I saw the Apnoea specialist consultant recently.
The detail of the sleep study is a great example of how misleading averages can be.
It transpires that, although my overall index is low, that average index hides some interesting data. I have no apnoea when I sleep on my side. I do show signs of apnoea when I sleep on my back (supine), I sleep on my back 50% of the time, so I need to do something about it.
She recommended a CPAP machine, and I may go down that route. As my apnoea is positional, it may be manageable (or even trainable) with some positional therapy aids.
One aid she suggested was a Zzoma pillow. This is a cushion which is worn like a rucksack. It is shaped so that one cannot lie supine while wearing it. I had trouble finding a proper one, although there were loads of lookee-likeys on Amazon. I didn't get one in the end though, as I realised that I wouldn't be able to change sides (without having to sit up, and therefore wake up more) easily.
Instead, I decided to buy a NightShift Positional device. I hummed and hawwed over this for several days. There was a preloved one available on Ebay, but they wanted quite a lot for it (their reserve was very high and I'd still have to buy a new strap) and I wondered if it had already been bought preloved. If it had been cheap, it would have been worth a punt.
I decided I'd probably be better off buying new, and I decided to buy from the Apnoea charity Hope2sleep.
It comes with a neck strap, so it's worn like a collar (connected by magnets, so it comes apart if it gets caught up) with the matchbox sized device located on the back of the neck. It tracks how I sleep (what position I am in) and it detects snoring and movement. If it detects that I am on my back (supine) then it vibrates, and the vibration increases until I shift position. The idea is that it trains my body to not sleep on my back.
A chest strap is also available, but Google didn't give me any information relating to using a chest strap when you have boobs. All the pictures, all the information, everything, showed men wearing the device.
I emailed Hope2Sleep for advice, and they contacted the manufacturer for me. The manufacturers reply was not very enlightening . I wrote back Hope2Sleep and was quite explicit about my concerns, and a lady at the charity said she will try the chest strap personally for me on Monday.
I bought the device from them anyway, as I thought I'd try it with the neck strap and see how it went. I had a bit of trouble pairing it to the App. Turns out that it really does have to be turned off to connect to the app, (It has to be turned on, then off, and then you have to connect to the app within 15 minutes of turning the device off).
I tried it for the first time yesterday. It wasn't uncomfortable at the back of my neck, which surprised me. I lay on my back deliberately, so I could see what the vibrations were like. It all worked as expected. I turned on my side, and went to sleep.
I did have some trouble going to sleep. It was odd wearing a collar like this, and I thought I probably had it a little tight. A couple of times, I had trouble swallowing automatically, and had to make myself swallow (Actually, as Im standing here now thinking about it, without a collar on, I find I can't swallow automatically, I have to think about it. Yet when I'm not thinking about it, I don't have an issue).
It did its job a few times in the night. Then it came off (a sure sign it had been a bit tight) For some reason, in my sleep fuddled state, Ididn't just leave it alone, nor did I pick it up and put it on the bedside table. No. My sleep addled brain decided that I should hold it in my hand. For the rest of the night. . It went off.
I had to work out how to hold it so it didn't go off. Yes, My brain worked out how to hold it so it didn't trigger - but it didn't work out that I could just turn it off or put it out of the way.
I looked at the report this morning, and it was interesting. I can see where I was on my right side, then my left, then my right, and I can see where the device was triggered. Then I can see when the device came off (the "prone" section). What is really interesting for me is that the "snoring level" increased significantly after the device came off (and I was probably on my back for a lot of that time which of course the device could not know).
I looked at the report for my O2 ring, and that shows a corresponding drop in oxygen levels (to about 84%) at that time.
I'm interested to see what happens tonight.
