Ive been waking up for years in the middle of the night and subsequently feel awful most mornings with memory issues etc. I decided to do a sleep analysis test

After they strapped on many devices it was hard to get to sleep and I took half a new generation sleeping tablet called Dayvigo. It knocked me out but they woke me up at 3am to put me on a cPAP machine. I have deviated septum in my nose and thus had to wear a mask for mouth breathing only. I managed to relax and get 2 hours sleep using the machine

The specialist then went over the results

• AHI Apnea–Hypopnea Index before using the cpap 11pm to 3am was 19.4. (A reading less than 5 is normal)

• oxygen saturation (SpO₂) before using cpap was 89%. (normal is greater than 95%)

• Dr said I had obstructive and not central apnea

• I asked the dr what about the same results after wearing the cpap for a few hours..... When the machine was set to pressure level 6 the oxygen was moving from 93, 94, 96, 95 etc. When changed to 7 it was around 95

• The final diagnosis summary stated that ' Severe positional and REM related obstructive sleep apnea syndrome... overall RDI 19.4 (REM), supine RDI 48.9 (sleep on back)

It makes sense as to why I have insomnia most nights and rarely sleep through the night. Dr said the oxygen lowers down and the brain wakes up to increase the supply to the brain.

Dr mentioned I have to use the machine every night for the rest of my life. I was shocked to hear this. Im flying to Europe next month and will have to carry it with me... Dr said its same as having diabetes. Need to manage it everyday otherwise increase risk of heart disease, dimensia and stroke. Ive had symptoms of short term memory loss for ages. I have cardiomyopathy under control now but last year when having a colonoscopy I had short run VT arythmia

My dentist said they have a device that pushes forward the lower teeth. Dr said it only reduces the problem by 20%

Dr mentioned the deviated septum is not the cause of the problem.

Surgery can can reduce the size of the tonsils. However, Dr said I have small tonsils anyway. She said they would also do surgery on something else in that area but I cant remember what she said. All this potentially only reduces the problem less than 50%

If you are using a cpap every night. Whats it like. Did it solve your problem? What a pain in the butt this is.....

thanks

Sorry, no personal experience.

But whenever diagnosed and prescribed with anything, people need to at least consider getting 2nd and 3rd opinions, apart from your local doctor's opinion. There may be better options out there. Do a bit of research.

After triple bypass surgery in 2017 I felt tired. Cardiologist recommended a sleep test. Result was AHI > 26.

Started with CPAP in late 2019. AHI dropped immediately to 16 and then continued down over 18 months to average 2. Now I have been trained by CPAP to breathe through my nose. I use it every night at home, but don't bother to travel with it. Just had 4 nights away and end of May had 3 weeks away. Always sleep well.

Hope that helps.

I have had a sleep apnoea machine for many, many years, one of the best decisions I have made. It is a matter of persevering. The majority of machines these days are automatic, it is set at a low rate and as you experienced difficulty breathing during the night the pressure increases, self adjusting. I am 83 years of age.. The first machines I had were pre-set, meaning not automatic but over the years the machines have really improved. As I stated it is a matter of persevering. I think these machines are a lifesaver.

I've noticed even the SpO₂ machine that doctors and hospitals use isn't very accurate. You can see on my watch it uses the same technology that it bounces around on the reading.

Almost every reading below 95 has another reading that's much higher in the normal range.

A CPAP machine doesn't resolve the underlying problem the imbalance in your body causing the snoring and occasionally stopping to breathe during sleep,does it?

It only attempts to relieve the symptoms without addressing the underlying health conditions.

I would advise you to address the underlying health conditions so you don't need a noisy machine stuck in your mouth all night.

Somehow humanity has lived for thousands of years without that machine.

And I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing hunter gatherers that live in the Amazon jungle don't have sleep apnea issues.

Something about your diet, exercise and sunlight exposure is doing that. 😃

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by SiSePuede419
Added SPO2 image

52 minutes ago, Dr B said:

After triple bypass surgery in 2017 I felt tired. Cardiologist recommended a sleep test. Result was AHI > 26.

Started with CPAP in late 2019. AHI dropped immediately to 16 and then continued down over 18 months to average 2. Now I have been trained by CPAP to breathe through my nose. I use it every night at home, but don't bother to travel with it. Just had 4 nights away and end of May had 3 weeks away. Always sleep well.

Hope that helps.

its a hard decision as to whether i should carry it on a weeks holiday to europe next month. Having just started....

My CPAP saved my life - so much so I feel uncomfortable when I don't use it. Yep as someone said previously it's a matter of perserverance

"its a hard decision as to whether i should carry it on a weeks holiday to europe next month. Having just started...."

You can carry CPAPs on as hand bagagge as they medical items

Edited 18 hours ago18 hr by nglodnig

5 hours ago, nglodnig said:

My CPAP saved my life - so much so I feel uncomfortable when I don't use it. Yep as someone said previously it's a matter of perserverance

"its a hard decision as to whether i should carry it on a weeks holiday to europe next month. Having just started...."

You can carry CPAPs on as hand bagagge as they medical items

may I ask how long have you used it for? will you use it the rest of your life?

I found it too tight on my first night last night. I loosened it. I woke up at 615am which is abnormal for me. normally 3am and cant get back to sleep. But I had pain in my ribcage area on the right side. I removed the mask and turned to sleep on the other side. The pain went away after 30min. Unsure what caused that. do you have any ideas

From early childhood I have never been able to sleep for more than 3/4hours. It ceased to be an issue once I learned to stop worrying about it, and to accept it as my way of life. Now 85, and so far so good.

32 minutes ago, DurianManThailand said:

may I ask how long have you used it for? will you use it the rest of your life?

More than ten years. I lost a LOT of weight in between and my now my CPAP results are 0.1 AHI/hour (sometimes zero - i.e. NOTHING all night) when the original value was something like 60!

I keep meaning to do another sleep test to see if it 's gone away but never get round to it. It's not an issue at the moment I sleep perfectly and I have to not use it for two weeks then do the test - one day.

13 years now with machine, it is my friend and enemy. Every night.

Weird I never had accident by throwing off machine near bed, as the hose is connecting it.

You can have leaking problems and have to make corrections, causing annoyance. After all you want to go to sleep. Then it sure is my enemy.

You can strap it too tight (however you dont need too) . The pulling of the straps can "block" your nose.

It is try & error, happily it doesnt occure that much. Depending on your nose status

I have a nose mask from Eson. and machine Resmed airsense 10.

No, it is not the moustache I have, causing the problem.

I have no moisturizing section to it, once I had, but then you need to clean that every day and refresh water.

So took it off and tried, no problems. Saves lot of work. That section is a "heater"and evaporites water.

ALso hose , you can have warmed hoses. Never had that. Just a simple white plastic hose.

Once they changed it to a hose with silicon ends. Way to "heavy" effecting comfort.

I can sleep with it, but compared to the most simple one, I think the simple plastic one is better.

In 2001 , a woman told me once my breating was "stopping" or at very least slow.

Never paid attention to that further, as I had "no" problems. Maybe feeling tired at work was an indication.

In 2013 I started waking up with dry mouth and then went to doc. Just a simple tape recorder and nose tube to record. Showing lots of stops in the night. They told me over 40.

When i was way younger (25 or so) had slight pain in nose, doc said I needed septum correction.

Now I have the idea that was not good. They even did a second correction some later, as the correction had for me, feeling an oppsosite working.

Yeah, lost the slight pain in nose, but maybe I better could have lived with that.

As now I have right nose section, the one he cut, is blocking more. Left one can handle intake by itself, happily.

But annoying to feel your right one not real open and sometimes when it is really bothering, I use nosedrops.

xylometazoline 1 HCL I try to limit as much as possible, as nosedrops can destroy your glands. Then you have another problem.

And I really dont want to go for third time, I decided. First time , I was completely out. Second time, local anesthesia. Man that was exciting, as the doc is cutting in your nose right in front of you. My adrenaline level would be sky high then. At one point, after some hours, had to tell the doc, the anesthesia was getting lower ! You can feel.

I spend hours on table, but afterwards absolutely not tired or what, due to adrenaline level, I think.

Another nose doc was surprised I was walking after operation.

When I was complete out, I needed a very long time to wake again and made me feel real numb.

You also wake up then with your nose stuffed, no air, only through mouth and ofcourse you understand my mouth was super dry. I had to go for second time (sadly) and decided local anesthesia.

But third time? NO way ,jose.

Annoying with the machine, if you go on holiday, you need to take that thing with you.

And sometimes a socket is too far away so you need extension cord. Had that once in a hotel.

Good hotel as they had one for me to lend.

Last year in last day, my nose cap burst. Asked hotel what they had to fix.

Well a mini stapler they had, did the job for that night ! I stapled the mask together. Gluetape didnt work, not holding on material.

Also a problem, how much spare you take with you? You have the machine, the hose, the mask and strap.

I couldnt tell how much problems I would enter now, not sleeping with device. Afterall it is 13 years in my sleeping life, every night. Maybe should try to see, as I never slept without ever again.

Dosing off in airplane, no machine, gave me some negative experience, you notice breathing is not all that.

Or is my body, brain telling me, hey you forget, too accustomed, addicted to the device?

But apneu can give many other issues in your body, it is a slow killer, they say.

It effects your sleep, rest and therefor all your body functions.

CPAP is the first line treatment for this condition with surgery reserved for patients for who CPAP does not work or who refuse to use it.

In your case, your cardiomyopathy (and history of dangerous arrythmia during sedation with what was probably propofol -- though you should check to find out for sure) makes you higher than normal risk for surgery of any sort so CPAP would be a safer option. But if preferred there is no harm (other than possibly wasting money) in first trying oral device (s), there are actually 2 types that can be tried, one pushes your lower jaw forward, the other holds your tongue forward. Both would need to be fitted by a dentist or oral surgeon specializing in same.

If dead set on having surgery, there is something called a sleep endoscopy wherein they can directly see what your upper airway is doing when you are asleep (it is done with IV sedation), and that helps in pinpointing the mechanism of the obstruction (which can vary and often involves more than one thing) , however there will be some risk to you in even that given your history, and it would be important to have tell doctor and anesthetist about your history. Most anesthetic agents reduce myocardial output and that is dangerous in someone with your cardiac problems.

Are you at all overweight? As if so, losing weight usually helps this condition.