Sleep Study Tonight

[unionrdr]

Guess I'll have to talk with the Dr to figure out what else it could be. The test being inconclusive the first time does leave me wondering though. Gotta solve this one or....?...

 

[Beernik]

Phase 2 of my plan went into effect last night.

My wife has much more of the classic apnea symptoms: wake up tired and with headaches, bad dreams, gasps. He father is also diagnosed with apnea. She's been putting off the sleep study for over a year. She's afraid to sleep around strangers and sleep with stuff on her head. And it hasn't helped that her bad dreams have been triggering PTSD associated with those fears.

Part of my gusto for doing the sleep study was to show her that she'd be okay.

I got her talked into doing the take home sleep test a week ago. She turned it in this morning. I'm hoping she's a good candidate for a mouth guard.

UPDATE: I have my machine now but the med supply place was out of my mask. They'll ship it to me, but I may not get it until Saturday.

Wife has appointment for a fit test tomorrow.

 

[unionrdr]

Negative test again. The one night I need to do the test,I sleep at least 4 hours. Damn. i'll never get a decent nights sleep again.

 

[Beernik]

I got my mask yesterday.

I tested it out for 30 minutes to get used to the thing. It's a lot quieter than I expected. It also has a ramping up feature that is nice. The pressure starts out at 4 and increases to 11 over 30 minutes.

I had the same problem as the sleep study where I'd start to fall asleep and then the positive pressure would make me feel like I couldn't breath. It took at least 40 minutes to fall alseep. It took long enough that I was aware of my wife coming to bed and rubbing my back a little.

I had my usual 1am wake up. I also woke up at 3am. At 3am I decided I didn't want to fight the machine for 30 minutes only get another 90 minutes of sleep, so I left the mask off.

I overslept to 5:30am. I did not feel like I had been punched in the back all night (I'm assuming this is how my bad apnea nights make me feel). I did feel like I had been inflated like a balloon, like my skin and ribs had been pushed out a little. Also, like the night of the sleep study, in some ways I feel like I slept better and in some ways I feel like I slept worse. Like I had quality sleep, just not enough of it.

My wife woke up early, so I actually got to see her before work. I asked her how I was. She said "Creepy." I said "Creepy how?"

She said when she touched my back and talked to me I didn't react at all.

I told her that I found that funny because when I talk in my sleep, I'm an *******. When I don't talk in my sleep, that makes me creepy.

She said, "We'll, it isn't 'normal'."

So, maybe the CPAP will take care of the sleep aggression. At least last night it seemed to help.

On a side note: my wife's attemp at a mask fitting went poorly with her phobia. She yelled at the med tech and ran out of the clinic. Her doc is going to check into alternatives that might work for her.

Also, I prepared my daughter for seeing me wear it by calling it my Darth Vader mask. She was disappointed that it wasn't more Vader like.

 

[schmoe]

It gets better. Now that I have had mine for about 15 months, it feels weird to go to sleep without the mask.

It took me about 3-4 months to really get used to sleeping with the mask.

 

[Beernik]

I slept really well last night. Only took about 15 minutes to fall asleep. Still woke up at 1am and 3am and again at 4:30am. I didn't have to work today. So at 4:30am I moved from the bed to the sofa and slept until 7am.

I'm not sure what's with my difficulty sleeping past 3am unless my body is thinking that I'm sleeping so well now that 4 hours is equal to the full nights sleep I was getting before.

 

[unionrdr]

I spent many years getting up for work at 3-3:30am. Ithink maybe that might be part of the reason I still wake up around 3:34am...?

 

[CGVT]

It gets better. Now that I have had mine for about 15 months, it feels weird to go to sleep without the mask.

It took me about 3-4 months to really get used to sleeping with the mask.

It didn't take me quite that long, but it did take a while. Now, I don't sleep worth a **** without it.

Once you get used to the mask you will be amazed at how much better you sleep.

I was keeping my wife awake all night with my snoring and snorting. Not only was I tired, but my wife was tired and miserable too.

She laughs now and says it's like sleeping with Darth Vader, but we both sleep better and things are much better around our house

 

[Beernik]

My typical night now seems to be going to bed around 11:30pm with the mask on. Waking up around 3:30 - 4:30am and taking the mask off. Sleeping without the mask from 3:30 - 4:30am until 5:00 - 7:00am.

When I have my follow up appointment August 27, is the Doc going to grump at me for only wearing it on average 4.5 hours out of the 6.5 hours that I sleep?

 

[CGVT]

My typical night now seems to be going to bed around 11:30pm with the mask on. Waking up around 3:30 - 4:30am and taking the mask off. Sleeping without the mask from 3:30 - 4:30am until 5:00 - 7:00am.

When I have my follow up appointment August 27, is the Doc going to grump at me for only wearing it on average 4.5 hours out of the 6.5 hours that I sleep?

I had about the same routine when I first got mine. I still take it off in the middle of the night once in a while(but not very often)

If I remember correctly, my follow up was only about taking care of the machine and mask, how to deal with a cold, etc etc.

My guess is that by August 27th you'll probably wearing it through the night more nights than not

 

[Beernik]

That's good to hear that 4-5 hours is normal at the start. I think they want to check the sandisk in my machine at my check-up. That's why I was concerned.

I did manage to keep it on over 5 hours last night. But I don't remember taking it off before 1am. I woke up at 1:20am with it off. I put it back on and slept until 5am.

Also, I've started talking in my sleep again but the CPAP makes it incomprehensible. However, I'm still not aggressive like before.

 

[Beernik]

Hey, so what's your guys's routine for keeping your mask clean?

I just washed my nose up in dish soap and I'll wash the humidifier reservoir the next time it runs low. What should I do with the hose?

 

[CGVT]

I have this mask. I have had it for about a year. Luckily I have not had any colds in that time, so it doesn't seem to get very grungy. I take it apart and rinse it out once in a while. I have also found that I am more comfortable without any water in the humidifier-I guess it is humid enough here so that the air doesn't dry me out. I have found that I don't have to clean the hose very often. When I do, I just run hot water through it in the morning and hang it to dry so that it is ready by night time

 

[Beernik]

I had been reluctant to try it without the humidifier because we are so dry. I mean 7% humidity is not uncommon in the summer, especially this summer.

On my vacation last week, I didn't want to drag a gallon of distilled water with me, so I tried it without the humidifier.

I like that so much better. I've tried it on settings 0 through 4 (it goes up to 5). Setting 4 was like wearing a rainforest on my nose. Settings 2 and 3 always made my sinuses feel dry and cold and would use 1/2 the reservoir in one night. Setting 1 was ok, but I like having it off the best.

Thanks.

 

[Beernik]

This will probably be my last update unless someone has questions:

Had a checkup today. I'm averaging more than 4.5 hours with the mask on a night. I guess that's the amount they look for when determining if a patient is being "compliant" wearing it. My apnea incidents are down to 4 - 5 while wearing it. That's down from 50/hr when on my back and 10/hr when on my side.

I think I'm back to putting the humidifier on 1. I'm getting my fall allergies and my sinuses got so dry two nights ago that they felt like they were burning. Turning it back on helped last night. I'm also considering getting a heated tube because I might be perceiving coldness in my sinuses as dryness.

The doc is concerned that I may be mouth breathing around 3am. So my wife has her assignment to check.

The sleep aggression appears to be completely gone when I wear the mask. It is reduced when I'm not wearing it.

The biggie is my blood pressure is down to 131/85. That's still "high normal", but it's down from 146/95 on my visit June 11.

 

[GrogNerd]

good news, very glad it's helping

 

[jgln]

I hope I never have to have one of those sleep tests, I know me and I'd have a "tent pitched" the whole time. That would have to be embarassing. I pretty much have one every night and wake up with one so the chances of it happening there are pretty good.

So you guys who do these sleep tests, do you see a lot of that stuff? Guys making love to their pillows and all?

 

[Beernik]

Imagine being strung up like a marionette doll with 40 sensors that are glued to your body with crusty jello, 20 of which are glued to your head.

Then you are tied to a bed, by your head, in a way that allows you to move about a foot in each direction and barely roll onto your side.

Then just after you manage to fall asleep, a sensor rips off and they wake you up to paste it back on.

All night long.

And if your unlucky, they wake you up around 2am and tie a mask to your face that forces air up your nose.

If that makes you want to pitch a tent or make love to your pillow, then you need to embrace that inner freak and find a BDSM group.

 

[Subsailor]

I hope I never have to have one of those sleep tests, I know me and I'd have a "tent pitched" the whole time. That would have to be embarassing. I pretty much have one every night and wake up with one so the chances of it happening there are pretty good.

So you guys who do these sleep tests, do you see a lot of that stuff? Guys making love to their pillows and all?

I have never observed but I have been in 2 of those sleep tests and use my C-Pap everynight.
I kind of worried about a pitched tent and all that but I'm 54 and figured they have seen all kinds of stuff and why should worry my graying head about it. You never know, it could be a cute technician monitoring and decides they might want to talk you up on date or something.