We use cookies and other tools to enhance your experience on our
website and to analyze our web traffic.
For more information about these cookies and the data collected,
please refer to our
Privacy Policy.
Sierra
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Patron
It has been a journey for me. Many small steps have got me to a pretty good state of acceptance of the treatment. I am sleeping better now that the benefits outweigh the discomfort of wearing the mask. I'm sure my wife appreciates the lack of snoring. I appreciate the lack of her snoring as she used the PAP treatment too. My issue now is trying to limit the amount of time I sleep per night. I average just over 8 hours per night, and I would prefer to be between 7 and 8. I think the quality of sleep trumps quantity as long as you are getting about 7 hours minimum on average. I also think about the long term health benefits of using PAP treatment. I have diabetes, and some blood pressure issues, and I think PAP treatment can reduce the impacts of that to some degree. I think of people like my father in law who passed a few years ago that never had the option of treatment with a PAP machine. I suspect he would have had a longer quality of life if he had the treatment.
yawningjoe58
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Original Poster
Yes I agree I am also sleeping a bit better thanks to you for helping me with my settings. But I have the same issue with the mask if it's tight I get hardly any leaks to slack and it leaks I get about 6 hours a night my ahi has dropped dramatically thank you for caring and tbe help you gave me.
bonjour
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Commentator
Like many here I did NOT have sleep apnea, I didn't stop breathing in my sleep, I didn't snore. Sound familiar. JUST to tell her "I TOLD YOU SO" I took a sleep study. I had 90 events per hour, an AHI of 90!! Go figure.
I didn't have a problem, I was driving off freeways at exits because I was driving to stay on the road. It was the rumble strips on the side of the city road that woke me up, rumble strips you ask, most know them as driveways, I was driving across driveways, and scared to admit it. 2nd sleep study, the titration study, and I woke at 5:30am actually feeling awake and refreshed, I was stunned! My DME told me 6-8 weeks to get a CPAP device and I said no way. I said find one elsewhere and I'll travel as far as it takes to get it. End result was about 1.5 weeks to get an appointment and the device, and I've never looked back. My Rx was CPAP at 19 cmH2O and I took to it like a duck to water. I was lucky, I was immediately feeling better. That was in 2003
Biguglygremlin
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Enthusiast
My first CPAP machine introduced me to this forum and taught me a whole new bunch of acronyms! :)
Thank you CPAP. May you rest in peace.
My second CPAP machine works brilliantly every time I push the big round button.
It's 4:00 in the morning here. (not sure what that's got to do with anything but I'm positive there's a connection)
Eventually I will continue my search for the Happily Ever After Forum where the totally boring CPAP people hang out to talk about politics and religion because they don't have any exciting CPAP problems to discuss.
When I get there I'm going to miss all this technical stuff. :(
Ruby
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Commentator
I finally downloaded Sleepyhead and all my vitals are good. So being tired must come from somewhere else. I don't love my CPAP but I tolerate it. The only time I hate it is when I travel. Especially if going on an airplane. But I guess all in all, it's a good thing.
Sherry
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Commentator
When I travel, I use Provent which my Doctor has prescribed. They are flat and easy to use. That are a little costly to use at home when I have CPAP. Provent is a FDA approved treatment for Sleep Apnea. I found them while desperate to find something I could use when I travel without having to drag the CPAP along.
Sierra
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Patron
SleepyHead should not report anything different on the basics of your treatment compared to what the machine reports. Use hours, AHI, and AHI breakdown should be the same, as SleepyHead is just reporting on the same data that the machine has. What is does do is give you a view in more detail what is going on. One example is the mask leak data. ResMed for example sets a very low bar on what is required to get a green happy face on your display. If your leakage is less than 24 L/min 70% of the time you get the happy face. In fact that is quite a bad leak rate. In SleepyHead you can display a leak redline which is at the same 24 L/min. You can see graphically when you exceed this redline, and it is reported as a % of time over the redline. You can get the green happy face with a 30% exceedance, but I like to see something less than 1%.
Similar with respect to apnea events. You can see when they are happening. You also see, at least with the ResMed, RERA events which are typically not reported via the machine. And if you are a really keener, and look at the data in detail, you can likely see numerous apnea events which are shorter than the 10 seconds needed to report them. It can give you some insight into whether there is more going on than the machine is telling you about. And since the machine (ResMed) does not increase pressure in response to RERA events or short apneas less than 10 seconds, you can sometimes improve results in comfort by manually setting minimum pressure a little higher. It won't improve AHI because they are not included in it, but it may improve sleep quality.
Sherry
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Commentator
Biguglygremlin, Provent is not a device. It is an upscale nasal strip with a small insert attached that fits in each nostril. They are disposable after each use. I want to say the last time I purchased them they were a couple of dollars per day to use. This was right after they were FDA Approved and Insurance was not yet covering them. They may be covering them now. I don't go through them quickly because I mainly use them when I fly so as to not have to drag the CPAP on the plane. I told my doctor about them before she knew of them. She tells me each time I am in her office how many of her patients who do travel a lot love them. I know that my father has pretty severe apnea and refused to use a CPAP. His Doctor, same as mine, felt that he was too severe to be treated with Provent. He convinced her to put him through a sleep study using them. He passed and she prescribed. Provent is a small company and many Doctors are not yet familiar with them. Do your own research which is how I found them.
Sierra
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Patron
To confuse things even more, I bookmarked this article at the link below when I was doing some research on the issue of EPR and Flex. In short, does reducing EPAP compared to IPAP increase the frequency of obstructive apnea. The author of the article is presenting an opinion that there is a benefit to having EPAP equal or even higher than IPAP, and is suggesting manufacturers should build that option into their PAP machines. He uses the Provent example to support his argument on the basis that it works. It should be pointed out that the author has not done any research or study to prove his points. He is just making a theoretical argument. The way it is worded, it is clear his opinion is contrary to to mainstream thinking. On an actual experience basis, I have found EPR to reduce the effectiveness of my treatment. For my wife the effect is more minor, but still negative.
Ruby
+0 points
·
almost 6 years
ago
Sleep
Commentator
My issue is hypopnea so this doesn't work for me. It will open my airways which helps with the obstructive part (nose only) but not with the fact that my breathing shallows out. So I still pack my CPAP whenever I travel whether by plane, boat or car. Haven't had to ride a motorcycle thank goodness.
Please be advised that these posts may contain sensitive material or
unsolicited medical advice. MyApnea does not endorse the content of these
posts. The information provided on this site is not intended nor recommended
as a substitute for advice from a health care professional who has evaluated
you.
