Week 1 under my belt - it's going ok

[ShannonCC]

My AHI was 0.4 last night so ok, that's good I guess

Thanks for all the info! I do think I will wait til after my appointment to try sleepyhead. I understand it's not sleepyhead that's the issue, but the computer, but like I said, technology isn't always my friend, lol! I'm worried *I* will screw it up.

Does anyone know, do Auto CPAPs adjust over time or did I mess up something by playing with controls? They set mine to go from 6 to 12 and after half a week, suddenly it was starting at 8 instead of 6. Did it adjust because it realized 6 was too low? Or maybe they are doing it remotely. The home health people called and said my data looks good, so yeah, Big Brother is watching me sleep

Mudrock - I also had bad sleep for a very long time. Hindsight being 20/20, I had (now!) obvious signs of this over a decade ago, but at the time, we thought it was allergy and digestion related so we went down the wrong treatment path. And I'm at fault for getting disgusted and not seeking new answers and doctors soon enough. So yeah, a decade + of bad sleep is not going to be fixed in a week or two. I have to be patient. And I do feel better, just not as much better as I had hoped.

Though, I am already noticing one huge difference. No more uncontrollable food cravings. I've already lost weight this week because it turns out it's a lot easier to eat healthy when you are not completely exhausted. Duh.

[Sheriff Buford]

Shannon: the crick in your neck is normal. When I first started, I had a stiff back. The reason is that you are sleeping in one position a very long time. Pre-cpap... you probably rolled around a lot. Make sure you do have a good pillow, whether it is a cpap pillow or not. The neck thing will go away. It's a really "nice" problem to have and it indicates you are getting good therapy.

Sheriff

[Mudrock63]

My AHI was 0.4 last night so ok, that's good I guess

Thanks for all the info! I do think I will wait til after my appointment to try sleepyhead. I understand it's not sleepyhead that's the issue, but the computer, but like I said, technology isn't always my friend, lol! I'm worried *I* will screw it up.

Does anyone know, do Auto CPAPs adjust over time or did I mess up something by playing with controls? They set mine to go from 6 to 12 and after half a week, suddenly it was starting at 8 instead of 6. Did it adjust because it realized 6 was too low? Or maybe they are doing it remotely. The home health people called and said my data looks good, so yeah, Big Brother is watching me sleep

Mudrock - I also had bad sleep for a very long time. Hindsight being 20/20, I had (now!) obvious signs of this over a decade ago, but at the time, we thought it was allergy and digestion related so we went down the wrong treatment path. And I'm at fault for getting disgusted and not seeking new answers and doctors soon enough. So yeah, a decade + of bad sleep is not going to be fixed in a week or two. I have to be patient. And I do feel better, just not as much better as I had hoped.

Though, I am already noticing one huge difference. No more uncontrollable food cravings. I've already lost weight this week because it turns out it's a lot easier to eat healthy when you are not completely exhausted. Duh.

I think an AHI of 0.4 is excellent!

I get the distrust of the computer. Sometimes I make my teenager help me. LOL.

The machine will not adjust the basic settings on its own. If your machine was set at auto from 6.0-12.0, it should stay within that range. It is not hard to change the settings, but I don't believe you can accidentally change them. At least not easily. It is a deliberate series of steps. Nor do I think your DME can change them remotely. Jeez, that would be a whole new level of Big Brother. Yikes!

I have heard stories of weight loss AND weight gain during treatment. Glad you are in the former group. Here is what I believe. Those that lose now have more energy to manage what they eat. Plus when you are majorly fatigued, you just don't care as much. Those that gain are probably gaining because before they were treated, the condition made their body "sick", so to speak. Being treated right, for a change, might allow the body to return to its "normal" weight. That is just my opinion. I have gained about 10 pounds since starting treatment. But I have been exercising regularly, so some might be muscle gain, and my pants size has not changed. So I am not too worried about it at this point.

A lot of people don't have that AHA moment, but realize the therapy is helping in hindsight. Noticing changes after months of treatment. I think your weight loss is one sign you are benefitting. In my case, I've noticed I no longer dread and have to MAKE myself do routine things, like go grocery shopping or go to church. Simple stuff like that. I used to have to plan my entire day around activities, to make sure I wouldn't be too tired to function. To hell with that. I would never want to go back to feeling like that ever again.

[TimeToSleep]

Yeah the ResMed A10's settings can be adjusted remotely by the DME via the cellular modem.

It's actually a pretty great feature if you think about it. For folks who are not invested enough in their therapy to seek out a forum on the internet and learn how to roll their own, it WAY WAY WAY speeds up the feedback loop of reviewing data and changing settings, without anybody having to take a machine anywhere.

I know some people are bothered by it (and you can always put the machine in "airplane mode" to disable) -- but the system is all HIPPA compliant...shouldn't be dramatically different then taking your card/machine in to have the data read.