop clenching Neurologist - cervical collar to address pinches nerve in neck Sleep Doctor - small pillow (synthetic buckwheat hulls) to better fit and better align airway - CPAP uses when I nap -- really improves my alertness after the nap When I reviewed this success with them individually each said they had not realized that the benefits would be cumulative! Perhaps the first part was to brief them all on what the others had figured out about my sleep situation. They all said that they never collaborate. So I guess the hack is to act as my own facilitator among my medical support folks.