Weagle

I will play with the formatting of the SleepyHead output later tonight when I get home. During my first sleep study, done back in June, (without any CPAP machine at all) the tech wrote the following:

Mild snoring was present. The patient exhibited an apnea hypopnea index of 13.3 events per hour of sleep and a restaurant disturbance index of 37.8 events. Events consisted of 29 central apneas, 62 hypopneas and 167 respiratory effort-related arousals. The REM index was 6.4, supine was 40.5, lateral 30.3. The central AHI was 10.5 The mean saturation of 86% with 0.4 minutes with a saturation less than 88%.

A lot of gibberish I don't fully understand.

I've read about the mouth tapping and considered it when my DME and I were unable to communicate with each other. I really didn't like the chin strap. It felt to confining for me and the neoprene began to stink after just a couple nights even after daily washings. I have been using the Sleepyhead program to look at my machine data. I will post a sample night tomorrow morning.

So far, I have been enjoying the Dreamwear Full Face mask, even if I've only had it for 4 nights. It's not as confining, doesn't require as tight of a fit as the chin strap and is much easier to keep clean compared to the neoprene. My wife also likes that I can communicate better with the full face mask on. While my speech may be muffled from the mask, talking doesn't introduce any air leaks when I open my mouth.

A "Good" night:

A "Not-so-good" night:

My adventure on this journey started about 6 months ago when I finally agreed to talk to my primary care Dr about my sleep issue... Actually it was my wife's sleep issues... She couldn't get good sleep because of all the sounds I was making at night.

From there I was sent to an ENT. The ENT then sent me to both an allergy specialist and recommended a sleep study. I already knew I had seasonal allergies so I had no issues going down that road. They did the back prick thing and told me I'm allergic to just about every tree, weed and grass they tested me for. I'm now getting shots to hopefully lessen the effects there.

It took insurance about a month to approve the first sleep study. I went in and they hooked everything up and off I went to sleep. They told me that if my numbers were to low that they would hook me up to a CPAP machine. I slept through the whole night but they never hooked me up to the CPAP.

A couple weeks later I talked to the ENT about the results and was told I would need another sleep study, this time with the CPAP for the whole night. Apparently during my first sleep study they said I had complex sleep apnea. There were several obstructive someway but about 1/3 of all my apneas were central apneas.

During this second study (which took almost 2 months for insurance to approve) the sleep tech was pretty much dialing in what type of CPAP settings I would need... As well as testing the different type of CPAPs and how they worked on me.

A couple weeks later I got the results back from the second sleep study and was told I needed to be on an ASV machine. It took the DME company almost a month to get approval and order the machine for me.

So about 2-3 weeks ago I went in to get this new found miracle machine and hope for the best. With no previous CPAP experience I just took what they have me and went home.

I received a ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV and a Philips Nuance Nasal Air Pillow. I guess that's the closest to what they used at my sleep study.

I was told to try and get at least 4 hours on the machine each night. So the first night I had high hopes of possibly getting my first full night's sleep. Not so. I woke up after about 2 hours with severe abdominal pain and lots of bloating. After I released a ton of gas I went back to bed and tried the mask again, since I didn't get to my 4 hours. Once again after 2-3 hours I was awake. So much for a good night's rest. I knew I had my 4 hours so off went the mask and bed to sleep I went.

The second night was pretty much the same. The third I had little less gas and bloating and was on the machine a little longer but woke up with my mouth wide open and my wife complaining about all the noise of the air leaks.

It was then the I tried to contact my DME supplier to discuss what has been happening. When I called I ended up at a voice mailbox. No response that day. The next day they called back but due to the nature of work I'm unable to answer phone calls. So we played phone tag for about a week. After about 10 days I managed to get an appointment for a mask refit. During those 10 days I did a lot of self education on the web and though trial and error figured out that the "air swallowing" or Aerophagia was my biggest issue.

Here's what I believe has been happening to me. I would got to sleep with my ramp up rates of 5-9 increasing to 10-15 and then as high as 25 during central apnea events. Air would be forced into my digestive tract during the higher pressures causing bloating. I would then burp causing my mouth to open. Once opened the constant high pressure wouldn't keep it open until I woke up with a dry mouth and lots noise from the air pressure leaking out my mouth. This would happen a few times each night.

During these 10 days of self education and lack of response back from the DME I went out on my own and picked up a chin strap. This worked great for 1 night. The next couple I would still burp but just my lips would open...still the same effect, dry mouth and waking me up.

So 3 nights ago I finally got in for my mask refit. I ended up getting a Dreamwear Full Face mask and ClimateLine tube. The first night was great. I had virtually no leaks. The second I must not have had a good fit as there were some air leaks. Last night went much better also with no leaks. I still have a dry mouth when it pops open to burp but it doesn't fully awake me. I just lick my lips, close my mouth and drift back to sleep.

I'm hoping over time that the "air swallowing" will continue to decrease as my body adapts and that I get more and more good nights of sleep.

I am new to all of this also and have experienced a similar issue.

I don't typically have a lot of gas buildup except when eating dairy, but that's another issue. I've been on an ASV machine for about 2-3 weeks now and other than dealing with a few different masks to avoid air leaks, this "air swallowing" is my biggest issue.

The first night in the machine I woke up with abdominal cramping from the gas and bloating. My machine starts off with pressures between 5 and 9 and ramps up to 10-15. If my ASV machine detects an apnea it then raises the pressures as high as 25. I'm sure the bloating is from the increased pressure. It has gotten more tolerable but still an issue.

I believe this is why I had to switch to a full face mask. I normally breathe through my nose. With all the "air swallowing" I would occasionally but in my sleep causing my mouth to open. Once my mouth opened all the air would just escape there causing my mouth to dry out and wake me up. The last two nights I switched to a Dreamwear full face mask and that seems to have help with the dry mouth. I don't fully wake up any more just close my mouth and drift back to sleep.

I'm hoping over time the bloating will be reduced as my body adapts to this machine.

I hope you can do the same.