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I finally had my followup from my at home study last month. I'm still very fatigued despite the readings on my machine indicating my AHI is almost always below 1. My sleep doctor had me do the at home study to see if the machine readings were accurate. While they didn't show any apneas they did show a lot of respiratory disturbances. Basically, she said for some reason I'm still working really hard during the night to breath. She suggested doing a study in a sleep center so we can figure out exactly what's going on and as long as insurance will cover it I'm going to go ahead and do it. I can't figure out why I'd be struggling to breath even with the machine. She asked about a deviated septum or lots of nasal congestion. I know I tend to wake with a little congestion when I don't use my machine, but when I use it I don't notice any. And my ENT once said I had a "very slight" deviated septum but didn't seem concerned about it.
I still wake up a lot during the night. That never changed after starting the CPAP and I don't know why I'm waking. I wake up and feel fully awake quite a few times during the night, but fall back asleep when I realize it's not morning yet and then as it gets closer to morning I'm exhausted and feel like I hardly slept at all. So maybe they'll find there is still a reason that this is happening. Fingers crossed.
Just curious if anyone has had this "respiratory disturbance" thing come up on a home study and if they figured out what it was.
Thanks! I didn't think to check it with water. I did run water through it and there were no actual leaks. But it did seem to be partially blocked. The best I can figure is where it's stretched out the plastic is sort of loose and crinkly and I think the pressure in essence causes a partial blockage with that area of loose plastic. When I stretch it out it flows through easier. But it doesn't seem like something I can fix so I'll see if they will replace it for me. I can keep using my older hose until then. But yes worst case I guess I spend a few bucks and just order off Amazon.
I'm pretty sure it had to be faulty. I don't even have a headboard to stretch it over. During the night I pull the extra cord under the covers with me, but I don't really move so I'm not pulling on it or anything. I do have 3 kids in the house so I can't rule out that they could have done something when I wasn't looking, but they don't usually touch it.
Thanks for responding.
Something strange happened to the hose for my CPAP machine. About 5 inches away from where it connects to the machine it looks all stretched out. Where the rings are usually tight and close together they are farther apart and the plastic between them is loose and crinkly. I'm not sure how it happened, but what is stranger is that despite not feeling any particular spots of leakage, the air isn't coming through. Or at least not with enough force to be helpful. I can feel a small amount but it's a very low pressure. I'm stumped as to what happened. It's a fairly new hose I've only used maybe 7 times over the past 2 weeks.
I had an older heated hose that I never threw out so I switched for last night, but I imagine insurance isn't going to pay for a new one yet as they only replace them every 3 months. Anyone have this happen before?
Thanks, Heather
Do you put the mask on right before going to bed? I spent time using mine long before bedtime to get used to wearing it. I'd put it on and watch an hour or more of tv or read a book. I feel like it helped me get used to it and I've not had trouble falling asleep with it almost from the start.
Good luck!
I have a terrible time keeping my mouth closed as well. I used to use a thin chin strap and had to tape my mouth shut at night with 2 pieces of surgical tape. I know they don't recommend that because of the risk of your power going out and the machine stopping, but as I'm a very light sleeper and wake many times a night I'm pretty confident I'd wake up if that were to happen.
A few months ago I started with a new chin strap. I don't know what it's called but I found it on Amazon. It's white, the entire thing is stretchy and it's a good 3 inches wide. I still have to adjust it fairly tight. It was uncomfortable at first, but I'm used to it now. But the fact that it's wider seems to keep my lips closed better than the thinner strap design. I don't have to tape my lips closed anymore.
Good point. I was 5'2" and 120lbs when I was diagnosed. But I'm also confident I had it my entire life and was always a skinny kid. I also only snored until they took out my tonsils when I was 15. Never snored after that despite still being a mouth breather and having mild-moderate sleep apnea.
Interesting. I started with it on a table next to me and tried putting it on the floor, running the tube up and over something, at the suggestion here that perhaps gravity would limit some of the water coming through. I had one night it wasn't bad so I thought it worked but it only got worse from there. I'm waiting to hear back from the supply company so I'll share if they have some useful info.
If this turns out to be a faulty machine I'm going to be 3 for 3 here with my CPAPs. First one was blowing excessively high pressure levels (attempted use for a month before bringing it in to find out it was a dud), 2nd one I used for about 10 months it sat on a shelf for over a year then when I went back to it, after 1 week the pressures were all over the place and hitting me with sudden bursts so intense I couldn't breath and the humidifier appeared to stop working entirely because literally no water was being used at all even after 9+ hours of use.
I agree from everything I'm reading it seems really bizarre to have such an excessive amount of water, but I thought maybe I was doing something wrong.
I'll call them today. Thanks!
They did mention that I wasn't reaching my goal of 21 out of 30 days which would be 70% so perhaps that's why they have that as my goal. Not sure if they consider the nights I do use it I go far above and beyond 4 hours and usually it's more like 7 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours. If so, my total monthly hours would likely still be enough.
I have to call them to get more supplies so I'll double check.
Thanks.
Just curious, if you aren't using it enough will insurance stop paying for it? If so, how much is often enough?
I've been sick for 3 weeks now with cough, sore throat, sinus pain and pressure and to top that off I had a biopsy on a lesion on my ear that is making it impossible to wear my chin strap as it causes so much pain.
I got a notice from the DME company that I wasn't meeting my goals and to reach out if they can help. I'm currently 4 months into a 10 month required rental period before they will buy it outright.
I've probably only managed 3-4 nights a week for the last couple of weeks. Just not sure if that's enough to make them decide to not cover it.
TIA
