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Hello everyone. I hope I'm in the right place to ask these questions. My husband FINALLY, after months of harrassment, went for a sleep study that turned into 3 sleep studies, after which he now has been diagnosed with complex central sleep apnea. He was sent home 3 days ago with a machine that, from our understanding and what I've read online, adjusts to his breathing rate, so that he will breathe at whatever has been determined to be his normal respiratory rate. He was also sent home with a few samples of Ambien CR to help him get to sleep.
My questions/concerns have to do with the fact that over this initial 3 days, I'm afraid he is becoming increasingly discouraged. Before this all started, he would fall asleep anytime he got still for a few minutes, and certainly had no trouble going to sleep when coming to bed and would be up at 5 or 6 a.m. He always has said that he bot out of bed so early because he "couldn't sleep, " but from my observation it is usually a time in his sleep stage that he is having some apnea. We had established the routine of my going to bed ahead of him, equipped with earplugs in hand, so that I could drown-out as much noise as possible with his gasping for air and snoring throughout the night. Now since being sent home after the diagnosis, etc., the first night home, he took the sleeping pill, waited a few minutes, and came to bed, ready to face the challenge of wearing this mask throughout the night. I must say that the first night, we both were very encouraged the next morning, because throughout the night I would notice that he was for the first time in a VERY long time, he was breathing deep, full, breaths, and seemed to be resting comfortably for the first time. He woke up the next morning, surprised at how soundly he had slept. He was a little groggy, he felt because of the sleeping pill, but said that he only woke up 2-3 times, being aware of the mask on his face.
However, that has not been the case now for the past 2 nights....in fact, within 2-3 hours after coming to bed (which is usually the exact time he always starts snoring and actually starts his apneic episodes), he started tossing and turning, seeming to fight the process. After about an hour, he gave up, took the mask off, and went to the couch. I have found him now for the past 2 monings on the couch, back in the same "nonbreathing" state, snoring loudly, and gasping for air again.
I don't mean to be rambling, but I guess I'm looking for an idea of how long it took you to settle into this foreign object on your face and did you feel like giving up? He says that with this machine he feels like it is forcing air in when he's trying to exhale, but from what I'm observing, it is actually when he has stopped breathing that this is happening, and I'm wondering if he is just subconsciously thinking that is what is going on? It wasn't until the doctors showed him the results of his studies that he actually finally believed that he was stopping breathing during the night (at one point as many as 37 times in 1 hour, with his oxygen saturation dropping to as low at 60% at one point), so this is obviously a serious situation and I am concerned that even though he is motivated to give this a chance to work, I'd like to be able to tell him that what he is experiencing is typical and that he should come back to bed after a few minutes and try again, rather than abandoning it completely for the night when this happens.
Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hello everyone. I hope I'm in the right place to ask these questions. My husband FINALLY, after months of harrassment, went for a sleep study that turned into 3 sleep studies, after which he now has been diagnosed with complex central sleep apnea. He was sent home 3 days ago with a machine that, from our understanding and what I've read online, adjusts to his breathing rate, so that he will breathe at whatever has been determined to be his normal respiratory rate. He was also sent home with a few samples of Ambien CR to help him get to sleep.
My questions/concerns have to do with the fact that over this initial 3 days, I'm afraid he is becoming increasingly discouraged. Before this all started, he would fall asleep anytime he got still for a few minutes, and certainly had no trouble going to sleep when coming to bed and would be up at 5 or 6 a.m. He always has said that he bot out of bed so early because he "couldn't sleep, " but from my observation it is usually a time in his sleep stage that he is having some apnea. We had established the routine of my going to bed ahead of him, equipped with earplugs in hand, so that I could drown-out as much noise as possible with his gasping for air and snoring throughout the night. Now since being sent home after the diagnosis, etc., the first night home, he took the sleeping pill, waited a few minutes, and came to bed, ready to face the challenge of wearing this mask throughout the night. I must say that the first night, we both were very encouraged the next morning, because throughout the night I would notice that he was for the first time in a VERY long time, he was breathing deep, full, breaths, and seemed to be resting comfortably for the first time. He woke up the next morning, surprised at how soundly he had slept. He was a little groggy, he felt because of the sleeping pill, but said that he only woke up 2-3 times, being aware of the mask on his face.
However, that has not been the case now for the past 2 nights....in fact, within 2-3 hours after coming to bed (which is usually the exact time he always starts snoring and actually starts his apneic episodes), he started tossing and turning, seeming to fight the process. After about an hour, he gave up, took the mask off, and went to the couch. I have found him now for the past 2 monings on the couch, back in the same "nonbreathing" state, snoring loudly, and gasping for air again.
I don't mean to be rambling, but I guess I'm looking for an idea of how long it took you to settle into this foreign object on your face and did you feel like giving up? He says that with this machine he feels like it is forcing air in when he's trying to exhale, but from what I'm observing, it is actually when he has stopped breathing that this is happening, and I'm wondering if he is just subconsciously thinking that is what is going on? It wasn't until the doctors showed him the results of his studies that he actually finally believed that he was stopping breathing during the night (at one point as many as 37 times in 1 hour, with his oxygen saturation dropping to as low at 60% at one point), so this is obviously a serious situation and I am concerned that even though he is motivated to give this a chance to work, I'd like to be able to tell him that what he is experiencing is typical and that he should come back to bed after a few minutes and try again, rather than abandoning it completely for the night when this happens.
Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Cindy:
I just started using a full face mask with my CPAP. The first 2 nights using at home were very encouraging, I slept 6-7 hours before waking and taking off the mask. The 3rd night I woke with a start when my husband flipped off his bed light and I suffered a panic attack trying to get the mask off of my face. I was so claustrophobic after that I couldn't sleep in my bed for 2 nights.
I posted my situation on this discussion forum and was given excellent advise. For the last couple of days I have used my CPAP during the day while watching tv to get used to the feel of the mask and the air pressure. I also practiced putting it on and taking it off quickly.
Last night I decided to wear it in bed for only 10 minutes; I went over 1 hour with it on. Tonight I will increase that time and hopefully I will fall asleep and not wake until tomorrow morning.
Basically the advise I got was to practice during the day while doing a relaxing activity like watching tv or reading a book. So far it has really helped me. It takes time and effort but I am looking forward to the results.
Maybe you can offer to sit and watch tv with your husband while he uses his CPAP.
Cindy Kyte said:Hello everyone. I hope I'm in the right place to ask these questions. My husband FINALLY, after months of harrassment, went for a sleep study that turned into 3 sleep studies, after which he now has been diagnosed with complex central sleep apnea. He was sent home 3 days ago with a machine that, from our understanding and what I've read online, adjusts to his breathing rate, so that he will breathe at whatever has been determined to be his normal respiratory rate. He was also sent home with a few samples of Ambien CR to help him get to sleep.
My questions/concerns have to do with the fact that over this initial 3 days, I'm afraid he is becoming increasingly discouraged. Before this all started, he would fall asleep anytime he got still for a few minutes, and certainly had no trouble going to sleep when coming to bed and would be up at 5 or 6 a.m. He always has said that he bot out of bed so early because he "couldn't sleep, " but from my observation it is usually a time in his sleep stage that he is having some apnea. We had established the routine of my going to bed ahead of him, equipped with earplugs in hand, so that I could drown-out as much noise as possible with his gasping for air and snoring throughout the night. Now since being sent home after the diagnosis, etc., the first night home, he took the sleeping pill, waited a few minutes, and came to bed, ready to face the challenge of wearing this mask throughout the night. I must say that the first night, we both were very encouraged the next morning, because throughout the night I would notice that he was for the first time in a VERY long time, he was breathing deep, full, breaths, and seemed to be resting comfortably for the first time. He woke up the next morning, surprised at how soundly he had slept. He was a little groggy, he felt because of the sleeping pill, but said that he only woke up 2-3 times, being aware of the mask on his face.
However, that has not been the case now for the past 2 nights....in fact, within 2-3 hours after coming to bed (which is usually the exact time he always starts snoring and actually starts his apneic episodes), he started tossing and turning, seeming to fight the process. After about an hour, he gave up, took the mask off, and went to the couch. I have found him now for the past 2 monings on the couch, back in the same "nonbreathing" state, snoring loudly, and gasping for air again.
I don't mean to be rambling, but I guess I'm looking for an idea of how long it took you to settle into this foreign object on your face and did you feel like giving up? He says that with this machine he feels like it is forcing air in when he's trying to exhale, but from what I'm observing, it is actually when he has stopped breathing that this is happening, and I'm wondering if he is just subconsciously thinking that is what is going on? It wasn't until the doctors showed him the results of his studies that he actually finally believed that he was stopping breathing during the night (at one point as many as 37 times in 1 hour, with his oxygen saturation dropping to as low at 60% at one point), so this is obviously a serious situation and I am concerned that even though he is motivated to give this a chance to work, I'd like to be able to tell him that what he is experiencing is typical and that he should come back to bed after a few minutes and try again, rather than abandoning it completely for the night when this happens.
Any thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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