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After only 15 days on my cpap machine I have recently had my first review. I was diagnosed with severe OSA, I had an AHI of 42. My partner timed some of my apnoeas at 28. seconds.
My AHI is now down to 20 which puts me in the moderate OSA category. I have adapted quite well to wearing a nose and mouth mask but I have been waking up 2 or 3 times a night for a drink of water to lubricate my mouth and throat, despite using a mouth lubricating spay. As I am up, I go to the toilet but I am passing nowhere near as much urine as I did before treatment and I am no longer being woken by a full bladder.
My sleep clinic have very kindly provided me a humidifier. Unfortunately I have not got it to work - though the preheater works, strange. I have been back and they have changed the settings on my machine and hopefully if will now work.
It is very early days for me and I do not expect any overnight 'cure' . However, I have seen early 'green shoots of recovery'. I have stopped falling asleep in the chair within minutes of getting home from work . It feels great to be able to sit through early evening TV without falling asleep. I feel more alert at work and now last till mid afternoon before I start to feel tired. I also no longer suffer from acid reflux - I was going through a bottle of gaviscon a month.
One thing that does remain is my 'mental fog' - not in terms of memory loss or confusion but in terms of mental sharpness. However, I think this symptom will take the most time to overcome. I believe I have been suffering from OSA for many years before my recent diagnosis. Reading this and other forums I believe my brain is so used to waking my body up at night that it is going to take time to change things - anyway I live in hope. The way I feel in a morning is mixed - some days still I feel fatigued but other days I wake up feeling more refreshed.
On odd occasions at week ends, after 7-8 hours sleep, I have taken off my mask and dosed again for 1 to 2 hours and woken up feeling terrible, so now I only sleep with my mask on.
Hopefully, I will get some unbroken nights soon, if my humidifier to starts to work. I will keep you posted.
John Wilkinson 
Views: 242
Hi John
Good to hear you're feeling some benefits after just 15 days, but with you saying you've come down to an AHI of 20, as you say, that's still moderate sleep apnoea, so hopefully the clinic have adjusted the pressures and when your AHI comes down to 5 or below you should feel more benefits and hopefully to your 'mental fog.'
I'm the same as you, in that when I used to fall back to sleep without my mask on for an hour or so I would wake up feeling terrible so I never do it now.
Hope all continues to go well for you......
Hi Kath,
Thanks for your reply. I am not sure if the clinic have adjusted the pressures on my cpap machine. I will ask when I go for my next review at the end of January.
Also I have bought an insulated sleeve for my breathing tube. Hopefully this will stop the condensation and resultant bubbling I am getting in my tube from my humidifier.
As far as I know the DVLA are going to contact my consultant re my fitness to drive. I have been lead to believe that as long as I am responding to treatment I will not have my license suspended. Have you any views on this situation?
Regards.
John Wilkinson
Hi John,
Good to see you are getting to grips with your CPAP machine. It take a while for your body to get back to a normal function after struggling against Sleep Apnoea. You have still a bit to go to get down to where you should be, however, you will get there I hope in the near future.
Try not to even dose without your CPAP machine on, if you must have a quick dose do it in a chair where you are sitting bolt upright. If you fall asleep lying down your airways will become restricted, your oxygen levels will drop and then you end up with a foggy brain. Hope you are now getting there and getting better low numbers.
Hi Sleep2snore,
Thanks for that. It really helps when I receive empathetic replies and advice from fellow OSA sufferers who are further down the road than me. Your support and encouragement is very welcome and helps me to 'stick at it' even when I have bad nights with my cpap machine. A big sincere thank you.
Sleep2snore said:
Hi John,
Good to see you are getting to grips with your CPAP machine. It take a while for your body to get back to a normal function after struggling against Sleep Apnoea. You have still a bit to go to get down to where you should be, however, you will get there I hope in the near future.
Try not to even dose without your CPAP machine on, if you must have a quick dose do it in a chair where you are sitting bolt upright. If you fall asleep lying down your airways will become restricted, your oxygen levels will drop and then you end up with a foggy brain. Hope you are now getting there and getting better low numbers.
Hi John, I have had over 20 yrs of it so far, it just takes a while for your brain to accept that it needs to use a machine.
We are not used to air at pressure being blown into us, so stick with it and in no time you will not be able to sleep without it, or at least you will not want to.
It just takes the right mask and the right humidity and pressures.
You will get there, trust me. If you have problems as of contact your sleep center, most try their best to help you.
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