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Sleep apnea: how to improve breathing after sleeping on back
I have sleep apnea, and try not to sleep on my back (I wear a fanny pack and a sleep positioner belt, which buzzes if I move off my side.) Last night, my hips hurt from sleeping on my side, so I turned off the sleep positioner, took off the fanny pack, and slept for an hour or so on my back. I woke up with trouble breathing, and still have trouble 2 hours after getting up. Drinking coffee helps a bit. Any other suggestions on how to get more oxygen in me ASAP? Thanks, Lisa
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Hi what helps me is I count up to 4 or 5 while inhaling same exhale 4-5
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1 ReactionHello @lisawuriu, I would like to add my welcome to Connect along with @bigj and others. You mentioned you have sleep apnea but didn't say anything about using a CPAP or other treatment. I also have obstructive sleep apnea and am mostly a side sleeper. Sleeping on my back affects my sleep and breathing also. I wouldn't think that coffee or other stimulant would help the sleep but it may help you wake up and breathe better. The American Lung Association has some breathing exercises that might be helpful - https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/wellness/breathing-exercises.
Do you also use a CPAP?
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1 ReactionYou did everything right, Lisa, right up to the point where you removed your parachute. Then you fell.........hard. That's a metaphor, obviously, but...............it's apt even as an analogy.
Nobody here will dispute that you became uncomfortable, and the only solution you felt was quick and satisfactory would be a short interval without your 'parachute'. But.............you know what happened.
John mentioned PAP therapy, a therapy that has saved millions of lives over the past 35 years or more. I think you should be evaluated formally for obstructive sleep apnea, or if you were diagnosed already, you are not getting the treatment you need today. Something has changed if you are using a PAP machine and you still can't sleep on your back, although PAP therapy can't overcome collapsed airways and a tongue that relaxes and sags back into the airway, which happens most often on one's back.
If you need more oxygen, there are two solutions: avoid supine sleep positioning, or use a CPAP machine that is the right one for your 'flavour' of apnea, and that is set to deliver you the correct pressures. Note that a CPAP machine can include O2 sat detectors and also oxygen delivery if it is helpful/necessary. Even if you aren't going to use a PAP machine for therapy, you can get oxygen in a bottle and use a cannula under your nose.
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2 Reactions@johnbishop
Yes I do
CPAP one of the best ways to deliver air it helps me a-lot I started with the lowest pressure to get used to it
Ps,
I was tested I stop breathing alot of times per hour with Cpap machine 2-5 per hour
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1 Reaction@bigj Thanks, I'll give it a try.
@johnbishop Thanks, I'll try out some of those exercises. I've tried to use a CPAP, but for some reason, it makes me very dizzy, even after using it a short time.
@gloaming Thanks, I can't use a CPAP; even after using it a short time, I get very dizzy. Thank you for telling me about getting oxygen in a bottle and using a cannula under my nose. I'll check with my doctors to see about getting this.
@bigj I wish I could use a CPAP, but even on the lowest setting, it makes me very dizzy.