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To Sleep Or Not To Sleep
Posted by
zoolander
,
03 December 2007
·
5,565 views
Day to day Journal (when I can be bothered)
Some of you may know already that I have severe sleep apnea. To tell you the truth I'm still in denial about having sleep apnea but from what I have read and been told, it's quite common for sleep apnea suffers to the suffer from the egyptian river syndrome i.e denile.
I just got so used to waking up after what I thought was a decent nights sleep feeling heavy headed with brain fog. To me the heavy head or brain fog didn't exist. To me it was the norm. The worst thing is that I used to beat myself for being "lazy" and for not being able to get out of bed sometimes but my sleep study tells me it wasn't laziness at all. It was the 30 or so arousals per hour and 40 or so respiratory events that I experianced every hour that made it hard for me to get out of bed.
Anyhow.....I finally decided to take things seriously when my ENT surgeon, at a follow up appointment for an operation I had to replace a punctured ear drum, told me that I might be able to deal with the sleep apnea now when I am still young but as time progresses the desaturation of oxygen that occurs as a result of sleep apnea will cause pulmonary hypertension, which will eventually, place a lot of strain on my heart. YEAH! NOt gonna let that happen. So I am not currently trialing an Automated Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device to see if can resolve some of the issues I have when I sleep. There is a good chance that the CPAP device will correct the issues but there is also a chance that it won't. If the sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea then probelm solved because the CPAP will keep the airways open and unobstructed. If the sleep apnea is of the complex nature or if it is central sleep apnea then that's another story all together. I'll have to trial a xPAP ST device that forces a certain breath frequency as opposed to forcing the airways open.
So I started on the device last week.
here's something from wikipedia.....
"Prospective CPAP candidates are often reluctant to use this therapy, since the nose mask and hose to the machine look uncomfortable and clumsy, and the airflow required for some patients can be vigorous. Some patients adjust to the treatment within a few weeks, others struggle for longer periods, and some discontinue treatment entirely."
I can related to that. I don't really find the mask to be too annoying but it's been very hard for me to fall asleep. The first night that I used the device I got about an hour of sleep and ended up ripping the mask off towards the end. Apparently this what most people do.
On the second and third night I got a little more than an hour or sleep. I took me about an hour or so to fall asleep but I was woken up on several occasions when the pressure hit max. Last night was probably the best nights sleep I have had so far using the CPAP. Took me about 1/2 an hour to fall asleep and I got about 4 hours sleep in total. The sleep was still broken and I took the mask off about 1/2 an hour before I woke but it was still a solid 4 hours of sleep I think.
I think that I am progressing very well. Give it another week or so and I will have things all sorted. I'm still getting used to wearing the mask as well as still getting used to what is the right fit. The goal is to have the mask as lose as possible so that not air will leak when at the highest pressure point. If you have it too loose the pressurized ait leaks out into your eyes and that decreases the effectiveness of the CPAP. If you have it too tight then it becomes very uncomfortable especially if you are clostraphobic.
I have noticed a substantial difference in my energy levels. I find it a lot easier to read and I do not have a heavy head when I wake. This occured after the very first use of the CPAP on about 1 hours sleep. My word selection has also imporved and my sex drive is through the roof. So it's good news. In general, my quality of life has improved in the last week andI'm as vibrant and happy as ever. This is possibly just a small sign of what's to come. Once I get used to sleeping with the CPAP device and can sleep a full 8 hours without interuption then I'll be back to normal.
Tomorrow I am going to be having another sleep study done except this time it will be with the CPAP device. I might ask them if I can wait a few more days to allow a little more time for me to get used to the CPAP. If all goes well and if I have obstructive sleep apnea then my arousals should go from 30 or so per hour down to almost zero. Same goes for the respirator events. If the machine is doing it's job correctly then I shouldn't really been seeing any respiratory disturbances.
It's a bit of a downer that I more than likely will have to use this device for the rest of my life but I'm looking on the positive side. My life with CPAP will be a lot healthier. Additionally, the machine that I will most likely purchase has a smartcard in it that measures pressure, awakenings, respiratory events, respiration rates and so on. This is all downloadable to a computer. I'll also purchase a pulse oximeter as well to watch my oxygen saturation and heart rate during the night. It's going to so cool to see exactly what is going on as I sleep as opposed to just making a judgement call based on how I feel. Watching what happens to all these variables during the night will alow me to tweak my sleep settings to maximize my nights sleep.
Anyhow....I will keep you updated on how I am progressing with the trial
I just got so used to waking up after what I thought was a decent nights sleep feeling heavy headed with brain fog. To me the heavy head or brain fog didn't exist. To me it was the norm. The worst thing is that I used to beat myself for being "lazy" and for not being able to get out of bed sometimes but my sleep study tells me it wasn't laziness at all. It was the 30 or so arousals per hour and 40 or so respiratory events that I experianced every hour that made it hard for me to get out of bed.
Anyhow.....I finally decided to take things seriously when my ENT surgeon, at a follow up appointment for an operation I had to replace a punctured ear drum, told me that I might be able to deal with the sleep apnea now when I am still young but as time progresses the desaturation of oxygen that occurs as a result of sleep apnea will cause pulmonary hypertension, which will eventually, place a lot of strain on my heart. YEAH! NOt gonna let that happen. So I am not currently trialing an Automated Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device to see if can resolve some of the issues I have when I sleep. There is a good chance that the CPAP device will correct the issues but there is also a chance that it won't. If the sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea then probelm solved because the CPAP will keep the airways open and unobstructed. If the sleep apnea is of the complex nature or if it is central sleep apnea then that's another story all together. I'll have to trial a xPAP ST device that forces a certain breath frequency as opposed to forcing the airways open.
So I started on the device last week.
here's something from wikipedia.....
"Prospective CPAP candidates are often reluctant to use this therapy, since the nose mask and hose to the machine look uncomfortable and clumsy, and the airflow required for some patients can be vigorous. Some patients adjust to the treatment within a few weeks, others struggle for longer periods, and some discontinue treatment entirely."
I can related to that. I don't really find the mask to be too annoying but it's been very hard for me to fall asleep. The first night that I used the device I got about an hour of sleep and ended up ripping the mask off towards the end. Apparently this what most people do.
On the second and third night I got a little more than an hour or sleep. I took me about an hour or so to fall asleep but I was woken up on several occasions when the pressure hit max. Last night was probably the best nights sleep I have had so far using the CPAP. Took me about 1/2 an hour to fall asleep and I got about 4 hours sleep in total. The sleep was still broken and I took the mask off about 1/2 an hour before I woke but it was still a solid 4 hours of sleep I think.
I think that I am progressing very well. Give it another week or so and I will have things all sorted. I'm still getting used to wearing the mask as well as still getting used to what is the right fit. The goal is to have the mask as lose as possible so that not air will leak when at the highest pressure point. If you have it too loose the pressurized ait leaks out into your eyes and that decreases the effectiveness of the CPAP. If you have it too tight then it becomes very uncomfortable especially if you are clostraphobic.
I have noticed a substantial difference in my energy levels. I find it a lot easier to read and I do not have a heavy head when I wake. This occured after the very first use of the CPAP on about 1 hours sleep. My word selection has also imporved and my sex drive is through the roof. So it's good news. In general, my quality of life has improved in the last week andI'm as vibrant and happy as ever. This is possibly just a small sign of what's to come. Once I get used to sleeping with the CPAP device and can sleep a full 8 hours without interuption then I'll be back to normal.
Tomorrow I am going to be having another sleep study done except this time it will be with the CPAP device. I might ask them if I can wait a few more days to allow a little more time for me to get used to the CPAP. If all goes well and if I have obstructive sleep apnea then my arousals should go from 30 or so per hour down to almost zero. Same goes for the respirator events. If the machine is doing it's job correctly then I shouldn't really been seeing any respiratory disturbances.
It's a bit of a downer that I more than likely will have to use this device for the rest of my life but I'm looking on the positive side. My life with CPAP will be a lot healthier. Additionally, the machine that I will most likely purchase has a smartcard in it that measures pressure, awakenings, respiratory events, respiration rates and so on. This is all downloadable to a computer. I'll also purchase a pulse oximeter as well to watch my oxygen saturation and heart rate during the night. It's going to so cool to see exactly what is going on as I sleep as opposed to just making a judgement call based on how I feel. Watching what happens to all these variables during the night will alow me to tweak my sleep settings to maximize my nights sleep.
Anyhow....I will keep you updated on how I am progressing with the trial
