Sleep Apnea - Inspire users?

[two fingers]

You are correct - there are lots of other things one can do if one has poor sleep.
But apnea is radically different than "can't fall asleep" or "keep waking up". I fall asleep pretty easily and stay asleep. And I thought I slept soundly and deeply. And wondered why I felt tired anyway, needed a nap every weekend, and had my brain unable to work in the evenings (after using it hard all day).
CPAP did not make me fall asleep more easily. But it has improved how rested I feel significantly.

A quick detour in the realm of explanation.
Apnea is when you stop breathing while asleep. It's typically a structural thing, and CPAP helps with that (keeps open the structures that close when they shouldn't).
When you stop breathing, your blood oxygen levels drop.
From your body's point of view, you are being asphyxiated. And so your body produces a lot of the same stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisols) that it would if you were being mugged and choked. But you stay asleep (most of the time). And you seldom really get to REM sleep or deep sleep.
So though you may get "plenty" of sleep, and have an easy time falling asleep, you don't get good quality sleep, and your body is coping with multiple dumps of cortisols etc into your bloodstream.
It's a different problem set than what most people consider "poor sleep".

TAR What I'm saying is even if you address the other factors, if you have apnea, you need to address that as well to get healthy, restful sleep.

Absolutely. And please don't mistake what I posted as even amateur medical advice anyway.

 

[Gregc57]

I use a Bi-Pap as well. My original settings were so high it was insane, and impossible to use. So, I found the tech password and went into the menu and started playing with the settings until I sorted out what pressures and timings I needed to sleep well. Big difference. The machine has enough diagnostics that I can tell how many events I am having per hour and how many hours of sleep I get each night. It's worth the effort. When you get your apnea event to 5 or below, you're in good shape. If you get 5 or less on a sleep study you don't even get a machine. I went from having a machine and never using it to not wanting to sleep without it. I take it when I travel. I always show well under 5/hour. Without the machine, my sleep studies showed around 40. 40 is crazy. You're really not sleeping at that point.
Inspire? I'm not mounting hardware and electronics inside my body if I don't absolutely have to.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

At over 60 events per hour, 75% blood oxygen level during my study, I WON'T and literally CAN'T sleep without my CPAP. I constantly woke up tired, and with a headache. I'd fall asleep anywhere and came close to doing so behind the wheel.

It travels with me everywhere when I am away from home. I use it when I lie down for a short nap. Last month (because I'm stupid) I tried sleeping without it one night and it was a disaster.

I apologize, to the OP I missed whether or not you've tried something other than the nasal pillows. I've used both the pillows and the nose-only device. I tried the nose/mouth contraption and it was a disaster. Maybe you could try a different mask type?

I hope you find something that works for you because Apnea is miserable.

 

[2saddleslab]

I forgot to mention earlier, not only did my sister get relief from the sleep apnea but the CPAC also eliminated her rather severe acid reflux. She used to stop eating 4 hour before bed, watched what she ate, and slept w/ her torso elevated. Not anymore. Her DR's are as mystified as she is.

 

[SteveC]

I use a Bi-Pap as well. My original settings were so high it was insane, and impossible to use. So, I found the tech password and went into the menu and started playing with the settings until I sorted out what pressures and timings I needed to sleep well. Big difference. The machine has enough diagnostics that I can tell how many events I am having per hour and how many hours of sleep I get each night. It's worth the effort. When you get your apnea event to 5 or below, you're in good shape. If you get 5 or less on a sleep study you don't even get a machine. I went from having a machine and never using it to not wanting to sleep without it. I take it when I travel. I always show well under 5/hour. Without the machine, my sleep studies showed around 40. 40 is crazy. You're really not sleeping at that point.
Inspire? I'm not mounting hardware and electronics inside my body if I don't absolutely have to.

This is interesting. I can set a couple things (ramp up time and humidity) but not anything like pressures or timings. Timings is what I talked to my doctors about the most. The fact that I didn't feel I had time to exhale before the blow back began was the biggest thing. The machine makes me breathe at a faster rate than what feels natural. I take big, slow breaths. (Probably something to do with playing musical instruments like the tuba.) How did you get the password to make adjustments yourself? That might be a revelation for me.

I get plenty of feedback from the machine via the app on my iphone. Usage hours, mask seal, events per hour and mask on/off with a total score for the night.

My first study was shocking to the tech who analyzed my stuff. They had never really seen anyone as bad as me. I get that I need the machine, but I also think it shouldn't be such a chore to use or be told to just get used to it. You're the f'ing doctor. You should know this stuff.

(I'd like to have them try to sleep with these things for a week so they could have some empathy.)