r/SleepApnea

I'm writing as a CPAP user of 15 years to point out something that many of you may have not realized, and maybe get the ball rolling to see if manufacturers start addressing this: your dry eyes may be the product of bad mask design.

For many years I suffered from dry eye on and off, some years it got really bad, then I realized what was happening: the exhaust ports of the mask I was using were at eye level, and no matter how forward facing the stream of air was it ended up bouncing against the bed or pillow and desiccating my eyes for hours straight.

To test my hypothesis I plugged the exhaust ports with some epoxy resin and opened new ports on the bottom of the mask, the problem was solved, no more dry eye, no need for expensive eye drops anymore.

But now I have a new problem: my current provider only carries masks that have a ring shaped exhaust around the part where the tubing is attached to the mask, and so the dry eye is back, there's no way to fix this type of mask.

It seems like manufacturers and providers are not aware of this issue, perhaps if we start pointing it out they will improve their designs or provide some alternatives. In the mean time if you are a CPAP user with dry eyes and your mask has exhausts at eye level changing it might make a huge difference.

Hello,

I’ve been experiencing sleep paralysis for years probably over 1,000 episodes in 7 years. Whenever I disrupt my sleep schedule or take a nap, it’s almost guaranteed: I’ll have an episode the following night.

Sometimes, I can have several in a single night: I’ll have one, wake up, think “fuck, I just had sleep paralysis,” fall back asleep instantly, and then it happens again, and again.

I don’t really mind the hallucinations, and overall, over time, sleep paralysis isn’t as scary as people say, which is why I haven’t really taken this issue seriously all these years. However the feeling of suffocation remains very present.

I thought it was common and experienced by many people. But after talking to friends and family, I realized that this frequency is not normal at all, and it might be hiding a more serious issue.

I’m wondering if these episodes could be linked to sleep apnea. Because It really feel like I’m suffocating during the paralysis episodes. I’ve read somewhere that there might be a connection Has anyone else experienced this ?

Thks

seguinte, tenho apneia do sono "leve", cerca de 7,4 eventos por hora, mas meus sintomas são bem ruins.

todos os dias já acordo com mau humor e depressão, e não passam durante o dia inteiro, só que ao acordar é bem marcante.

não consigo fazer nada, que me exige esforço físico ou mental, que ja caio no sono ou a névoa mental me impede de compreender o que deve ser feito direito.

I just got my Resmed Airsense 11 w/ Resmed nasal cushion two nights ago and I think I have decent information to be able to optimize a little. First night I ripped the mask off 6 times because of odd feeling with only under 2 hours of mask use. Last night, I ripped it off 7 times but I kept it on for almost 5 hours this time. I was definitely still awake for a lot of these 5 hours though. Here are my results from last night specifically:

https://preview.redd.it/i2v50biwnkug1.png?width=1016&format=png&auto=webp&s=50d565f0de8d682e26746c333e4a2c00b4b1faef

https://preview.redd.it/ywk1n10dokug1.png?width=703&format=png&auto=webp&s=819022c9435143720194d032c8a666d2198f5a0a

https://preview.redd.it/z1c6wcihokug1.png?width=1006&format=png&auto=webp&s=d57ce80a87e8449b04c04a3eee13fe09a125e5fe

It obviously seems like it's helping, as my Lofta results showed 2 AHI and 16.4 RDI. But, there were a few things that happened last night that led to me taking it off for the rest of the night that I wanna talk about and see what you all think.

The first thing I noticed was later on in the session, my mouth started to burst open for life half a second to let out air then close. It did this a few times before my sleepy brain decided to try and do something about it. Pinned my chin to my pillow at a certain angle. Eventually this woke me up more, then I noticed the nasal congestion next:

The second thing I noticed was by the time I took it off for the final time in the night, my nose was pretty congested and it was harder to breathe through. I watched a Masterclass video about humidity and temps with each humidity level, so I bumped that up to the highest that was optimal (Humidity @ 5, Temp @ 86). I thought this would keep my nose from being congested but I was wrong.

It seems like I either need mouth tape, a chin strap, or a full face mask. May go with a chin strap, but was gonna ask to see if my results or settings show anything that could help with this problem. I rarely if ever actually snore, I always breathe through my nose, so it's just that the pressure gets too high and my mouth lets some of that out maybe (?)

Initial searches for the congestion issue are pointing me toward using nasal sprays (which I have and can try tonight). But I want to prepare for other possibilities and I think a nasal pillow could help that (??) Any recommendations or do my settings/results point toward anything to help with congestion?

I started CPAP treatment last year after testing, my equipment provided by the NHS, who I go to for problems but since I can't get in contact with the Lung Function department at my hospital on weekends so I thought I'd probe here while I wait.

On Friday I woke up feeling bad, like I hadn't been using the machine at all, despite the fact I had. Today it's the same and I noticed my air pressure won't go above 8 despite it theoretically being able to reach 14. I'm assuming a technical problem of some kind because I actually can't change min and max pressure changes myself, I have to go to the hospital for it. It starts at 6 and then after 15 minutes soft start it can go up to 14. Or it should, at least.

Two weeks ago I had a similar issue where my treatment failed for a few days, but I resolved it then when I found I had accidentally twisted one of the straps of my mask when putting it together after washing it. This time there's no obvious cause at all. I had a fear of puncture marks left by a new and bitey kitten but I couldn't hear or feel any leaks in my tubing in tests and washed it to be sure and no water leaked then either. Mask is pretty tight to my face, same as it has been for months now.

Cpap machine is the Lowenstein Prisma.

Mask is F&P Simplus (full face mask) - I do have a couple other hybrid masks I could try to see if they work better, though they're a lot less comfy for me than the simplus.

I had lesser problems last year when my maximum pressure was too low but until recently I've never had the treatment just fail completely like this and I'm at a loss as to why.

Anyone have any ideas?

Stupid question I know, but this is a fear of mine

I’m 19 and I’ve been using a bipap for about a year now, and one of my biggest worries going in is that women would be turned away from it.

I’d think it would be a hassle for another person in the bed and I wouldn’t ever be able to cuddle a woman while we slept (do couples even do that?) because of the damn mask.

Has it ever turned someone away?

I see so many posts about sleep apnea, but barely any about UARS (Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome).

Did CPAP or BIPAP ever improve your symptoms?

I struggled with CPAP for months, leaks out of control, pressure support ON vs OFF, lower pressure Vs higher pressure, fixed pressure and auto algorithm, unstable oxygen desaturations etc, heaps of masks and never waking up feeling good.

Then I heard of certain Resmed devices being jail breaked, brand new and being a lot cheaper which sparked my curiosity mainly due to the high cost of where I live.

After a couple of weeks getting a little understanding of what this could provide I took the plunge and purchased one.

The difference in terms of comfort was night & day. Slightly Higher pressure than I normally was using but the reactive pressure support & no aerophagia (stomach bloating) and after a couple of hours sleep I could barely notice the machine was even on.

This led me to a wider topic. I don’t want to sound like I’m ranting…

Why are sleep physicians prescribing inferior devices to patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea with less tools and not even mentioning bipap as an option from the get go?

For further context, In one night I went from AHI of 15-35 to 0.7 and my O2 was far more stable. I haven’t even started tweaking the settings yet but it’s food for thought for anyone looking to make a substantial financial investment and towards their overall health.

My advice is; If you are struggling a lot, have access to your data using Oscar or Sleephq and still sitting on the fence about whether having access to another therapy setting… Just do it!

Disclaimer: Not recommending anyone jailbreaks their own device but there are helpful folk around in this forum that can help.

Sleep well all 😊

I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (AHI 31) and have been using an APAP machine for about 2 months. My events are now down to around 1–3 per night according to the machine. The problem is that I still feel exhausted—sometimes even worse than before treatment. The mask and airflow don’t bother me at all, so I don’t think comfort is the issue.

I’ve also been dealing with some insomnia, especially during stressful periods in my life, and I suspect my sleep apnea may have contributed to that. Now, even though I sleep 7–8 hours most nights, it often feels like I’ve only slept 3–4. In the past 2 months, I’ve only had a handful of nights where I actually felt well-rested.

Is this normal? How long does it usually take to start feeling better once your apnea is under control?

Looks like Fisher & Paykel has discontinued the oral-only mask that I wear, the Oracle 452.

This is scary. ( severe sleep apnea, 82AHI tested )

I have to wear a mask that only sends air through my mouth, not my nose.

I had an infected tear duct. The surgery I had to repair that tear duct makes it impossible to wear a nasal mask. Nasal masks send air into my eye, inflates my eyelid, and wakes me up.

Anyone know of a good alternative?

I have mild diagnosed sleep apnea

I'm using a resmed with p10 nose pillows, but I also have a F40 hybrid and a full face mask

The CPAP is quite effective in reducing my AHI, however the problem is after 2 to 4 hours each night I ripped the mask off subconsciously

I have an appointment with an ENT in a few months to see if my septum deviation and turbinates needs surgery but in general I feel like I don't get enough air through my nose at night

I end up defaulting to the nose pillows because everything else either leaks too much or is super intrusive

any tips?

So, I have had horrific allergies for years now. I went to the doctor for shots for a while, which helped a bit. Took zyrtec twice a day, a children's dose of benedryl at night (it knocks me right out) a steriod nasal spray daily, and I was *still* miserable.

As this allergy season has been the worst I can remember, When I had to visit the dr with what turned out to be a nasty sinus infection, I described my utter misery to her, and told her my regimen. She asked if I had ever tried Singulair instead. (Different, more serious prescription medicine that works differently)

Guys. Not only can I breathe shockingly better, but my sleep is *amazing* now. I fell asleep at my parents house over the weekend, and my mom remarked on it the next morning. She actually checked on me during the night because she couldn't hear me snoring.

I am not recommending that drug, especially due to some horrible side effects. but if you do have allergies, please get them treated! It obviously makes sense, that less crap in your nose and throat would contribute to better sleep.

It's a little thing but I hope it helps someone.

Hey guys,

Writing this to basically vent my feelings to the community.

I have OSA with AHI of 11.2- 74% Oxygen desaturation.

I have gone with the MAD device over the CPAP. While snoring seems to have gone i am still feeling drained, irritated and have brain fog.

Don’t know if this is down to the device (i swear i feel worse than before).

I have booked a doctor’s appointment for next week. Hopefully get another sleep study done to see if oxygen is a low level.

I need to sort it out as im not coping too good. Snappy at home, cant focus/concentrate at work. I am feeling dumb, lightheaded, tired and irritated.

pelos meus cálculos e consciência atual de como era, eu tenho apneia do sono não tratada desde os 3 aninhos de idade. Como eu sei disso?( simplesmente as minhas amigdalas eram tao grandes que tampavam toda passagem de ar da garganta, entao obviamente eu teria apneia do sono. fora as adenoides enormes)

Sempre fui uma criança esquisita, muito irritada, ansiosa, depressiva e tambem tinha muitas dificuldades sociais.

eu fiquei obesa com 6 anos de idade devido a apneia nao tratada e sou ate hoje.

só fui tratar a apneia com 21 anos de idade, quando os sintomas já estavam sólidos e faziam parte da minha personalidade.

um a enorme depressão logo ao acordar, misturado com mau humor e desesperança me tomavam todos os dias e eu nao sabia porque.

pensava ter a ver com saude mental, mas era tudo apneia do sono.

passei toda infância e adolescência trancada em um quarto depressiva e sem energia sem saber porque eu era assim.

Na adolescência não conseguia mais estudar de exaustão e nem fazer nada que exigisse foco e concentração.

tudo isso com uma ia de 7 por hora, nao é porque uma apneia é "leve" que ela nao tem o poder de arruinar sua vida

Hey everyone! I'm u/Actual_Ad1898, a founding moderator of r/sleepprotocol.
For most of my adult life, sleep was just whatever happened after I stopped working.

Some nights that was midnight. Some nights 2 AM. Weekends I'd sleep in to "catch up." I'd wake up tired, drink coffee, push through, and repeat. I wasn't sleeping badly in any dramatic way — no insomnia, no disorder. Just no structure. No intention. Sleep was the thing that happened between days, not something I actually managed.

At some point I started reading the research. Not self-help articles — the actual science behind how sleep works. And I kept running into the same realisation: almost everything I was doing was working against me, and I didn't know it because nobody had ever explained the mechanism. Not the tip — the reason behind it.

Why does it matter what time you wake up, not just how long you sleep? Why does eating late actually affect how rested you feel? Why can you be in bed for 8 hours and still wake up wrecked?

Once I understood the answers, the habits became obvious. Before that, they felt like arbitrary rules.

That's why I'm building Dusk — a sleep app that connects the behaviour to the biology, so the routine actually makes sense and sticks. It's early. The waitlist is open at if you're curious.

But before I build more, I want to hear from real people.

What does your sleep actually look like right now? Not the ideal version — the real one. What have you tried? What helped, even a little? What did nothing? What keeps getting in the way?

No wrong answers here. That's exactly the kind of input that shapes what gets built.

I was just going through my first recording on a sleep app as I have been known to be a loud snorer sometimes, my height is about 180cm weight 68kg but my neck has a circumference of like 21 inches. Anyway wondering if this could be a sleep apnea episode its in this attached link.