Sleep apnea episode for SSR?

[sweetmcghee]

Mark, my wife said I stop breathing and snore loudly while I sleep so I went to my doctor and he set up with a sleep study.

They diagnosed with sleep apnea and confirmed I stop breathing more than 30 times an hour. I have been given a CPAP but I find it counter productive and have stopped using it. Also, since the diagnosis I have been cleaning my nose with a nettie pot and sleeping with a humidifier regularly.

Let it be known that I work shift work so my sleeping patterns are always out of sync. However I rarely feel tired and I never feel the need to nap throughout the day.

I have trained with weights regularly since 15 and played hockey my whole life. Now with two kids that stuff doesn’t get done as often as I’d like so I’ve put on 25 pounds. I’m 39 now, 5’9” 225. My current lifts are 325 bench, 475 squat and 500 deadlift.

I just did a search on your boards and I will definitely get the nasal spray as you have directed and use yourself.

The reason I’m writing is because I get a lot of contradicting facts when searching sleep apnea on the internet. So with that said, may we see a sleep apnea episode on SSR to get to the bottom of this evidence?

Thanks.
Sweet

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thanks for the suggestion. We'll give that some thought.

[jfsully]

An AHI (apnea/hypopnea) index of 30 is on the cusp of moderate to severe, so you do want to do something about this. Other data of interest are how low your blood oxygen gets during sleep, and how long it stays below 90.

CPAP (or Vpap or apap, etc) is an effective treatment, but does take some getting used to. There are a variety of masks for various faces and preferences.

I use an under-the-nose mask, and I have never slept better in my life, after a few weeks of getting the hang of it. I look forward to strapping in and getting the good sleep I never knew I was missing. It’s been a life-changer, and my AHI was around 10, so mild, and was mostly hypopneas.

If other treatments don’t work, do yourself a favor and give the mask another try. Think of it this way, if somebody was coming in your room and choking you a little bit while you slept, you wouldn’t stand for that, so don’t stand for this either. It’s amazing what we can get used to in life: get used to the mask (or nasal spray or whatever), don’t get used to sleepiness and oxygen deprivation!

[Will Morris]

An AHI (apnea/hypopnea) index of 30 is on the cusp of moderate to severe, so you do want to do something about this. Other data of interest are how low your blood oxygen gets during sleep, and how long it stays below 90.

CPAP (or Vpap or apap, etc) is an effective treatment, but does take some getting used to. There are a variety of masks for various faces and preferences.

I use an under-the-nose mask, and I have never slept better in my life, after a few weeks of getting the hang of it. I look forward to strapping in and getting the good sleep I never knew I was missing. It’s been a life-changer, and my AHI was around 10, so mild, and was mostly hypopneas.

If other treatments don’t work, do yourself a favor and give the mask another try. Think of it this way, if somebody was coming in your room and choking you a little bit while you slept, you wouldn’t stand for that, so don’t stand for this either. It’s amazing what we can get used to in life: get used to the mask (or nasal spray or whatever), don’t get used to sleepiness and oxygen deprivation!

I second this entire post. For me, I have an auto-titrating CPAP (APAP) and I used a Respironics Dreamwear mask. I was able to wear it a full 8 hours the very first night I ever used it. I, too, had an AHI of around 10, but treatment with APAP has been life-changing.

[JohnStrangeway]

An AHI (apnea/hypopnea) index of 30 is on the cusp of moderate to severe, so you do want to do something about this. Other data of interest are how low your blood oxygen gets during sleep, and how long it stays below 90.

CPAP (or Vpap or apap, etc) is an effective treatment, but does take some getting used to. There are a variety of masks for various faces and preferences.

I use an under-the-nose mask, and I have never slept better in my life, after a few weeks of getting the hang of it. I look forward to strapping in and getting the good sleep I never knew I was missing. It’s been a life-changer, and my AHI was around 10, so mild, and was mostly hypopneas.

If other treatments don’t work, do yourself a favor and give the mask another try. Think of it this way, if somebody was coming in your room and choking you a little bit while you slept, you wouldn’t stand for that, so don’t stand for this either. It’s amazing what we can get used to in life: get used to the mask (or nasal spray or whatever), don’t get used to sleepiness and oxygen deprivation!

I too have been diagnosed with this and like the OP I have a hard time using the CPAP. It always wakes me up, I always take it off. Periodically try it again but never lasts more than a few days. I do believe I need it. I'm always tired and my memory is crap. After reading this I'm going to give it another try tonight. Thanks.

[jfsully]

Here’s a tip that has worked for some: unhook the mask from the machine, and wear it around while you’re awake. Wear it while you hang out and watch TV. Eventually you won’t notice it as much, like wearing glasses or a hat, and may not instinctively remove it during sleep. Just remember to take it off when you answer the door for the UPS guy. Or leave it on, it’ll make his day.

[sweetmcghee]

Thanks for the responses. I should of mentioned that I am a mouth breather while I sleep and have the smaller mask that covers my nose and mouth. I thought if I had just the nose mask that the air would escape from my mouth. Not to mention I’d have to change my sleep pattern by sleeping with my mouth closed. But I guess it would be worth a try considering the comments here. Thanks again folks.

[jfsully]

Thanks for the responses. I should of mentioned that I am a mouth breather while I sleep and have the smaller mask that covers my nose and mouth. I thought if I had just the nose mask that the air would escape from my mouth. Not to mention I’d have to change my sleep pattern by sleeping with my mouth closed. But I guess it would be worth a try considering the comments here. Thanks again folks.

Funny thing, I had the problem of opening my mouth with the CPAP on my nose and air would come rushing out, feeling king of weird and making a lot of noise and waking me up. I thought about getting a chin strap, but within a few days it had stopped. Somehow my nasal/palate/oropharynx has figured this out for me. If I concentrate and relax, I can reproduce this phenomenon now if wearing the CPAP while awake, but it takes some effort and focus. I guess that biological systems really are adaptable! Hmmm, I recall reading something like that around here..... !

[Bluefan75]

Add me to the list of life-changed with a CPAP. I believe you have the large mask. Maybe try to the middle one(there is nasal pillows that just go right into your nostrils, one that just covers your nose but not your mouth, and the largest that covers it all.) I use the middle one, and if you open your mouth with it running, you will have some real trouble breathing, because the air is already moving. You will learn to keep your mouth closed.

It is worth learning to use it. Once in a while I'll have trouble with it, and go down to the basement to sleep(my wife no longer tolerates my snoring... :-), but for the most part, I sleep all night with it and really appreciate what it does for me. The netty pot stuff is good as it helps to have clear passages, but get back on the CPAP. It is so much better.