Well I have been on a CPAP for about 3 months.  General conclusion is that it is going very well.  After the pressure increase a month ago, I have noted further improvement.  It seems to have solved the mask vibration issue that was bothering me.  So I now tend to have the mask on more of the night – which is a good thing.

Also, we took a trip to a lake cabin last weekend.  I packed an extension cord with the CPAP just in case I needed it.  The outlets worked out so I didn’t, but seemed like a good idea to bring one with.  Still not 100% used to traveling with one yet, but a little preplanning goes a long way.

So all in all the CPAP treatment is a success to date.  I am sure there are more things I am forgetting at the moment, but that is what follow-up posts are for!

I have been waiting to do another post till I had a chance to go in and have my follow up appointment with the doc.  I just had that yesterday.  This was the follow up appointment that my insurance requires in order to fully cover the CPAP.

It went well actually.  The doc said my numbers were all going in the right direction.  Since I am still snoring slightly (though nothing like I was), we bumped the pressure up a couple of notches.  All I will need to do though is after a couple of weeks drop the data card off and have the doc review it.  She will call if there are any changes to my perscription, but from now on I only need to go in annually.

So all in all, the CPAP is going great.  Still some adjustments going on, but overall far more rested on the average day than I used to be.

Well traveling with a CPAP was a whole lot easier than I expected.

To keep things simple, I checked my main bag in, though since a CPAP doesn’t count against your carry-on limit, I didn’t have to.  However, I flew out of Jamestown on a pretty small plane, so wanted to keep it simple.  Going through security was easy.  I just pulled it out and put it in its own bin and while I was repacking my laptop checked it, and I was through.

The way back was just as easy through the Phoenix airport and Minneapolis airport.  I had been told having a copy of your prescription was recommended, but I doubted this and didn’t bring one.  No, indeed it wasn’t needed at all.

So my best advice for other CPAP travelers – treat it just like a laptop and you will be fine.

I came down with a cold over the weekend and discovered a cold and a CPAP don’t go well together for me.  Having just a nasal mask didn’t work out at all and I ended up taking the mask off pretty quickly in the night.

I also received a call that my data had been reviewed and the Dr. was bumping the pressure from 7cmH2O to 8cmH2O.  I suspected this would be the case, so wasn’t surprised.

I went into the local accessories store and had them increase the pressure on the machine.  I also checked out a demo full face mask to try that before my 30 day period is up on my nasal mask.  I will see how that works in general and specifically with a cold.

It would help if the cold will just go away, since having one has skewed my stats in general much less testing out a different mask.

I got some information back on a discussion the other day that I thought I would share with everyone.  I was providing some information on my diagnosis, what numbers meant, etc to a friend who is a professor at my Alma mater Jamestown College.  Dr. Dana Wallace, Ph.D., was kind enough to send back some information in return.  (I had given her some stats on my REM sleep from my sleep study and said I knew it there was more in depth information, but didn’t have that at hand.)

Here is what she sent back:

Of special interest is the decreased REM sleep.  Below I’ve attached some information on the power of sleep

• Sleep Keeps Us Safe
  • Predators sleep more than prey
• Sleep Restores Our Bodies
  • Growth hormone (GH) (this is watch helps you grow as a kid, build muscle mass, and helps your immune system)
  • Compromise between amount of energy collected and expended
    • More energy spent = more sleep
  • Sleep Helps Us Remember
    • Active role in consolidation of memories
  • Benefits of NREM Sleep
    • Restorative function of sleep
  • Benefits of REM Sleep
    • Increases after learning has taken place
    • Role in brain development
    • REM rebound (basically means elevated mood once you start catching up on REM sleep)

You also will probably notice less muscle aches and joints pain as that is a common complaint with less Stage 4 non-REM sleep.   You also probably saw losses in your concentration, motivation levels, and perception abilities prior to treatment.  I would say that the biggest health risks would boil down to the decreased immune system functioning.  The minute you start messing with immune balance that increases heart disease risk factors.

Well I dropped my data card off on Friday and am waiting to hear back on it.  Seeing as yesterday was the 4th business day they had it I called up.  They hadn’t heard from the doctor yet, so I checked into that.

Called the Sleep Doctors office in Fargo, they hadn’t received any data for review, but I was able to give the gal on the phone some base numbers.  (I reviewed a copy of my stats and had a few numbers to provide.  They would also be contacting the Jamestown office to get the full report.  My numbers haven’t been as good as when I first started, but my AHI (the key number) is less than half of what it was during my sleep study.

The gal from the sleep clinic said that an AHI of 8.8 (normal person should be under 5) and still snoring slightly was of concern, though is good I am doing much better.  What the doctor will probably do is review the reports and then order the pressure be bumped up a little.  I also have my follow up visit with the doctor in a month.  I have to have a follow up visit within 60 days anyways for my insurance to cover the machine.

Soooo now waiting to hear back from someone as to what the plan is, but treatment is still going fairly well.  Haven’t taken an evening nap since starting CPAP treatment and dream a lot more, which to me indicates hitting REM sleep far more than I used to.

In this part we will be looking at how sleep apnea is treated.

Part 5 of 5 – Sleep Apnea Education series

Today, lets look at living with sleep apnea from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

I was prescribed a CPAP machine..  During my sleep study different air pressures were tested and my sleep Dr set a pressure of 7cmH2O.

As far as living with it goes, both the article and what I have learned so both mention rechecking in with your health care provider from time to time.  After 2 weeks on the CPAP machine, I ran my data card in and they will review that with the doctor to see how treatment is progressing and if any changes need to be made.

The next challenge I am going to have with adjusting to living with a CPAP is travel.  I travel occasionally for work, and have a trip coming up in a couple of weeks.  So I will have to make some adjustments there.  As a frequent traveler, I will have to adjust my routine to account for carrying on a CPAP machine.  (I will blog about my results here.)

See other Education articles on Hosehead Life.  (Including all 5 parts of this Sleep Apnea Education series.)

In this part we will be looking at how sleep apnea is treated.

Part 4 of 5 – Sleep Apnea Education series

Today, lets look at how sleep apnea is treated from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

Goals of Treatment

The goals of treating obstructive sleep apnea are to:
Restore regular breathing during sleep
Relieve symptoms such as loud snoring and daytime sleepiness

Remember in a previous part we looked why not seeking treatment can be a risky proposition with long range effects.

Specific Types of Treatment

Lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, breathing devices, and/or surgery are used to treat sleep apnea. Currently, there are no medicines to treat sleep apnea.

If you have sleep apnea, talk to your doctor or sleep specialist about the treatment options that are most appropriate for your specific condition.

Lifestyle changes and/or mouthpieces may be enough to relieve mild sleep apnea. People who have moderate or severe sleep apnea may need breathing devices or surgery.

The full article covers the varies types of treatment.  Seeing this is a Hosehead blog I will focus on just Continuous Positive Air Pressure (or CPAP) treatment.

Breathing Devices

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most common treatment for moderate to severe sleep apnea in adults. A CPAP machine uses a mask that fits over your mouth and nose, or just over your nose. The machine gently blows air into your throat.

The air presses on the wall of your airway. The air pressure is adjusted so that it’s just enough to stop the airways from becoming narrowed or blocked during sleep.

This is the treatment I was prescribed.  During my sleep study different air pressures were tested and my sleep Dr set a pressure of 7cmH2O.

See other Education articles on Hosehead Life.  (Including all 5 parts of this Sleep Apnea Education series.)

In this part we will be looking at how sleep apnea is diagnosed.

Part 3 of 5 – Sleep Apnea Education series

Today, lets look at how sleep apnea is diagnosed from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

How Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?

Doctors diagnose sleep apnea based on your medical and family histories, a physical exam, and results from sleep studies. Usually, your primary care doctor evaluates your symptoms first. He or she then decides whether you need to see a sleep specialist.

These specialists are doctors who diagnose and treat people with sleep problems. Such doctors include lung, nerve, or ear, nose, and throat specialists. Other types of doctors also can be sleep specialists.

That is how I finally came to my formal diagnosis.  I went to my primary doctor for chronic sinus infections which tend to compound my already bad snoring problems.  She then referred me to an ENT specialist who had me get a sinus CT scan.  Surprisingly, (to me at least) the Sinus CT scan came back 100% normal.  (I was anticipating sinus surgery.)  From there we discovered I had two issues instead of one.  Allergies causing sinus issues and possible sleep issues.

For the now unrelated snoring issues the ENT specialist signed me up for a sleep study.

Sleep Studies

A sleep study is the most accurate test for diagnosing sleep apnea. It captures what happens with your breathing while you sleep.

A sleep study is often done in a sleep center or sleep lab, which may be part of a hospital. You may stay overnight in the sleep center.

The sleep study was interesting and was something I was able to do right in Jamestown.  Consulted with a sleep specialist from Fargo and set up a date/time for an overnight study.  (She also ordered a thyroid blood test to check for issues there, but that came back normal.)  For the overnight stay, the staff was really friendly and helpful.  Got hooked up to something around a million sensors (ok not quite that many), read a book for a while, and then went to sleep.

Sometime during the night I met whatever the criteria is to try CPAP treatment.  They first tried a full face mask, but leaked too much air.  (Possibly because of my goatee.)  So switched to a nasal mask.  In the morning when unhooking me I was told I will get a diagnosis from the Dr, but I did seem to do better on air.

Short version of the what happened next is eventually the sleep Dr reviewed the results and prescribed CPAP treatment for my now diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  (This happened after visiting the original ENT specialist who confirmed the diagnosis, but apparently I didn’t need to see.

See other Education articles on Hosehead Life.  (Including all 5 parts of this Sleep Apnea Education series.)

Well the first week is out of the way.  The results have averaged out to match the last couple of days.

I am still struggling on not pulling off the mask early in the morning an accidentally falling back to sleep, but I think that has something to do with the being stuffy thing and a self-training issue.  However, I believe they were going to give me a call this week to check in, so might be able to ask a couple of the questions that have come up.  (Snoring and being stuffy.)

All in  all, progress is being made.