Sleep apnea / cpap?

[barefoot]

A quick update:

Basically, I gave up on the PAP machine!
I stuck it out for 3.5 months but was having such problems with nasal congestion and kept waking up totally blocked up and unable to breathe - so that was rather counter-productive!

Also, I still had hallucinations when using the machine - not as frequently but, when I did have them, it was actually worse because there was the added layer of disorientation and panic in having the mask strapped on my face and being unable to breathe and taking a while to work out why!

So, I went back to see one of the PAP team and she suggested I try a mandibular device. Apparently they are potentially equally effective as a PAP machine for mild-moderate apnoea (which mine is) so hopefully this will work better for me. Not over-enthused by the thought of going to sleep with something in my mouth and I think it sounds like it will be quite uncomfortable to begin with as it forces your lower jaw forward a bit...but willing to give it a go and it feels like it may potentially be less intrusive than the PAP machine and mask combo.

So...visit to the dentist in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed!

 

[PiggyBack]

she suggested I try a mandibular device

I don't want to jinx it for you, but I couldn't get use to the device. I found it amazingly painful and that was before they adjusted it to prevent apnea. I wish they would have warned me what I was in for. When I called, they just told me to take Ibuprofen. This from the guy that turns down opiates for migraines.

While you're waiting, you may want to try a sleep weaver mask. It's relatively cheap at $50 and I rapidly adjusted to a cpap after I had it.

Not sure why you're clogging up. I dreaded having a cold before the cpap. Much better afterwards. Just ideas, but maybe clean the equipment, take some antihistamines at night, increase pressure.

 

[barefoot]

Yeah, I’m certainly managing my expectations about it @PiggyBack and thanks for sharing your experience.

My feeling is that, if something is forcing and holding your jaw in a different position all night, that’s got to hurt! And if the leaflet from the hospital says “some initial discomfort” is to be expected, I interpret that to mean that this is going to hurt!

In terms of my nasal congestion, I have a lot of sinus issues and am practically always blocked up either with colds in the winter or allergies in the summer. I take antihistamine tablets and nose sprays daily and I’m still pretty blocked and sniffy. It’s ok (ie not a major medical problem I feel I need to deal with) for normal life but it was just impossible to breathe with the PAP machine after having the mask on for a couple of hours. Also, because I would then open my mouth to breathe, I would get a sore throat and a really dry mouth to the point where I would end up choking if I woke up and tried to swallow.

We tried adjusting the pressure settings. And experimenting with the humidifier settings. And I bought a hose cover to try to help that too (and reduce rainout - what a racket!) And I got a prescription for a stronger, more expensive nasal spray. But we couldn’t seem to get me past not being able to breathe after about two hours use, which was just so frustrating and disruptive. And the woman at the sleep clinic said I’d given it a good go but that she didn’t have any other suggestions PAP-wise for us to try and that she wasn’t going to push me to continue using something that was making my sleep quality worse not better- especially as my apnoea was only just into the AHI bracket where they treat it anyway.

So...I’m going to give the dental device a go. But, if I can’t get on with that either, I think I’ll probably just call it a day and stop all treatment. I’ve lost a stone in weight this past month and want to lose more so, even that change - if I can lose more - may improve my apnoea anyway. Hope so!

 

[PiggyBack]

I interpret that to mean that this is going to hurt!

Ha, yeah. Youe have the right attitude. xpect the worse; hope for the best.