If You Had Sleep Apnea...

[AndreaP 0]

I had to see the sleep doc for a rash on my face related to my mask when I was about 6 weeks post-op. He sent me home with a belt to wear around my waist with an oxygen line going to my nose and a thing to measure pulse ox for my finger. I wore it overnight and took it back the next day. They read the data and it showed that I didn't have a single apnea during the night and my oxygen saturation never went too low so he discontinued my CPAP therapy. I have been fine without it every since!!! I was so glad I was able to do this "mini test" at home and didn't have the discomfort or expense of another sleep study.

[LoserMama 37]

Very cool. I hope maybe I can do that kind of home test very soon. I kind of figure once I reach 199 that might be my trigger point. I still am not certain if what my ENT told me is true, that I may still have sleep apnea because of my deviated septum. The surgery for deviated septum, I have heard, is NOT fun. So I don't know about that part, but a home sleep study would be awesome. I'll have to ask!

[LoserMama 37]

This is how I knew to ditch my CPAP. On my 4th week I got very nauseous and could hardly eat or drink. After a barium swallow my surgeon figured out the CPAP was filling me with air! I stopped using it, the nausea went away immediately and I no longer snore. I wake up refreshed.

However I want to be sure I am actually cured, (I like having a healthy heart ) so my pulmonary doctor lowered the pressure and I will use it for a few days so he has some data. To be completely sure they want me to have another sleep study when I lose a lot more weight. Hope this helps.

Thank you! I think I'm really going to look into adjusting the range on my autoadjusting machine as Dannielle suggested and see what kind of data I get. awesome!

I have always been a difficult fit for a mask and after I lost quite a bit of weight, like 100 pounds it fit so badly and leaked so much air I could not sleep with it. I SHOULD of gone in for a sleep study but I just stopped using it and slept fine. The wife says I don't snore any more or snort in my sleep so I must be good now. I hated using the thing so I was glad to be off it.

I could NEVER use a mask. I've used a CPAP for almost eight years now, and the only thing I can use are the nasal pillows. Damn masks ALWAYS leaked. I am hoping to be off of it, but think I remember that I snored pretty good even at about 210-220 pounds before that maybe I won't be able to lose it yet. We'll see.

My machine malfunctioned in hospital and I just stopped using it when I came home. I do think @ it but I haven't used my asthma meds either since surgery 12/5 and don't wanna take a sleep test (bleah!)...will see pulm doc march 1 to determine if I still have asthma...????

I wish you luck and I hear you on the sleep test. Ugh.

I was given a CPAP machine right after surgery. I tried to use it ONCE. Thankfully my husband said that I don't snore or gasp for air anymore. I sleep effortlessly through the night and awake refreshed.

I may never have another sleep study done. The first one was SO miserable. I can't adjust with all those wires on me, being monitored and in a strange place. I'd do it to get the machine if I needed it, but not to get rid of it because I sort of already have. I stuffed it in the closet.

Oh oh oh....yes the sleep studies were so incredibly miserable. I had to do not one, but two, one to test for sleep apnea, and a second one for machine titration levels or whatever. SO CRAPPY. I really hope this home test option would work out, its been soooo long for me...eight years, things have changed I hope, for the better.

[LoserMama 37]

Well, my experiment results. (Disclaimer: yes, I know that a professional should adjust my machine..but this is an experiment, and given I have an auto adjusting machine, my machine still essentially had the control to operate at what level it needed to. I am in no way endorsing you to adjust your own machine, but think since i have a smart machine that senses what level it needs to operate at to prevent apneas within the range set, it was a fairly safe experiment)

So I adjusted my lower limit of my autoadjust range from 10 down to 6. And it operated at 6.5 last night effectively! So I have definitely gone WAY down from my typical pressure needed of 14, which is what my reports used to show. Yay! Will leave it at this range again tonight and see what happens. I still feel great upon waking up.

[gmanbat 5,889]

I was diagnosed with apnea after suffering pneumonia in the hospital. The test was too close to my pneumonia in my opinion and making me sleep on my back which I never do compounded the problem.

After sleeving the thing burned my nose, hydrator acting up or something and I got mad and abandoned it. I have lost 30 pounds since and don't think I need it. My biggest test is having the wife stay up and watch me. She has no problem telling me when I'm out of whack.

[illgeturhairdid 176]

I can't/won't suggest doing things without your doctor knowing- but any doctor worth a flip will know as you lose weight things will change. As I work more with the insurances I don't know much of the different between the lab studies and the home studies- sorry! I can ask one of my RTs this week and get back to you guys. I've never heard of that type of CPAP. Ask me anyhing you want to know about a Respironics, ResMed or FisherPaykel cpap and I'm a fountain of knowledge.

I would let your doctor know that you adjusted the cpap and it is running at a lower setting throughout the night and see what he suggests.

[LoserMama 37]

dannielle, you are totally right. Part of my problem is that my sleep studies were done years ago when I lived in a different part of the country. So i have no one here locally. my primary just gives me a new prescription every few years for the same thing and I get a new machine, but he admits to not knowing anything about it really, just lets the DME handle it. I think i am going to have to go the sleep institute here to redo a sleep study, either lab or at home.

I have two cool machines -- one is the devilbiss intellipap autoadjust, and my travel one is a Transcend, a teeeeny little thing that is not an APAP and has a battery so I can use it on the plane if need be, or if there is a power outage. As I am traveling this week, I am wondering if that machine will blow me away now, it is set at a pressure of 12. And I'm not sure how to adjust that one. My machine ran between 6-6.5 all night again last night.

[illgeturhairdid 176]

LoserMama, it does sound as if your bes bet would be to get in touch with a pulmonologist. What area of the country are you in? I know climate and altitude can have something to do with the settings as well.