Have you had a better sleep & score not using CPAP?

[iTommyBoy]

After years of being the butt of my family's snoring jokes and comments, I finally decided to get a sleep test and was diagnosed with at least slight obstructive sleep apnea last June 2020.  Due to COVID this diagnosis was based on an at home sleep device test over the course of one night only.  That is to say I did not have to spend a night in any sort of sleep observation room like many usually need to do to get insurance approved CPAP therapy and equipment. 

At times I think the CPAP therapy helps at times I'm not so sure. The Fitibt score and criteria definitely dive deeper and provide a better window into true overall sleep than my CPAP app's score, which is based solely on pressurization, lack of air leaks and time of use.

With that being said I recently started tracking and comparing my Fitbit Charge 4 sleep scores with when I do and do not use my CPAP machine.  I found that my Fitbit sleep scores are almost always significantly better when I do not use the CPAP.  Lately I've been trying to be more in tune with how I feel when I wake and throughout the day, and feel that I actually may be getting worse sleep using my air machine.  Anyone else in the FBC who may use CPAP and Fitbit sleep score's  see or think or feel anything like this? 

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @iTommyBoy - Another question to ask is - does the snoring stop when you use the CPAP?  I got a CPAP a couple years ago because my husband said my snoring was getting worse. Then CPAP stopped the snoring ... which is good for my hubby. My pulmonologist offered an even better reason to give the CPAP a try. He said that sleep apnea might also increase my risk of heart attack, stroke and abnormal heartbeats, such as atrial fibrillation. Yikes! That was enough to convince me to give the CPAP a good, long try. 

Could it be that you need to give your CPAP a longer try? I know it took me a while to get used to sleeping with it but after a while, I found I slept better with it on. Perhaps stop the on-again off-again approach and give yourself a month? 

[iTommyBoy]

Hi @SunsetRunner 

When I first started the CPAP I was fully in and used it solid for 48 nights straight. I kept hoping for that "wow this is going to change my life" moment so many say they have when they start CPAP, but no such luck. I am aware of the many issues obstructive apnea can be associated with and may even cause, and there is no doubt it helps with my snoring. Yet I still feel and score more restless with it on. The possibility I may need to re-commit for a longer period is a legitimate one. Though I wonder more if I even truly have obstructive apnea.  Glad to hear the CPAP is working for you and appreciate your feedback. Cheers!

[Yme]

Is it possible the machine is hindering your ability to find comfortable sleeping positions, for example? I some times put on a headset when I go to sleep, to get some relaxing music. After I've fallen asleep, I wake up as soon as my body tries to change position. 

[shipo]

I know I'm a little late to the party here, but my experience with and without my CPAP is literally a matter of life and death.

When I use my CPAP (which is virtually, every night for the last thirteen and a half years), my sleep is pretty good in spite of the fact I A) drink copious quantities of green tea before bed time and need to pee a lot, and B) change sides frequently.  Here is a recent CPAP night:

As you can see I did pretty well and had very stable O2 levels in my blood.

Now look at the same view of the last time I didn't wear my CPAP (I broke a part) on 27-Jan-2020:

[SunsetRunner]

I appreciate seeing your screen shots @shipo . Isn’t it nice to see real evidence that it’s working? 

[Sheilacozad]

Can you tell me how do you monitor your cpap machine from your home? Can you do it from your fitbit somehow? How do you score your sleep from fitbit?

[shipo]

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@Sheilacozad wrote:

Can you tell me how do you monitor your cpap machine from your home? Can you do it from your fitbit somehow? How do you score your sleep from fitbit?

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I'm not sure what you mean by monitoring a CPAP machine.  As for monitoring it from my Fitbit, that is a definite negative.

Regarding the Fitbit sleep score, if you have one of the Fitbit trackers with heart rate and O2 monitoring, it is built into the system.

[iTommyBoy]

@shipoThanks for chiming in even if down the road. Indeed your O2 variations look really high and all over the place without your CPAP.  You most likely are correct that it's possibly a matter of life and death for you in those ranges and over time.  I'm a Green Bay Packer fan and I remember when the legendary Reggie White passed at the way too young age of 43.  His wife and loved ones were sure his cardiac arrhythmia was in part due to his untreated sleep apnea. 

I appreciate your info and the screenshots a great deal as they help me gauge my situation a bit better. I've been watching my Fitbit estimated O2 variation graph daily and have never seen anything like yours and that high or wild.  This helps to confirm my belief I probably do not have major obstructive sleep apnea.  The only times I see fitbit "high" O2 estimates is if I imbibe a little too much which is nowhere near as often as it used to be or as often as I'd like it to be. Ha! 

I wonder if the green tea you drink at night is caffeinated?  One of some long bad habits I've been able to curtail or quit in the last year is Vodka & Sugar Free Red Bulls as my once cocktail of choice.  These drinks would be in the evening or always after 2pm and I now realize how much the Red Bulls had a huge negative impact on my quality of sleep.  Getting off of the energy drinks (and the booze) was a real bear, but I realized it had to be done.  These days it's a Fat Tire or some sort of Amber Ale or 2 (at most 3 on a Saturday evening) and usually only on Friday and Saturday nights.  A few beers do impact my sleep as it seems does all alcohol for most, but not anything major as long as I truly practice moderation and also hydration.

Anyway just a friendly thought that if the tea you drink does have caffeine, cutting that out or down a good bit would most likely make a huge positive impact on your sleep and O2 levels.  You probably realize that and I do understand we all have our "treats" that make life worth living and that are non-negotiable, so no judgement here.  Again thanks for your response and sharing your info and data and situation.  Cheers!  ~Tommy

[iTommyBoy]

@Sheilacozad   If I'm understanding your question correctly most of the modern day CPAP machines have an app for your mobile device that allow you to monitor your sleep scores.  For example I have a ResMed Air Sense 10 model which has cellular chip in it that sends my sleep data to the ResMed cloud.  After an hour or two from waking up (if using the cpap machine that night) that data shows up on my mobile phone My Air app and gives a breakdown of my sleep scores.  These scores are generally based on O2 levels, mask leaks and time of use and some other points of info depending on make and model of unit being used.  

If more is needed on what model you have and what app goes with it and how to use, I would not hesitate to call your provider and ask them to go over everything to be sure you are getting all the bells and whistles and data analytics you should be getting.  As for the Fitbit devices themselves, some models provide sleep scores that break down your nights sleep and data (not related to any cpap machines) as seen above in the post from Shipo.  I hope that may help answer your question. Be well!   ~Tommy

[DesertWalker]

Good Morning, I guess I'm really late to this party, but wanted to step in and say that the CPAP has also changed my life. I believe I'm sleeping better and my quality of life has changed enourmasly. The one question I have is, did the CPAP minimize your DEEP and REM sleep. As you can see from just ones of my screens, I have very little of each. I have seen these numbers decrease since using the CPAP and wonder if there is any correlation.

 

[iTommyBoy]

Indeed when I use the cpap I get lower overall sleep scores all around (most of the time) and it does impact my deep and REM (seems to be less of both).  Appreciate your feedback even late the more replies we can get the better our sample.  Cheers. 

[J0ebiden]

For clarity, you say that when you use the CPAP your Sleep Scores go down?

[craig1984]

Thanks for posting your screen shots - i was wondering what sleep apnea would look like from the watch data - i just have a multiple wake up problem not a sleep apnea problem.

[squawker]

@craig1984 Sleep apnea may show up in the watch data as periods of high "Estimated Oxygen Variation".  Some apnea events may cause you to wake up. How do you know your multiple wakeup problem is not caused by sleep apnea.

Also, in my case, my fitbit reports that my breathing rate is two breaths per minute higher when using  CPAP than when I'm not using CPAP. Without using CPAP, the increased number of apnea events (periods of not breathing) are slowing down my average breath rate.

[iTommyBoy]

I was trying to track and see if that was the case.  I had a pretty in depth spreadsheet with 15 point variablesd I kept for awhile, but after some time realized I was sweating over the details too much.  I recommitted to CPAP some time ago and use nightly now.  I do notice a better overall version of myself from it.  Sure I still look at my Fitbit sleep data each morning, as well as my ResMed app, but I don't fret over minor swings and too many of the details anymore.  As long as I am u sing my CPAP and hit my goal of 6 1/2 hours of sleep most nights, I'm good to go.  Best wishes. 

[laradu]

You could have sleep apnea. Wake up problems could be a symptom. Get tested. I am getting tested.

[laradu]

Maybe it's your Fitbit version. Charge 5 seems to be somewhat accurate.

[DaveJS]

I have been using CPAP for just over a week now and honestly don't feel any better for it. That's despite having just 1.5 and 5 events p/h on CPAP compared to the 70.9AHI I got in the sleep study! My Fitbit Versa 3 won't register ANY REM or deep sleep since being on CPAP. May have to do with me having an irregular heartbeat though. 

[laradu]

May it has to do with interference from the machine in some way.