Nine months and still tired

[cousin_brucie]

I've now been using cpap for 9 months and I'm still hoping for that moment that others enjoy, but keeps eluding me. It's the "I feel great" moment when I wake up, and to keep that feeling throughout the day. I don't feel any different using cpap nightly than I did before. I've adjusted pressure settings, thanks to the suggestions I received previously on the forum, and that's help lower my AHI, but it's not consistent. I've attached 3 screenshots that show the last week for me, a high of 10.38 and a low of 2.41 with some 3's, 4's and 6's scattered in the other days. Looking back the last 30 days I did have some decent AHI numbers, 4 nights under 1.00, 5 nights under 2.00 & 5 nights under 3.00, but I just can't get that consistently.
I so want this to work, but my frustration level has reached a new high. It also hasn't helped that my Doctor said I may NEVER feel any better, which I find hard to believe. So I now turn to my fellow forum members for any suggestions they may have

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[Julie]

What are the chances that you tend to sleep with your head down on your chest (or close to it)? It could explain the flow rate and effort trying to overcome the potential blockage it creates. I suggest you try a soft cervical collar for a short time and see if it helps keep your head up and airway more open, if you sleep that way.

[cousin_brucie]

I'm not sure if I keep my head down towards my chest, but it's a possibility. I'll have to pay attention to my sleeping position tonight, and if so I'll try your suggestion.

[palerider]

Bump your minimum pressure some, you're not sleeping well with the level you have.

Try 14 min... see if that'll keep you from getting into the clusters you're having.

[chunkyfrog]

It took me about 4 months to notice improvement.
Yes, me--the froggie!
Never give up.
It sneaks up on you.

[Wulfman...]

I've now been using cpap for 9 months and I'm still hoping for that moment that others enjoy, but keeps eluding me. It's the "I feel great" moment when I wake up, and to keep that feeling throughout the day. I don't feel any different using cpap nightly than I did before. I've adjusted pressure settings, thanks to the suggestions I received previously on the forum, and that's help lower my AHI, but it's not consistent. I've attached 3 screenshots that show the last week for me, a high of 10.38 and a low of 2.41 with some 3's, 4's and 6's scattered in the other days. Looking back the last 30 days I did have some decent AHI numbers, 4 nights under 1.00, 5 nights under 2.00 & 5 nights under 3.00, but I just can't get that consistently.
I so want this to work, but my frustration level has reached a new high. It also hasn't helped that my Doctor said I may NEVER feel any better, which I find hard to believe. So I now turn to my fellow forum members for any suggestions they may have

Looking at those reports, I see a few possibilities.
Those clusters of events may be "positional" sleeping.
The pressure changes may be following those events.
The events may be following the pressure changes.
Or, it may be a combination of those last two........a "feeding frenzy" of both.

My suggestion for a process of elimination would be to set your maximum pressure to the same as your minimum pressure (effectively making it straight CPAP pressure) for about a week and see what your events and numbers look like.
You're having very few events when your pressure line is flat (your minimum pressure).

Are you a side or back sleeper? ( or a combination? )


Den

.

[longwood]

In the last screenshot, I want to know were your really falling into sleep for the first hour and the hours from 1:00 to 5:00 ?

If awake during these hours, I would like to raise the the mini a lot, maybe at least 16.

[cousin_brucie]

In response to Wulfman and my sleeping position, I'm a side sleeper but have occasionally caught myself on my back. I believe the back episodes are rare. I do wake up approximately 5-6 times a night to move from one side to the other, but I immediately fall back asleep.

In response to Longwood, I have no problem falling asleep the first hour. Like I said in the previous paragraph, I typically wake up 5-6 times to change sleeping sides, and I'd say that would normally be between 1:00 to 5:00.

[longwood]

if so, probably trying bump the mini pressue would help some, but wont solve the case. You need figure out the reason.