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Waking Up Throughout the Night
A member who's waking up throughout the night shared his story with me, and is seeking advice. I'm throwing this out to the open forum for as many perspectives as possible:
I just read your response, advice and encouragement to Ross. I've seen you on this discussion page other times and I like your responses. You seem to be very knowledgeable/experienced with apnea, the treatments and the equipment.
Some background about me first: I was diagnosed about 2 years ago. I only went to the sleep study because I was told by my wife and kids that I snored, and at times that I stop breathing. Snoring was always prevalent on one side of my family, so I didn't give it much thought until an older relative was diagnosed. Other than the snoring and breathing stoppage, I don't seem to have some of the other classic symptoms of apnea - drowsiness during the day, obesity, etc. I'm 48 years old and very physically fit - yet, I was diagnosed with moderate apnea.
Anyway, I've resisted wearing the mask until about 2 months ago I started to give it a concerted effort - mostly because of the scary stuff I read on SleepGuide. I use the nasal pillows and it's not too uncomfortable. I've been slowly having some success sleeping with the apparatus, but my problem is this - I never sleep straight through the night. While wearing the apparatus, I wake up about every 1.5-2 hours. Sometimes I get frustrated, turn the thing off and sleep through the rest of the night.
Is this normal? Do you ever sleep straight through the night? Or, should I speak to someone about my machine and apparatus? If so, who should I speak to? Also, I've seen you reference your AHI in some of your responses. What is that and how do I determine what mine is?
Sorry for bombarding you with all this. Obviously, I'm somewhat new to it all. If you could lend some advice or assistance, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time.
Views: 142
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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Hi there, so the answer to your question about waking up throughout the night is that yes, it is common, but no, it's not ok. Myself, I sleep throughout the entire night with my CPAP on, as do many others, and that is certainly the goal. I think you need to tell us a little more about what you're experiencing at the moment you wake up -- why are you waking up? From there, we will be able to guide you a bit on how to fix the problem.
AHI is the Apnea Hypopnea Index, per below:
Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI)
A measure of one's severity of sleep apnea, as determined by the number of apneas plus hypopneas, on average, in an hour of sleep; <5 events /hour = ("normal"); 5-15 events/hour = (mild sleep apnea); 15-30 events/hour = (moderate sleep apnea); >30 events/hour = (severe sleep apnea).
Your AHI should have been reported on your sleep study. You can find out what your current AHI with the CPAP in use is by checking your machine's data. But only certain types of machines permit that. What type do you have?
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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Have you tried wearing your mask while watching tv or doing some awake activity? This will help you get used to the machine. As Mike said without knowing what is actually waking you up it is tough to troubleshoot the problem.
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Permalink Reply by Francisco G. Leyva on
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First off welcome, what you are going through is all very normal for a newbie. The fact that you are even attempting to use the machine and mask is a great and huge first step. I am a Respiratory Therapist and work solely with patients that have sleep apnea, and all that you are experiencing is very common. Baby steps are just fine when first starting your treatment. Persistence is KEY at this point of your treatment. Don;t give up try desensitizing yourself to the mask by wearing it during the day when you are sitting around reading or watching TV, try this for 15 - 20 minutes at first and as you get used to having it on your face 30 minutes and so on. Your skin has memory cells that over time will become used to the mask being on your face and will allow for less arousals during the night. Try the mask on with the machine on before you get to bed, lay back move around and make adjustments then before you settle in for the night. If you can't get the mask to seal or you just can't get comfortable with it on after about 20 minutes then turn off the machine take the mask off settle in get some rest and try again the next night. For some this last for a week or so for some longer, the important thing is to not give up . You Can DO THIS and you Will be successful with your treatment. It takes time to recondition your mind and body, hang in there, it does get better. Also AHI is Apnea Hypopnea Index, apnea is when you stop breathing and hypopnea is when your oxygen level drop below normal levels. Depending on what machine you have they will keep track of all these events in the form of an algorithm which can be downloaded to a computer software program and evaluated by your doctor. The sleep study should also have a record of your AHI. Good Luck!
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Thanks for the quick response. Don't worry, I haven't given up yet. I enjoy challenges and intend to win this one as well. There have been nights where I don't get to sleep for 30 minutes or so, and as you suggested, on those nights I turn it off. However, if I wake up during those nights, I have had success putting it back on. I just can't seem to sleep for more than 2 hours without waking up again. Some other people have asked in their responses 'why am I waking up?', and to be honest, I have no idea. I do notice that I am extremely hot and sweaty when I do wake up - maybe that has something to do with it. I will try to be more cognizant the next time it happens and report back. As I said in my earlier post, I am new to all this and still learning the lingo and acronyms. I will pull out my old sleep study materials tonight to see what my AHI was during the test. I don't know if my machine can give me that information (and I don't know exactly what I have - a ResMed something?), but I will check that out as well. Thanks again for responding. It's nice to know I'm not alone and help is a quick email away.
Francisco G. Leyva said:First off welcome, what you are going through is all very normal for a newbie. The fact that you are even attempting to use the machine and mask is a great and huge first step. I am a Respiratory Therapist and work solely with patients that have sleep apnea, and all that you are experiencing is very common. Baby steps are just fine when first starting your treatment. Persistence is KEY at this point of your treatment. Don;t give up try desensitizing yourself to the mask by wearing it during the day when you are sitting around reading or watching TV, try this for 15 - 20 minutes at first and as you get used to having it on your face 30 minutes and so on. Your skin has memory cells that over time will become used to the mask being on your face and will allow for less arousals during the night. Try the mask on with the machine on before you get to bed, lay back move around and make adjustments then before you settle in for the night. If you can't get the mask to seal or you just can't get comfortable with it on after about 20 minutes then turn off the machine take the mask off settle in get some rest and try again the next night. For some this last for a week or so for some longer, the important thing is to not give up . You Can DO THIS and you Will be successful with your treatment. It takes time to recondition your mind and body, hang in there, it does get better. Also AHI is Apnea Hypopnea Index, apnea is when you stop breathing and hypopnea is when your oxygen level drop below normal levels. Depending on what machine you have they will keep track of all these events in the form of an algorithm which can be downloaded to a computer software program and evaluated by your doctor. The sleep study should also have a record of your AHI. Good Luck!
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the hot and sweaty awakening suggests that you're still experiencing apneas/hypopneas -- plain English: you're still slowly suffocating to death. overstated a little, but not far from the truth at all. now if that's true, then your CPAP isn't working for you at the current settings with the current machine. Maybe your pressure isn't high enough. You really need to dig in and find that data. Then report back what you find. From there we can help you better.
GLR said:Thanks for the quick response. Don't worry, I haven't given up yet. I enjoy challenges and intend to win this one as well. There have been nights where I don't get to sleep for 30 minutes or so, and as you suggested, on those nights I turn it off. However, if I wake up during those nights, I have had success putting it back on. I just can't seem to sleep for more than 2 hours without waking up again. Some other people have asked in their responses 'why am I waking up?', and to be honest, I have no idea. I do notice that I am extremely hot and sweaty when I do wake up - maybe that has something to do with it. I will try to be more cognizant the next time it happens and report back. As I said in my earlier post, I am new to all this and still learning the lingo and acronyms. I will pull out my old sleep study materials tonight to see what my AHI was during the test. I don't know if my machine can give me that information (and I don't know exactly what I have - a ResMed something?), but I will check that out as well. Thanks again for responding. It's nice to know I'm not alone and help is a quick email away.
Francisco G. Leyva said:First off welcome, what you are going through is all very normal for a newbie. The fact that you are even attempting to use the machine and mask is a great and huge first step. I am a Respiratory Therapist and work solely with patients that have sleep apnea, and all that you are experiencing is very common. Baby steps are just fine when first starting your treatment. Persistence is KEY at this point of your treatment. Don;t give up try desensitizing yourself to the mask by wearing it during the day when you are sitting around reading or watching TV, try this for 15 - 20 minutes at first and as you get used to having it on your face 30 minutes and so on. Your skin has memory cells that over time will become used to the mask being on your face and will allow for less arousals during the night. Try the mask on with the machine on before you get to bed, lay back move around and make adjustments then before you settle in for the night. If you can't get the mask to seal or you just can't get comfortable with it on after about 20 minutes then turn off the machine take the mask off settle in get some rest and try again the next night. For some this last for a week or so for some longer, the important thing is to not give up . You Can DO THIS and you Will be successful with your treatment. It takes time to recondition your mind and body, hang in there, it does get better. Also AHI is Apnea Hypopnea Index, apnea is when you stop breathing and hypopnea is when your oxygen level drop below normal levels. Depending on what machine you have they will keep track of all these events in the form of an algorithm which can be downloaded to a computer software program and evaluated by your doctor. The sleep study should also have a record of your AHI. Good Luck!
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Permalink Reply by 99 on
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ar hyd y nos
that is welsh for
all through the night
a famous song here in wales
not sure if the spelling is correct
an apnea event is a sessation of breathing for 10 or more seconds
after an event you usually wake up to use the bathroom for a pee
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I agree with Mike. you are probably still having events. When your airway is closed off your diaphragm and lungs continue to try and suck in air. This effort can be equal to a light workout. try keeping a notebook by your bed. In the morning when you wake up write down the causes of your arousals.
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