marieltha
graduate
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2019
- Messages
- 914
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
Update on my quest for quality sleep (Using CPAP DreamStation for mild SleepApnea for 7 months):
I returned to my regular doctor, a woman Internal Medicine MD, whom I like very much, to discuss my steadily deteriorating quality of sleep.
She sent me to have the CPAP machine checked. It is fine. Then she sent me to a Pulmonologist/ SleepApnea/Respiratory Specialist.
Exam showed my lungs and breathing are fine.
He downloaded all my machine’s data from Dec2018 to the present and carefully studied
all of it with me.
He asked if I would agree to a six-week trial of APAP, which allows him to prescribe a range of pressures rather than a single constant pressure. So during the night, the device adjusts my pressure and my heated humidifier in response to my breathing. It turns out my machine is both CPAP& APAP, so he switched it over. He also turned on several features of my device which were either off or only available with APAP.
I have only used APAP for four nights, but my sleep is very much improved! I’m now using a pressure range of 6-12 , whereas before, on CPAP, I was using a constant 6.
So far, I have fallen asleep faster, and each morning, felt more rested waking up!
AHIs between 3 and 4.5! Much better! Had deteriorated on CPAP to between 7 and 11+.
Interestingly, a new APAP feature shows what pressure I am using for 90% of each night:
So far, I’m using 10 or 11 pressure most of the night, so clearly, the previous 6 was insufficient pressure.
Sleep! Must sleep! Must have quality sleep!
I returned to my regular doctor, a woman Internal Medicine MD, whom I like very much, to discuss my steadily deteriorating quality of sleep.
She sent me to have the CPAP machine checked. It is fine. Then she sent me to a Pulmonologist/ SleepApnea/Respiratory Specialist.
Exam showed my lungs and breathing are fine.
He downloaded all my machine’s data from Dec2018 to the present and carefully studied
all of it with me.
He asked if I would agree to a six-week trial of APAP, which allows him to prescribe a range of pressures rather than a single constant pressure. So during the night, the device adjusts my pressure and my heated humidifier in response to my breathing. It turns out my machine is both CPAP& APAP, so he switched it over. He also turned on several features of my device which were either off or only available with APAP.
I have only used APAP for four nights, but my sleep is very much improved! I’m now using a pressure range of 6-12 , whereas before, on CPAP, I was using a constant 6.
So far, I have fallen asleep faster, and each morning, felt more rested waking up!
AHIs between 3 and 4.5! Much better! Had deteriorated on CPAP to between 7 and 11+.
Interestingly, a new APAP feature shows what pressure I am using for 90% of each night:
So far, I’m using 10 or 11 pressure most of the night, so clearly, the previous 6 was insufficient pressure.
Sleep! Must sleep! Must have quality sleep!