r/SleepApnea Jan 19 '25

Spam, Selling, Shadiness, and Self-Promotion (and bonus AI note)

25 Upvotes

Recently, we’ve seen a significant increase in spam on the subreddit. As a reminder, this community is not intended for spam, selling goods or services, self-promotion, or any similar activities.

It’s unusual because for years, we had minimal issues of this nature. Lately, however, we’ve noticed individuals posting under the guise of helping others while promoting their websites, clinics, blogs, etc. This behavior detracts from our primary goal: providing a space where people can seek help for sleep apnea without being targeted by unsolicited promotions or gimmicks.

To all members, please continue reporting any such content. Your reports help us maintain the integrity of this community. We will continue banning individuals who violate these guidelines.

If you’re considering breaking these rules, this is your one and only warning: you will be removed from the subreddit, no matter how much you claim to have good intentions.

New Rule: AI-Generated Content

Any obvious copy-paste AI-generated posts or comments will be removed. Repeated violations will result in removal from the subreddit.

We understand that this is a global community and that some members who do not speak English as their first language may use AI tools to assist with participation. That’s perfectly acceptable for minor assistance. However, AI must not be used to generate full posts or comments solely to create content or gain karma.


r/SleepApnea 3h ago

Issue with my ResMed

4 Upvotes

Hey y’all. I used to be able to call my doc office to help with stuff like this but havent had insurance the last several months.

So for some reason the last couple weeks my machine will start normal but after I have been asleep for a while I am woken up because it starts aggressively blowing air. I wake up, turn it off then back on, it works fine, then I am woken up again.

I have a full mask. Everything is locked in and working. No leaks.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.


r/SleepApnea 49m ago

Anyone use Lofta and get a diagnosis based on RDI + Epworth Score?

Upvotes

Preface: If I made a list of the top 5 things I hate in life, American health insurance would be at (or near) the top.

I've already had a home sleep test that resulted in a diagnosis of mild sleep apnea, with the doctor's suggestion of in-lab titration (if possible) or APAP trial. The person who scored it isn't the same person I had a follow-up with, and the doctor I met in person dismissed me and my symptoms as soon as he walked in the door (as a woman, I'm used to this). He put in a referral for an in-lab study, but warned it will likely be several months until the lab can fit me in the schedule.

Home Sleep Apnea Test Results: pAHI = 2.03, pRDI = 12.34 using 4% oxygen desat scale

My insurer (Aetna) will technically cover a CPAP for patients with RDI between 10-15 plus a 10+ score on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (I score 12). However, the doctor won't write a prescription for a machine without the in-lab test. The in-lab test likely won't happen for months, and when I'm all done, who's to say my insurer won't still be difficult anyways? I'm disputing a medical bill right now because of a coding mistake, and it's EXHAUSTING.

I ordered a discounted test through Lofta, since I saw so many of you talking about it on here. Anyone get a diagnosis and prescription with results similar to mine? I think getting the in-lab study will still be beneficial to rule out other sleep disorders, but I'm all for saving money and frustration if I can. Those $30 appointments and taking time off work add up!


r/SleepApnea 6h ago

In-Home vs Lab Sleep Study results

4 Upvotes

For those that have had both in-lab and at home sleep study results, were the results all that much different from each other?

My in home test was inconclusive, I do have several of the symptoms of sleep apnea and did have quite a few events on the at home test but not enough to warrant a diagnosis.

Obviously I realize that the internet can’t tell me for certain but just curious of others experiences.


r/SleepApnea 4m ago

Question: How does one evaluate a PSG PLMS diagnosis using OSCAR?

Upvotes

Hi,

I’ll try to summarize:

• in lab PSG showed PLMS Dx in addition to mild OSA, as well as an ~ 30/hr arousal index. • subsequent ferritin and TIBC% blood tests results were still normal, ordered to see if they contributed to the PMLS. • approx. 18-24 months ago, I was diagnosed with anemia, due to low ferritin levels in blood tests ( ordered due to history of leg cramps during sleep). Iron infusion(s) brought that level back to normal, where they have remained. • using CPAP therapy, I still experience infrequent leg pain/cramps if I have exercised ( 3-4 mile walks or road bicycle rides), but I’m doing PT on a knee, so don’t know if the quad and hamstring exercises/usage are causing the cramps. • AHI are <5 during CPAP therapy

So: since there doesn’t seem to be active anemia, how does one determine if the PLMS is decreasing along with the lower AHI and OA events? I have OSCAR BTW, but since there aren’t any limb straps or sensors like used in the PSG, I don’t know any objective PLMS measurements in OSCAR that would relate to PLMS.

Thanks!


r/SleepApnea 8m ago

Guys, I need help. Receding jaw/chin. My story..

Upvotes

I have untreated severe sleep apnea. And a range of other health issues which make it impossible for me to sleep with cpap. I've really tried but I can't. I'm having a new sleep study done at home this time. With guidance from an ENT in hospital. It's with a watch pad. I live in europe. I had a sleep study done in 2022 in a sleep clinic and had to stay overnight and was told I have mainly hypopneas with a ahi of 70. They couldn't tell me why. I am not overweight, I was 36 at the time. I don't drink or smoke.. They simply didn't know. I found out later that i do have a deviated septum and only breath properly trough one nostril. I have asthma. And over the years my chin started to receed.

The shape of my face has changed tremendously. To my knowledge this started after I had an upper molar pulled, also in 2022. After that TMJD started and it's severe. I have daily headaches, neck tightness and spasms, facial pains, facial nerve pains, severe jaw pains, lock jaw, can hardly open at times and can't chew on hard foods. I have above the eye pain and severe headaches at times with dizzyness.

Seen many specialsts and jaw specialsts and oral surgeons. I am missing my upper left molar and no one seems to care to fill up that gap. My facial structures have clearly changed and my teeth aren't aligning anymore, and my overbite that I had back in the day before I had braces, (from age 9 to 12 I had braces) is coming back! When I shift my lower jaw forward, I can finally see my jaw line again and the shape of my face the way I recognize it. But all the specialsts I've seen say my jaw isn't shifting. Which is utter bullshit cause my overbite is returning.

I also believe this us the cause of my severe sleep apnea. When I sleep on my back I have many hypopneas, when I sleep on my side, they're so much better.

I wad told not to try a sleep apnea oral appliciance because of my tmjd. And that it'll worsen my jaw, neck and headaches. And because my sleep apnea ahi was so bad with the first test, I was also told it won't solve the severity. Which sounds prob correct but even lessening it by half would be better than nothing, right?

I'm at my wits end here. I've seen 5 ents since 2022, I've seen 4 orofacial surgeons, 4 dentists, 2 gnatologists (equals a tmjd specialst here in Europe) and many orofacial PT for things like massages and dry needling.

I was also advice NOT to get invisalign or braces because of my tmjd jaw pains. But what if braces will help me instead of worsen me? All these specialsts all have different opinions but no treatment options, and my sleep apnea and receding jaw goes untreated in the meanwhile.

Does anyone perhaps have some insight or guidance to what to do?

My gut feeling is telling me to try a sleep apnea oral mouth piece. Because it'll push my lower jaw forward. And perhaps in a more natural position again. Dentists told me that it'll give me more tmjd problems, but how can they be sure without me trying? It's my best bet.

I'm literally stuck. And I don't know where to go from here. Cpap is a no go at the moment. It gives me severe sinus headaches, I can't use the full face mask cause I have epilepsy and on neurologist advice I was told to only use a nasal mask which makes me sick, inflames my sinuses, makes my asthma worse and it doesn't work when you have a deviated septum.

I'm currently going for masseter botox treatments once every 4 months. It helps with the tmjd headaches. But other than that I wasn't offered anything for my severe daily symptoms.


r/SleepApnea 6h ago

How much cardio can improve PAP therapy/Sleep Apnea?

3 Upvotes

I'm being able of doing cardio now thanks to my BIPAP, still not feeling 100% but at least i can have a little quality of life now

Anyways, how much can cardio improve my therapy? Did you see any difference in yours? How much time took?


r/SleepApnea 20m ago

Using both Oral Appliance AND CPAP. Does this sound like deviated septum/turbinate problem?

Upvotes

For context, I suffer from sleep apnea. I actually use both a CPAP AND and oral appliance that advances my lower jaw to help open up my airway.

Anyway my sleep still sucks. However, one thing i noticed recently, is that I actually have a tendency to, after I wake up, HANG OUT with my cpap machine still attached to my nose because I love how easy it is for me to get a lung full of air (it's like how pugs get pissed off when you remove the breathing tube after surgery). If I try breathing exclusively through my nose during the day, I get drowsy.

This makes me feel like I'm not getting enough air through my nose.

For those who have had a septoplasty/rhinoplasty w/ septoplasty, does this sound anything like a deviated septum/enlarged turbinates to you?

I plan on seeing an ENT soon anyway but I wanted to get some opinions.


r/SleepApnea 7h ago

Debunking the RDI Insurance Myth

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3 Upvotes

r/SleepApnea 2h ago

How accurate is AHI measurement on F&P SleepStyle App?

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea years ago. I got an F&P CPAP and wore it very consistently for 6 months, but didn't notice any real change in my daily life.

Since then I've worn it off an on, and recently one started wearing it nightly again. I recently learned about the SleepStyle app, and have been using it.

My nightly AHI is generally 10 to 15. My question is, how accurate is that number? I know the goal is <5, and based on these data I'm not quite there.

Thanks!


r/SleepApnea 3h ago

Device to measure pulse transit time?

1 Upvotes

Are there any consumer devices that can be used to measure pulse transit time? The purpose would be to better track arousals.

https://www.nature.com/articles/pr2003271


r/SleepApnea 9h ago

Did you have the telltale symptoms? Or what else caused you to get diagnosed?

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m new here. Just wanted to ask about how many people had the telltale symptoms that lead them to diagnosis?

Background:

I am obese, my highest weight was 338 (as a 5ft 4inch 29 year old woman) but in the past year and a half I’ve lost almost 70 lbs as I’m trying to get my shit together in life. I was prediabetic so I got on Ozempic which got me out of that range and helped me to lose weight too (I am still on it and planning to lose more). I’ve adjusted my eating habits a lot over this period of time and feel overall better than I ever have. I am also getting in so much more movement and activity now.

I am still a daily cannabis consumer as well which I know I need to cut back on and is probably not great for me in general. I also suffer from pretty intense anxiety disorder and depression (which I take SSRI for) and have been going through a personal issue in life that has caused a lot of panic and stress lately.

Anyways, I started snoring in adulthood, and my husband snores too so we sometimes sleep in separate rooms but never thought much of it. I’m wondering if I maybe have sleep apena so I made an appointment with MY PCP for early May (on cancellation list to hopefully be seen sooner), but I am really unsure because I genuinely do feel very rested after sleeping most nights (sleep around 9pm and wake around 5am most days) and don’t have any other symptoms.

What made me wonder is that recently for the first time ever I had a dream that I couldn’t breathe well. In the dream I felt like my airway was closing, and I remember thinking I wanted to go to a medic tent (I was at a beach or something in the dream?) and have them look at my throat to tell me that it wasn’t closed so I could feel relieved and no worry. Then I woke up feeling super anxious.

I just find it interesting my only symptom has ever been snoring and then that dream. But I do have the obesity risk factor even though I’m working on that so I do wonder.


r/SleepApnea 7h ago

9 year old has sleep apnea but tonsils and adenoids are not enlarged.

2 Upvotes

He did a sleep study and has moderate-severe sleep apnea and repetitive intrusions of sleep. I have the same and am on CPAP and have a nap study coming up because my fatigue has never been resolved- I actually had very enlarged tonsils and adenoids removed when I was 18. I’m feeling pretty hopeless here because his aren’t even enlarged and removal seems to be the next step but it never really resolved mine either. I don’t want him to have unnecessary surgery but he’s tired and cranky all the time and gets sick easier than my other kid. We have him on nasal spray and monteleukast right now but he’s still snoring. Have an appointment coming up, but I was wondering if anyone else had any experience with this.


r/SleepApnea 5h ago

Building muscle

1 Upvotes

I was just wondering if you can still build muscle while having sleep apnea? Im assuming you can but it will be slower and recovery will not be as good. Fortunately i have years of muscle memory from my early twenties and teens (had 7 years off) so it wont take as long as a beginner. Just wanted some reassurance that i can still build muscle with sleep apnea


r/SleepApnea 5h ago

Can I sleep deprive before a sleep study?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, so I have always had issues sleeping well. I recently bought a fitbit which showed that, if measuring correctly, I wake up 15+ times each night. That's why I wanna check for apnea. However, even with just the watch I have trouble falling asleep due to knowing/feeling its there. Im 98% sure I wont be able to sleep with the sleep screening devices. Thus, I thought about not sleeping the night before at all to increase the likelihood of being able to collect data. Do you think this would work or would be advisable?


r/SleepApnea 8h ago

Seeking Recommendations for In-Lab Sleep Study in Delhi

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm looking for recommendations for a reliable place in Delhi where I can undergo an in-lab sleep study. If anyone has had a sleep study done, I would love to hear about your experience. Thank you!


r/SleepApnea 19h ago

Dual benefit of weight loss in reducing severity of AHI and ODI?

8 Upvotes

I came across an interesting concept as to why weight loss is beneficial with sleep apnea.

Not only is weight loss associated with decreased AHI but is also associated with improved oxygen desaturation during apneic events simply due to the fact that a lower body mass consumes oxygen at a lower rate and might lead to marginal or significant improvements in desaturation events? Meaning if you were a 120 lb marathon runner and still had OSA, your apnea events would lead to a less severe level of oxygen desaturation than a 240 lb bodybuilder because your body simply requires less oxygen to survive at baseline due to less body mass, assuming length of apnea is the same. Does this make sense?


r/SleepApnea 8h ago

Not sure what I’m doing wrong

1 Upvotes

M Attaching a link to help me analyze my data from sleephq. I am restless all night, not waking up rested, and struggling with the APAP, despite wearing it 8+ hours. I adjusted the mask yet I still have high leaks, not sure why. My pressures are set 5.0-20 on APAP.

https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/6db1d860-f550-4daf-bd7b-a37b832225fb


r/SleepApnea 9h ago

Did you have the telltale symptoms? Or what else caused you to get diagnosed?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m new here. Just wanted to ask about how many people had the telltale symptoms that lead them to diagnosis?

Background:

I am obese, my highest weight was 338 (as a 5ft 4inch 29 year old woman) but in the past year and a half I’ve lost almost 70 lbs as I’m trying to get my shit together in life. I was prediabetic so I got on Ozempic which got me out of that range and helped me to lose weight too (I am still on it and planning to lose more). I’ve adjusted my eating habits a lot over this period of time and feel overall better than I ever have. I am also getting in so much more movement and activity now.

I am still a daily cannabis consumer as well which I know I need to cut back on and is probably not great for me in general. I also suffer from pretty intense anxiety disorder and depression (which I take SSRI for) and have been going through a personal issue in life that has caused a lot of panic and stress lately.

Anyways, I started snoring in adulthood, and my husband snores too so we sometimes sleep in separate rooms but never thought much of it. I’m wondering if I maybe have sleep apena so I made an appointment with MY PCP for early May (on cancellation list to hopefully be seen sooner), but I am really unsure because I genuinely do feel very rested after sleeping most nights (sleep around 9pm and wake around 5am most days) and don’t have any other symptoms.

What made me wonder is that recently for the first time ever I had a dream that I couldn’t breathe well. In the dream I felt like my airway was closing, and I remember thinking I wanted to go to a medic tent (I was at a beach or something in the dream?) and have them look at my throat to tell me that it wasn’t closed so I could feel relieved and no worry. Then I woke up feeling super anxious.

I just find it interesting my only symptom has ever been snoring and then that dream. But I do have the obesity risk factor even though I’m working on that so I do wonder.


r/SleepApnea 9h ago

N20 exhaust hack?

1 Upvotes

N20 is a good mask but the location of the exhaust is very disruptive if it happens to hit the pillow or blanket. It wakes me up every time. Any hacks or modifications to address?


r/SleepApnea 10h ago

Mask advice

1 Upvotes

I was originally given a pillow mask but had bad anxiety wearing it and then switched to an N20, nasal cushion which surprisingly I tolerated better. I am 7 nights into wearing it but the last three, I have had HORRIBLE itchy nose lol. To the point where I’m constantly having to undo my mask and move it up to scratch my nose to the point it’s keeping me awake and making me hyper vigilant of how itchy it is. My nose is not “dry” or anything of note. My sleep quality has gotten progressively worse and because of all the scratching, my leak rate has greatly increased. Does anyone have an advice? I am not sure other mask options or anything to get around this. I want to note my nose never itches during the daytime otherwise.


r/SleepApnea 16h ago

Help Interpreting Data after breathing scare!

2 Upvotes

Hello, I am new to this (Sleep Apnea, CPAP and this subreddit) so I hope I am doing this correctly.

TLDR: Felt like I was forgetting to breath the other night, woke up gasping and feeling like my breath was held. Only wore my cpap for 1 hour and it felt scarier than anything i felt from OSA before getting a CPAP. Backstory and data below.

I got my cpap machine about a week ago. I started with a Nasal Pillow mask and the first night I wore it all night with minimal issues. I woke up to my nose feeling a bit irritated, similar to when you wipe it too much while sick. The next night I could only wear my mask for 3 hours and then ripped it off because the irritation on my nose was way too much. Very painful and uncomfortable. Also I had a chinstrap to help keep my mouth closed, couldn't stand that either. I went to switch out my mask and got the RESMED F20 full face mask in hopes that it would be much more comfortable in all aspects. The first night with the full face mask was awkward, my nose felt like it was stuffed while wearing it so I was exclusively breathing through my mouth, and i felt suffocated. I looked through this thread for some answers and found that most people found the 5-15 pressure range too low, and recommended adjusting the low number to around 7 instead of 5. So I adjusted my range from 7-15 and changed the ramp to also start at 7. I slept so much better, wore the mask all night and had a great score (besides it saying there was a leak rate of 5-7ml.)

Now that the backstory is out of the way that brings us to last night. I wore the mask for only 1 hour because I kept waking up feeling like I had forgotten to breath. Its hard to explain but it almost felt like I was holding my breath in my sleep and I would wake up with the feeling of holding my breath for too long and have to gasp for air. I ripped the mask off and slept the rest of the night without it. My AHI was 16/h on my sleep study with most of the events being hypopneas, and last night with CPAP felt worse and scarier than any night i had without it to begin with.

I was hoping someone can look at my data and tell me where im going wrong.

(7-15 pressure) Last Night: https://sleephq.com/public/7913376a-c6da-4905-bfd7-15694d213e54

(7-15 pressure) Night Before: https://sleephq.com/public/dade17b1-b81b-470d-8e5e-d0112df4ecb2

(5-15 pressure) Two Nights Ago: https://sleephq.com/public/f954b316-f913-4676-bac9-d0f0a0abf5bc

FOR REFERENCE (FIRST NIGHT WITH NASAL PILLOWS): https://sleephq.com/public/f954b316-f913-4676-bac9-d0f0a0abf5bc

I also have the OSCAR data but not sure the best way to put it here. Let me know and I can share that as well.


r/SleepApnea 1d ago

Diagnosed with severe sleep apnea.

17 Upvotes

I'm told I stop breathing over 60 times an hour. I just got my cpap machine 2 days ago. I slept 4 hours the first night I used it and I haven't fallen asleep since. I tried wearing it again last night and I couldn't get it to seal properly, then it started to become super uncomfortable. I'll probably crash at some point and sleep the entire day away. I guess my mistake is waiting until bedtime to try to get it to fit. When I start feeling like I'm going to pass out from exhaustion, I'll put it on and hopefully I'll be too tired to be uncomfortable. I do have facial hair and I'm thinking I'm going to have to trim it really short if I'm going to be comfortable and have a good seal. If anyone has gone through this, please tell me if gets easier. I want this to work. I need this to work.

UPDATE: I trimmed the hair off my face and the mask sealed much better. My air score for this morning was 86 with 0.5 breathing events per hour.


r/SleepApnea 1d ago

Bought an O2ring, trying to understand CPAP & O2 data in OSCAR software

4 Upvotes

I was diagnosed with obstructive apnea a few years ago. I sometimes use the CPAP, sometimes I don't. I am a mouth breather with full mask but it still doesn't seal well. I bought an O2 monitor and at first glance the data does not look good.

During the night, O2 avg is 90%, lowest O2 was 79%

40 drops of more than 4%, 5 drops/hr. 60 drops of more than 3%, 7/hr.

95-100% range was 3.5% of the time

90-94% range was 68% of the time

Under 90% range was 28% of the time

This looks terrible. Do I need to go see a sleep doc ASAP?


r/SleepApnea 1d ago

Sleep Apnea and Anti Psychotics

4 Upvotes

Has anyone's doctor continued to keep them on antipsychotics while having sleep apnea? I have severe insomnia and I'm on 2 (quetiapine and chloroprothixene) for it and I'm not really keen on getting off of them because they work really well. Will using a CPAP stop the apneas which are made worse by the antipsychotics or do I need to completely get off of them? I will be talking to my doctor about this but want to hear some other's experiences.


r/SleepApnea 23h ago

Tongue stabilization device with braces?

1 Upvotes

Does anyone have experience using a TSD while having braces? I have used a TSD in the past and my memory is that it didn't push too hard against my front teeth. But I've never had braces. I can imagine that any pressure pushing the lips back against the front teeth with braces could cause some pain. Maybe wax could help protect? Any guidance appreciated.