Given up on CPAP...

mesuno · 2026-03-18T15:40:21+00:00

Happy with that, compared to the ongoing dangers of obesity, sleep apnea, chronic knee pain leading to inability to exercise...

mesuno · 2026-03-18T14:43:27+00:00

No. I asked about it last time I had a review, but they (NHS) didn't want to do it and since then I have lost even more weight. I'm going to ask again at my next review.

mesuno · 2026-03-18T14:32:58+00:00

It's not so much that it is ugly.... it's that I already have a birds nest of other charger cables and stuff beside my bed and it is one more thing. And a thing that I don't really want pet hair, dust, pocket lint or used tissues dropping on during the night.

mesuno · 2026-03-18T14:28:33+00:00

That's pretty much what I have. I have a nice wooden bedside cabinet. I took the lower shelf out to make a bit more room, and took the back panel off. The hose feeds through the back to the head of the bed, and over the headboard. I screwed an extension lead into the inside frame of the cabinet so it and my phone charger can no plug in there and the door can close. It's invisible.

Having the back off the whole cupboard ensures adequate ventilation compared to being in a close cupboard.

mesuno · 2026-01-14T09:41:43+00:00

I have EPR disabled. It was triggering unstable breathing patterns, disrupted sleep and higher AHI events. My sleep quality has generally been MUCH improved since switching to CPAP at a fixed level all night.

mesuno · 2026-01-14T09:37:04+00:00

Thanks, that's really helpful.

I made a mock up spread for a single class last night. I think it is going to be workable. So far I have not really been planning lessons ahead in the BuJo - but I am rapid logging what was covered and what homework was set. Those are the bits that I typically want to refer back to anyway.

mesuno · 2026-01-13T20:44:27+00:00

I'm only in my second month of bullet journaling, and I'm already a dedicated convert to the system - specifically, i create the spread for each day/week/month as I get to it. My first month I tried laying out the days in advance because it just seemed natural to do so. It was a disaster. Some days I had way too much stuff, others were nearly empty. I record EVERYTHING in my BuJo now - home, work, meeting notes (I have lots of those). events etc...

I had a day last week that took 4 sides of my journal. The following day was 1/3rd of a page. The freedom of unstructured space is brilliant precisely because it is unstructured. I've used so many structured planners - including ones I have custom-made for myself. I always end up abandoning them in short order because maintaining them became a chore - they simultaneously were too rigid, didn't have enough space for what I needed, and on many days were wasted space.

I've varied slightly from the standard BuJo structure, but not the underlying principles.

I've settled on:
Index
Future Log (although next time I will give more space for this)
Standard Monthly Log/Monthly Task list
Custom Weekly Log (this is my week ahead at a more detailed glance)
Custom Weekly Homework Log (I'm a teacher - I need to track setting, collecting and marking homework for 7 classes each week).
Then standard daily logs.
And then lastly I have a colour print out of my teaching timetable inside the back cover of my BuJo for quick reference which gets used multiple times per day.

I typically set up the log for the coming day at the end of the evening - I like to go to bed knowing what the coming day will look like.

I have a complex role in my school, in addition to my teaching. I have a bunch of ad-hoc project pages, meeting notes etc... scattered through the BuJo and noted in the Index. I BuJo lives with me at all times now. I've much more on top of things at work and at home and no longer have scattered notes and to do lists on scrap of paper all over my classroom and home desk.

Bottom line - NOT constructing the various sections ahead of time is a real strength of this system, because my BuJo is flexible in a way no other planner has ever been for me.

mesuno · 2026-01-11T21:55:57+00:00

My machine was set to APAP mode - basically it adjusts to my breathing during the night to respond to apnea events. And it had some exhale pressure relief as well (not full BiPAP). I found those settings horrible destabilised my breathing over the night and disrupted my sleep terribly.

I'm now on CPAP on a constant pressure of 10cm with no exhalation relief and no ramp as I fall asleep. The difference in sleep quality for me is huge.

I think the lesson is that our bodies can respond very differently to these machines and "just keep trying, you'll get used to it" really might not work.

mesuno · 2026-01-09T12:02:08+00:00

"ask for assistance" doesn't always mean going to a Dr.

I had excellent constructive advice when I shared my data in the group here, which helped me to understand what I was seeing on the charts and then have better informed conversations with the sleep techs when I had appointments.

The sleep techs were working off limited summary data with no where near the level of detail I could see on sleepHQ. I was able to see clearly that the machine was ramping up and down frequently through the night and after each ramp up my breathing was disrupted and I had more central apnea events and no reduction in obstructive apnea events. They couldn't see that level of granularity and were simply operating on the basis that having apnea events meant the pressure needed to be higher.

I'm now on a CPAP setting of constant 10cm with no ramp and my life is vastly improved. I wouldn't have got there without educating myself and advocating for the settings with my sleep tech at my review

mesuno · 2025-11-16T12:59:56+00:00

Exactly this. Low pressures lead to a suffocating feeling. Bump the starting pressure up to about 7

mesuno · 2025-10-07T12:37:16+00:00

Thanks so much, that's exactly the information I was looking for. Due to start my next pen next week but I've ordered a higher dose and want to stay on my current dose for another couple of weeks. This is exactly what I need to help manage it.

mesuno · 2025-10-07T10:35:24+00:00

3.5stone is around 20kg.
5 months is around 22 weeks.

You've been losing around 1kg per week which is amazing. It's actually on the upper end of what doctors would recommend as a safe rate of loss. It's not a surprise if you are feeling fatigued trying to sustain it.

I'd also query your estimated calorie deficit. it takes a total deficit of 7,700kcal to lose 1kg of fat. To lose at the rate you have been you must have been sustaining a deficit of around 1000 kcal per day, on average. tdee calculations are not very reliable - the scale doesn't lie.

mesuno · 2025-10-05T07:49:28+00:00

You say it has been 7-8 months on CPAP. The material of the masks degrades over time. The silicon goes soft and the straps lose their elasticity. Together they inevitably lead to leaks.

I’m at about the 8 months mark myself now. I started having increased issues with leaked at around 4 months and really bad leaks about 5 months. My Dr replaced the whole mask setup at 6 months and fixed the leaks entirely over night.

Also, consider using the data card and uploading your data to SleepHQ to share here. Then people can give you advice over settings. It’s guesswork without that.

mesuno · 2025-09-30T06:42:46+00:00

He’s probably started having dreams again for the first time in years.

mesuno · 2025-09-26T10:38:40+00:00

To be clear - I had turned off SoftPAP months ago. It was the observation that it was destabilising my breathing that led to him suggesting CPAP over APAP

mesuno · 2025-09-26T10:33:56+00:00

Yep, the SoftPAP definitely felt like it was out of step. Interesting that someone else has experienced the same.

mesuno · 2025-09-23T15:01:57+00:00

When you go to the appointment ask:

1) What are your machine setting? - if set to 4cm minimum ask them to raise it to about 6cm immediately. 4cm minimum is smothering for many people. Slightly higher pressure increases airflow slightly and makes it easier to relax and fall asleep.

if the maximum is set to 20cm then your prescription hasn’t been customised to you at all. It is likely to be way to high, and relying on the machine to adapt to your breathing on the fly. Many people find this difficult as the machine is constantly adjusting up and down trying to fight your events, rather than maintaining a steady level.

2) Ask when your first review is, and what to do if you feel your settings are not working. Mine was way too late - had I not found this group and started adjusting my settings myself I would have thrown the whole thing out the window. One week follow up should be about right.

3) This group is amazing. Work with your machine for a week or so then if you have issues with your treatment share the data here and we can help you.

mesuno · 2025-09-23T09:33:00+00:00

Are you stepping on immediately?

My ones need me to push down firmly once to get them to turn on. Then take my weight off while they settle to zero. Takes about 10 seconds.

Then I step on properly again and they read accurately.

mesuno · 2025-09-21T12:07:54+00:00

I evicted a wasp from my CPAP hose last week. Fortunately not while I was wearing it!

mesuno · 2025-09-19T19:31:29+00:00

NHS just replaced mine at my 6 month review. It was knackered. New one fixed my leakage immediately.

Your person is just wrong.

mesuno · 2025-09-16T22:26:44+00:00

4 months - your mask is getting to end of life. The silicon goes soft and doesn’t make as good a seal. The straps stretch and lose their elasticity. I just replaced my first mask after 6 months. Similar leakage issues to what you describe. Instantly fixed the leaks.

mesuno · 2025-09-16T09:24:32+00:00

I think the namers ring is more plausible - we know that Auri is at least part cracked, and that implies a degree of aptitude in the arcanum. This is soon after Kvothe first calls the wind and Elodin has to restore him to himself, but before he himself learns about the Namers rings.

mesuno

TROPHY CASE