Advice for Pregnancy & Sleep Apnea

I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea about 2 years ago and got a CPAP. It didn't completely fix my sleep, but helped a lot. Since that point I've been using a nasal mask with a chin strap (I'm a mouth breather). I'm now 14 weeks pregnant and my sleep quality is terrible and I'm chronically exhausted. I'm snoring through the mask, feel like I'm not getting enough air through my nose, and having trouble with sleep position. My first preference for sleep position is stomach, and then back....neither of which is possible at this stage of my pregnancy. I have a U-shaped pregnancy pillow to make side sleeping more comfortable which has helped. I tried to switch to one of my full-face masks (I have 2 Resmeds, the Quattro for her, and the F20 for her), but can't get a good seal laying on my side. There is 1 sleep center available to me, and I called them last month to make an appointment, explaining that I was pregnant and really needed help. They said the first available appointment was the end of September (this was in May) and there's nothing they can do. My OB said melatonin was safe for me to take, but other than that, he doesn't have any expertise to recommend changing pressure settings or a different mask. Right now my minimum pressure is set at 7, max is 15, and average is 12 or 13. Does anyone have any suggestions? I understand that my best course of action is to see my doctor, but that's 3 months away and I'm desperate. Thanks in advance!

Hi Sadie,

I use the mirage quattro FFM, sleep on my side with NO problem. I found me a pillow in between firm & soft so when I lie down I kind of make a imprint in my pillow and I have found that helps my mask stay lined up. I also use a pad-a-cheek liner which helps a bunch. You just have to try different things as to what works for you. My masks starts leaking when I roll on my back, face changes...so I sleep on my left & right side and sometimes when I'm just napping, on my stomach with no problems. So give your Quattro a good try on your side, may work once you figure out the pillow-mask combo...good luck.

Are you getting close to the ceiling of 15 at times?

Did you check Sleepyhead and see if you need to raise your pressure? I would think that a change such as pregnancy might change the pressures that are needed.

Thanks for the advice! I’ll give the Quattro another try. Did you find that mask to be a little louder than some others? I have the myAir app. That gives fairly limited info, as does the clinical menu on the machine. Is sleepyhead a different app?

SleepyHead is software that would enable you to see the detailed data your machine gathers.
See here
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

and some examples here in this thread
viewtopic/t158560/How-to-post-images-for-review.html

Snoring usually means that the airway is trying to collapse and that the pressure being used is sub optimal.
Since it sounds like you are using apap (auto adjusting) mode then maybe all you need is a little more minimum pressure.
Best to verify with the software available though to make sure

Might try my hybrid-style full-face mask (click on it in my signature) has pillows and covers mouth, good for low to high pressures. If your machine reports median pressures, check whether your low pressure (7) is within a few numbers of the median; if not, might consider raising it so that your machine doesn't have to raise the pressure fast to prevent apneas. My pressure range is now 9.6-16 with average pressure of 12-14, similar to you. I increased my initial pressure settings which was 7 or 8 (if I remember right, it was in late '09 when I switched to an APAP) and my AHI lowered. Remember whatever you do, only change 1 thing at a time to isolate what to tweak,

Good luck in improving your sleep while pregnant; it will help you and the little one. I often take 1 mgm of melatonin for sleep.

EDIT: maybe your sleep doc's tech can be a go-between with your doc on these issues until you can see the doc.