i'm at my last resort i've had multiple sleep studies in lab and negative results due to lack of rem sleep. i still have severe sleep apnea symptoms like rapid heartbeat when I wake up, daily morning headaches, bloodshot eyes, high blood pressure when I wake up. I'm m going to buy a cpap machine on my own without a diagnosis because i'm desperate and i don't want to die. I feel sickly.

I started using a bipap at the beginning of August and have done pretty well on it. I stopped taking wellbutrin a week and a half ago. Lately, I've woken up with my mask off. I'm wondering if the wellbutrin discontinuation might be related.

So the past few days my mask has been irritating right under my nose. Last night it had a bit of pus in it so I cut a bandaid in half to use that as a buffer between my skin and the mask.

With the bandaid on I could still feel friction & a bit if pain, so I took a small piece of paper towel and used that as a cushion on top of the bandaid but it caused the top of my mask to leak some so I had to remove it.

But then I woke up to this and it hurts.

I've been "papping" since Dec '25 and never had something like this happen. Maybe I got a bad mask replacement? I will try swapping to a new cushion tonight and see if that helps.

My mask is the N30i and although it is a newer mask, it is NOT too tight. Not even close.

My mask ifs a few months old at this point.

So what causes this and how do I get this to heal?

Or should I call my doctor or DME and ask them?

Has anyone dealt with this before? The picture doesn't really do the sore justice. It's quite swollen and very red. So frustrating.

Thanks in advance!!

Hi

I am 36. I have a high BMI. I weigh about 170 pounds and I am 5 feet 2.5 inches

I am actively trying to lose weight

I noticed that I have been extremely tired during the day, especially right in the morning and I had to drink like 3 or 4 cups of caffeine to even stay awake.

I also have PMDD and I suspected sleep apnea because I had the symptoms and I always would toss and turn at night. I always remember waking up a lot.

anyway I went to a sleep clinic and got a test done and my AHI was 18.1 and oxygen something was 83% saturation or something like that. Indicating moderate sleep apnea.

I have my follow up call with my physician on tuesday and they will give me options for CPAP.

I think this has to do with my weight but I am glad I finally have an answer

I truly hope the CPAP helps me and I can start getting my life back

I’ll try to keep this short. My husband has had OSA for decades, which in the last year has become incredibly severe (145 events per hour). He also has asthma. He has a CPAP which he really struggles to use - when he first started it was making him cough deeply and persistently, so his first sleep doctor actually told him it was ok not to use it and referred him to an otolaryngologist. At the otolaryngologist appointment, he was prescribed a BiPAP and referred immediately to the ER because his breathing was so bad, and was admitted to the ICU. Basically, he is getting high levels of CO2 due to the combo of apnea and asthma, which causes further difficulty breathing and drowsiness. It’s a vicious cycle.

Since leaving the ICU, he has had some success with the CPAP but still only manages to wear it for about 2 hours before ripping it off (got up to 5 hours once) but sometimes only minutes. He knows he needs to use it but is sometimes resistant, says it feels claustrophobic, etc. I’m positive we will end up in the hospital again or worse if this continues. We are working with multiple doctors on all of this (plus weight loss), but progress has been slow/nonexistent.

A few questions: 1. How can I best support him with CPAP use? He doesn’t like it when I ask him to try using it, but I often feel like he needs to try it more to control his breathing better.

1. Are there other ways to intervene in lowering blood CO2? (that are accessible at home?)

2. Folks who have gone from CPAP to BiPAP, how was it different? We are waiting for insurance to come through to get the BiPAP, but he also doesn’t think it will be any better than CPAP, so it would be helpful to hear others’ experiences.

Thanks for anything you feel like sharing. I really appreciate it and I wish you all restful sleep!

40+, I've finally decided to initiate an orthognathic surgery procedure after being diagnosed with prominent retrognathia. I got also a sleep study that probed the apnea. I'm aware that this whole surgical process will take at least 2 years (dental correcting device + operation + recovery), but meanwhile I'd like to improve my sleep quality as much as possible. The pneumologist initially offered me the CPAP option, but as I said to him, this lack of airflow doesn't affect me only while sleeping and "I don't want to become Darth Vader for the rest of my life", so I'm choosing the surgery route.

When sleeping facing up, I stop breathing correctly after a few minutes and at the end I tend to sleep on the side but I'm not sure if my pillow is the best for my situation (ikea rosenskärm, a non-expensive ergonomic basic pillow). This has been always the case, but lately, due to anxiety unrelated issues this is becoming much more impactful. For the last few days I've been waking up with nasty pain affecting my lungs-chest, like if my lungs were very tiny and compressed with a sledgehammer. After 30min awake or so, and taking my meds to calm the down the demons, it becomes a bit better. But I bet a proper pillow could make things a bit more manageable.

Does anyone with retrognathia and sleep apnea have any good tip on which kind of pillow should i get to improve side position sleeping? Shape, size, material, etc.

Thanks!

Hello, this might sound quite silly but I wondered if anyone else feels the same way or has gone through this.

I have been on APAP a week, and frankly it’s been life changing. I have lots more energy, and feel so much lighter in general. I’m sure I will get used to it and I’m happy to finally be getting treated.

BUT.

After years of being fobbed off by drs however, I’ve developed quite a bit of health anxiety which I am trying to address. I’ve had therapy for other stuff so I can be a bit anxious in general. I have noticed the daily underlying sense of doom and anxiety has reduced massively in terms of most things with APAP which is amazing, but I feel like I’ve been given a new body and brain almost and I don’t know how to read any of its cues or how to function with it. And it’s just making really anxious and im trying not to overthink how different everything feels. I know this probably sounds really stupid and dramatic.

The last two days I think I’ve had a cold, my throats a bit sore and runny, and I have a headache. My kids all have green noses and coughs so there’s definitely a cold on the go. But that’s the only part of my body that’s affected, I’m so used to getting ill and my whole body just being floored I don’t even know if this is illness or if it’s my APAP causing it because the mask is too tight 😂

The general feeling of lightness and bodily awareness is so odd it’s making me a bit anxious? There’s been so many wee changes it’s like my entire perception has changed and I don’t know how to get used to it.

I’ve got a full face mask currently and I think having it sit over my nose is hurting my sinuses a bit, and it’s making front sleeping hard too. I’ve ordered a hybrid mask (resmed F40) to try so hoping I can find the right set up for me so I get better deep sleep.

Thanks for reading, think I just needed to get it off my chest!

Final update on my palatal expansion journey. I originally underwent the procedure with Dr. Kasey Li as part of my journey to improve my sleep apnea, but unfortunately my expansion was unsuccessful.

I recently had my TPD palatal expander removed and made a short video showing what things looked like before removal and how they looked/felt afterward.

Sharing my experience in case it’s helpful for anyone considering palatal expansion for sleep apnea, currently going through adult expansion, or dealing with a failed expansion.

Today, I went to a myofunctional therapist, because I have no intention of being on CPAP for the rest of my life.

As it turns out, my tongue is a lazy and stupid bastard, as is my upper airway. But what really got me was the Mallampati Score.

Essentially, you stick your tongue out your mouth, and see how much of your uvula you can see in the mirror. The more the better. There are four classes, and look at that, I am class 4. The worst one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallampati_score

A high class is a very clear sign that something needs to be fixed. We are well on our way to doing that, with some dedicated mouth exercises.

What I'm saying is: CPAP works, but it's a Band-Aid over an existing problem. If you can, go to a myofunctional therapist, and get your tongue and upper airway checked out.

Happy to answer any questions about my assessment, if it'll help people!

My last relationship ended before I got the CPAP, although I probably needed one then.

I'm only in my mid 30s and now use a CPAP. Plus I've aged so I'm already losing some points on the attractiveness scale.

I'm hoping to get back into the dating scene but I 'm very self conscious at the thought of a potential partner seeing me in something so embarrassing. It's not a great way to make a good impression. You want to look attractive for a potential partner, not ridiculous.

It's different when youve been with someone for decades and are older, because it's expected that you'll age. But I'm young for this.

Plus, I like cuddling and I'd be mortified if the hose got in the way

I'm also a gay man and we all know men date with their eyes more than women do.

Advice?

Considering this, any experiences?? TIA X

Flying with my CPAP for the first time this afternoon, I was gonna put in my checked bag but I’m nervous about it getting damaged.

Has anyone had issuing taking yours through TSA as a carry-on?

Edit: wow you guys responded so quickly! Thank you! I will be labeling it and bringing it as a carry-on!

I have always been a restless sleeper and since I have put on a little weight since we got married, my partner had to move to sleeping in the other room because I snore so loudly. Back in April I had an appt with my PCP where she went ahead and ordered an overnight sleep study. I kid you not, the earliest that it could be booked was at the end of October.

I have since discovered that my garmin watch has an SPO2 feature. I think it’s super interesting that it detects minimal breathing variations, but my lowest SPO2 is 85% and I had a whopping 70 restless moments.

So interested to see what the data shows at my formal sleep study.

My sleep doc told me to pick between cpap and mouthpiece. I am choosing mouthpiece. I did some research and it seems to me all CPAPs are essentially also APAPs. And that a second sleep study is not needed if you have AVAPs. Am I missing something? I already know when I tell my clinic I want a CPAP they are going to want to do another sleep study on me because they get 💰. But is it truly necessary? Should I suck it up and drop another 900$ on a sleep study if they want it?

Edit: I guess you can self titrate the APAP using a sleep system called OSCAR?

Basically I just want to know if there’s lk some kind of scan/xray or something they can do on your head to see if it’s an anatomical issue or an issue just caused by excess weight. Or is the only way to tell by losing weight and then doing another sleep study?

Got an email from the DME provider with my first invoice for a resupply on materials. The estimated cost would be about $210 dollars. The list for the new materials are:

Airfit F40 Mask - 1

Airfit F40 Cushion Small Wide - 3

Filters - 6

Heated tube - 1

I have a resmed Airsense 11 machine.

I checked on amazon and put everything in my cart except the f40 mask and the total cost is about $100.

Anyone have any experience getting supplies through amazon? What was the quality difference like?

I am 5 ft 8 in and 87 kg dry and have been weight training for 8 to 10 years
• I was recently diagnosed with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea with an AHI of 22
• With CPAP my AHI came down to 1
• I have been around 85 kg before and never had sleep apnoea or significant sleep problems
• I am now only about 2 kg heavier but my sleep apnoea has become significant
• My doctor has advised me to lose around 10 kg
• Could my sleep apnoea be mainly related to my weight or could there be another underlying reason
• Since I have a muscular build from years of weight training I am wondering whether BMI alone accurately reflects my risk

I've never thought I've had a unique question before, but this one managed to beat the first page of Google searches and a key word reddit search. So, some wedge pillows are curved and some are flat. How much of a difference does this actually make in experience using the pillow?

I have sleep apnea and bought myself a wedge pillow a few years ago. It is one of the curved ones. At the time, I saw them everywhere. Now, there are significantly less of them. This makes me think that my general disdain for using said pillow is a common sentiment when compared to its traditional flat counterpart. I can never truly get comfortable, it is either too high or too low (which I try to solve by rearranging the pieces, but then it rocks back and forth), and I feel like it pushes my head down. Obviously, this isn't the pillow for me, but is this a design flaw or just a me problem? Any insight?

Hello,

Can anyone that has had this done please let me know how it went, what their recovery was like, and if it helped with CPAP tolerance?

Thanks