Varmit

Well, this article caught my attention (wavering though it is). Was diagnosed with APNEA several years ago and have followed treatment fairly well. However, not strictly as you have. I can change that. However, I'd like to know if you have seen any information on getting one's brain back not only from SA but in conjunction with age related effects. I am 77 and know I've lost considerable brain working quality, especially in the area of short term memory and problem solving. Your mention of loss of directionality caught me up short, as unexpectedly I'm finding location memory of recently acquired addresses difficult. Thank goodness for GPS.

I do have heart failure and other cardio difficulties, but have good care and am working to bring my energy levels up. I will increase excecise regularity and try to add items. With heart failure, too much exercise results in eliminating energy levels for a significant time, even the remainder of a day, which of course is truly frustrating and to some extent scary.

Have you tried 3 dimensional puzzles? They are very interesting and I expect helpful in this area. I have one and have procrastinated working it, but will attack the project starting this evening. As a note, I was amazed at the difference in capability of my daughter (52) when doing what look like truly difficult 3D puzzles and what I believe I shall find. However, tonight will begin. I've also gone back to working crochet direction projects, starting with a very simple child's sweater pattern. Am with you, believing these sorts of activities will help.

I'm a clay person, doing mostly sculptural hand building and finding my hands and fingers do not follow my directions smoothly and accurately. Forming smooth, smaller lines and forms is much more difficult and takes so much longer to achieve quality finished results.

What is age related and what is a result of both is unclear and probably unnecessary to be concerned about. If your three major changes help reduce these conditions I shall be most happy as well as relieved. Thank you for your full article as it has outlined help I can can easily follow and shine a brighter light on a situation which is highly disconcerting.

Thank you very much. That's clear now.

Have been using the ResMed 10 Auto since late February and adapted somewhat. The pressure range is 12 to 20, with my AHI quite varied -- over the last 30 days there have been 17 nights over 5, with 3 under 2, 1 @ 19 and 1 over 11. Hours of sleep have been getting longer but the really good ones have been aided by muscle relaxant and aspirin (aches and muscle fatigue from work). For the most part 5+ hours seems frequent if not average. Yes, have been using it every night/all night since after the first weeks. My daytime length of energy appears to be increasing and I'm enjoying this very much. However, over the last week, when we've gotten back to a morning, 2 mile walk (between 37 and 39 minutes), been fighting to keep going (although each day has improved a little). This morning I completed a 10 minute or so round of basic yoga/stretching exercises an hour or so ahead of the walk, then enjoyed a relaxing time before starting out and the 2 miles went better than yesterday's. Ate some of a protein/carb bar with coffee -- Cardiologist keeps harping on keeping blood sugar and blood pressure up.

Been back about an hour and can still feel chest congestion and my physical energy is not up to normal. I expect if I begin moving strongly and quickly, I'll run out of both breath and energy. Is this the sort of exhaustion or fatigue you others are discussing? I really want to know if this a problem with CPAP or ??? Let me add that I'm 73, have a two line pace maker and still experience flutter on the left side. Before starting CPAP, while my daily energy was shorter than I'd like, the activity instigated exhaustion was not a problem as long as I exercised regularly. I'm a potter/sculptor so personal energy is very important to my life.

Question: While we use CPAP, it would seem that all muscle movement in the lungs (at least) is precipitated by the machine, rather than our bodies providing the motive force --- rather like a mechanical leg mover for patients recovering from knee injuries; used especially to keep muscles from freezing.

If this is true, then are we loosing muscle tone and strength on a nightly basis?

Thanks for the information. Have completed the setup and been using the system for several days/nights. I am fairly flummoxed by all the acronyms but will work through them. Maybe when I understand what all the strips are supposed to be tracking I'll understand the benefits of this app. However, at this point I feel it's only use is to take the card to my Dr and hope he understands.

Is/are there any particular strips which are primary tell-tails or markers which would either tell me all is good or that a call to the Dr. is in order?

That's the same machine I have and yes, they have a website which you join, which has information and receives daily info from your machine. Works really well, but as you say, is not complete. Go to https://www.resmed.com/ You register there and confirm registration via email and make sure your unit connects to the internet and their site. I think I remember it as connecting to your bluetooth on a normal router or the bluetooth on at least one of your computers/devices. I found it very simple, which is why I don't remember the exact details.

From then on you get a daily graphic report on the last night's sleep and CPAP usuage. The categories of info collected are: Usage hours, Mask seal, Events, Mask on/off, myAir score (compilation of the earlier 'scores'. I believe it is aimed at your Compliance Quotien rather than medical info.

BTW: In reading their info blogs, most, if not all, eventually say that to get this information see your Sleep Doctor. Good for hardware info and vocab, but not on medical.

Have read a number of posts which mention this, but could find out much about it's purpose and value. Googled it and found the digests said it let one set wake up time and other things not sounding like it connected with any Apnea machine. Know I'm missing something. Would appreciate explanations and advice.

How often each night does this happen? I'm trying something: as soon as it happens I turn off the machine, maybe walk a bit, then restart AFTER getting comfortable and with a ramp of about 20-25 minutes. During that time, I concentrate on slowly, deep breathing and day dream about something I enjoy -- often reliving a story I'm reading. I suppose it sounds like imitation yoga or ??, but so far I'm having better experiences each night. Even got 7 hrs of sleep last night, waking only twice. I've also added a mild otc muscle relaxant (called 303), but have reduced the amount and taken it only once last night. Am hoping to continue similar nights, but we'll see.

Good Morning. I'm a woman of 73 who feels really healthy most of the time, yet finds a number of medical conditions operating within. Go figure. The latest is moderate to severe Apnea, diagnosed early this year. Have been using a ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet with full face mask --- the hint that this has been a problem for a while, maybe --- just over 2 months. Have written a few times about the over-pressure, Chipmunk Cheeks and stomach cramps routine and appreciate all the responses very much. Have a good deal of questions coming from this morning's reading and new experiences this past week, but will open those up in a separate entry. I'm not pleased with the medical industry's support of my stint, while the tech answered my calls, getting clear information and extended learning brought the pulling teeth cliche quickly to mind. Also, my sleep Dr. is actually my cardiologist and am beginning to wonder if suggesting a visit to this specialist might be in order. Thanks again to everyone. You are helping my adjustment and therefore my health a good bit. Maybe it really does take a community to get healthy.

Again, thanks so much for all the replies and information. I'll check out the Dictionary and other sites to come up to speed. Have been reading a number of other folks questions and difficulties. Seems I'm by no means alone with this problem. Interestingly it seems always to be with a Res Med. If you all are browsing around the entire site, note the variations in commentaries about swallowing air during high pressure events. I think spreading the link would be worthwhile to a number of people.