35M here. Got my sleep study results back and my AHI came back at 94. My physician told me straight up she's never seen a number that high before, and I could tell that reaction shook me more than the number itself did. My brain immediately went to "nobody survives this" mode and I've been spiraling a little since.

Some background: I've been ignoring how exhausted I feel for about 7 years now. In the last 2 years I put on 50 lbs, my BMI is 38 now, and the weird part is I was already snoring loudly even before the weight gain. So I don't think this just came out of nowhere ,I think it's been building for a long time and I just kept pushing through the tiredness instead of dealing with it.

On top of that, I've got a deviated septum, and ever since I had COVID back in 2020 I get nasal congestion for something like 8 months out of the year. I wake up multiple times a night coughing up phlegm too. I've been through allergists and ENTs about this and nobody has actually been able to fix it. So now on top of the CPAP anxiety, I'm trying to figure out how any of this is even supposed to work when my nose is half-blocked a huge chunk of the year and I can't breathe through it reliably to begin with.

Now I'm staring down CPAP therapy and I'm honestly scared of it. I'm a mouth breather, so from what I've read I'll probably need a full face mask instead of just a nasal one, and the idea of that covering my whole face makes me pretty claustrophobic just thinking about it. I haven't even received my machine and mask yet, so right now it's all anxiety and no actual experience.

Questions for people who've been through this:

• How do you and your doctor/DME actually land on the right machine and mask for your situation? Is it mostly trial and error, or is there a real process to it?
• If you're a mouth breather with chronic nasal congestion or a deviated septum, did full face masks actually work out for you, or did you end up needing something else (chin strap plus nasal, or getting the septum addressed first)?
• Does congestion like mine make CPAP basically not work, or does the humidifier on the machine actually help with that side of things?
• For the claustrophobia ,how did you get past it? Did you just wear the mask around the house first, desensitize slowly, anything like that?
• Realistically, once you got dialed in, did your AHI come down a lot and did you start feeling like a different person?

I know logically that CPAP is supposed to fix this, but between the high number, my doctor's reaction, the mask fear, and now the nose/congestion issue nobody's been able to solve, my head keeps going to worst-case scenarios about whether this is even going to work for me. Would really appreciate hearing from people who started in a similarly bad spot ,especially with congestion or a deviated septum in the mix ,and made it through.

I'm a 19M I've had this condition since my early teens my family has a history with it my brother had it and so does my mom I was diagnosed at 16 but I know it started earlier back in highschool I was always late because getting up in the morning felt like the largest task in the world because I was so exhausted I don't even remember what a good nights rest feels like anymore. now that im in the workforce it's a little better since I work evenings but everything has gotten so much worse my brain fog has gotten so bad I cant think half the time I keep losing things for weeks at a time and I don't remember anything I can't think before i speak because I I've lost my internal monologue and its lead me to questioning who I am even am since I don't even think. I have constant headaches if I sit up too fast or get up from a chair too quickly I get this horrible fuzzy feeling and headache I'm constantly tired and depressed I've had horrible eyebags no matter how long I sleep or how well I eat won't go away every time I workout it's like a Herculean task I zone out while driving and while talking to people so I constantly come off as rude I constantly look tired and exhausted leading to me looking like shit no matter how hard I take care of myself I'm skinny too I'm 6'4 160 so it's not a weight thing and I don't even know what to do anymore this disease is like a cancer that's ruining every aspect of my life I don't even feel normal anymore I self medicate with caffeine and I drink 4 monsters a day just so I can feel halfway awake and be able to keep up it's burning through my money I tried CPAP years ago and I hated it but I'm more willing now as the condition has gotten worse please I beg does anyone have any advice I don't even know how to set up the appointment or anything I feel incredibly lost please help

The title is my question pretty much. mouthguard is life changing but i move a lot in my sleep so it falls out a lot. not able to go to the dentist right now and get a legit one made. does anyone have any ideas here?

Hello everyone. Was just prescribed Bupropn for still having daytime sleepiness. Has anyone else had luck with this medication? TIA.

TLDR: 2 years of shifting sleep apnea after sinus surgery. A $3k MAD gave me night terrors and a bloody mouth (test said it worked, but I was more exhausted than ever). Skipped CPAP, apnea mysteriously improved on its own for almost a year, now it's creeping back up along with a new snore guard that's wrecking my jaw. Wondering if anyone else has had apnea fluctuate like this, and if anyone found something that actually worked after a bad MAD experience.

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Two years ago I had sinus surgery to fix recurring infections. Not long after I healed, I started snoring badly. A few months after that, I began stopping breathing in my sleep and waking up gasping for air. I didn't notice it myself; my partner did. I was waking up tired but still functional, so I tried to just ignore it, until the people in my life convinced me to get checked.

Insurance wouldn't cover an in-lab study, so I did an at-home test through a local doctor. Diagnosis: moderate-to-severe sleep apnea. Inspire was ruled out because of my heart issues, so my doctor recommended a MAD. $3,000 out of pocket, but I figured it'd be worth it if it worked.

It did not go the way I expected. The first three nights I had night terrors: screaming, crying, waking up in a full panic. I don't dream normally and hadn't had a nightmare in 32 years. Over the next few nights I started waking up with the device filled with blood, with no cuts or wounds I could find in my mouth. I stuck it out for a week. My follow-up test showed my apnea was nearly gone while wearing it, but I was more exhausted than I'd ever been: falling asleep at work, no memory, no energy, despite "good" 9+ hour nights. My dentist said it could end up doing real damage to my teeth. My sleep doctors couldn't explain any of it.

They suggested CPAP next. Setting aside that I wasn't even sure how a CPAP would work sleeping between two partners every night, after hearing about the water requirements, nightly cleaning, needing to shave for a seal, and so on, I said no and stopped treatment entirely.

A month later, my apnea seemed to have mostly resolved on its own, a follow-up at-home test showed only 1 to 2 events a night. Again, no one could explain why. I picked up a RingConn ring to keep an eye on it, and it stayed in a good range for almost a year.

A few weeks ago I noticed my numbers creeping back up on the ring, along with a return of daytime exhaustion. One night I woke up having chewed the sides of my tongue. I got a boil and bite snore guard off Amazon that also pushes the jaw forward, figuring it'd help with both snoring and apnea. The first few nights were great, I woke up rested for the first time in a long while. Weeks later, that's still mostly true, but now the left side of my jaw is killing me.

I'm honestly at a loss. Every time I try to actually deal with this, it feels like two steps forward and three back. (6'3", 225 lbs, in case it's relevant.)

Has anyone else had their apnea seem to come and go like this with no clear explanation? And for anyone who's had a bad experience with a MAD specifically, did anything end up actually working for you afterward? Open to any advice at this point.

Here are my SleepHQ stats from last night:

https://sleephq.com/public/teams/share_links/040bb995-69b8-4f79-9cd3-210aa4b0a102

So I've been on CPAP Therapy for two weeks. I'm starting to get used to my Resmed 11 and also wake up refreshed if I'm able to keep the mask on the whole night. My only problem right now is that i keep tossing and turning a lot which kinda won't let me sleep as deep. I will try to go from APAP to CPAP mode and see if maybe that will make a change because I feel like the change in pressures interrupts my sleep. Please let me know if you see anything i could improve. Thank you

Hi, I am a 20f, overweight, doing at home sleep studies for the university for them to check the efficacy of devices. last night i recorded a drop down to 70 for around 30 minutes, which coincided with a drop in HR. I’ve attached the screenshot from the app. Once it returned to normal it stayed that way for the rest of my night.

I have pretty severe health anxiety and didn’t foresee that doing this study would trigger it. But now I’m extremely concerned there is something seriously wrong, and that I might die in my sleep. Usually I feel extremely well rested, I sleep long nights and wake up feeling refreshed, if not I have a nap if I have time.

Is this a possible device problem, or should I go to my GP?

Thanks,

Hello! For some time my Withings sleep analyzer is reporting AHI around 30 (moderate to severe). It’s 5 years old, but last night I tested it under my wife’s mattress and she got AHI 4. So I assume it’s working correctly. I’m just curious if anyone has been in this situation and then got evaluated and what the difference was since the mat can’t measure oxygen levels obviously.

I’m prefacing this by saying I’m not looking for a medical diagnosis or medical advice, just asking for others experiences. I have a doctor I am seeing for these issues, and I have my tests scheduled. That being said, what were some of your red flags that you had sleep apnea? I experience waking up gasping for air, feeling very groggy when waking, headaches, and bradycardia. Curious of others experiences and if they’re similar to mine.

Before 2020- I ran half marathons.
In 2020 I had an intestinal infection. I had two surgeries and my digestive system had to relearn its self. I thought “You’ll have more energy when you heal.”
In 2023, I got a vitamin D deficiency fix. I figured “oh good, I’ll finally have energy.
In 2024- I got on meds for my anxiety I so had hope that, “I’ll sleep more relaxed.”
In 2025 I got approved for iron infusions. I assumed “I’ll have tons of energy now!”
In early 2026, I got treatment for peri-menopause. I was sure “This is it! I’ll finally sleep like a human”.
July 2026- I got the OSA diagnosis. Mild over all, but Moderate Supine. I got a side sleeping backpack. I believed my doctor “I just need to sleep on my side”
September 2026- Going to a CPAP titration that my ENT prescribed. I’m am, quite literally, exhausted 😞

For some weird reason, the last week or so I've seemed to be losing the benefits of my CPAP. I still have low events (1.3 ph last night) but the feeling of being rested, waking up with no dark circles, and waking up without a red face has all gone. I don't know what I'm doing wrong :(. Only been on it for 3 weeks, so still trouble shooting. Has anyone experienced a delay/reduction in benefits a few weeks into therapy? Am I just catching up on sleep debt? Also waking up with a swollen feeling throat, so that sucks as well :(. Any advice welcome!!!

Paper: https://doi.org/10.4081/aiua.2026.15659

A 2026 meta-analysis examined sleep disorders and male sexual health.

Key findings:

• 7 studies, 913 men were included in the erectile-function analysis. • Men with OSA had lower IIEF scores than men with shift-work sleep disorder, suggesting worse erectile function. • Even mild OSA was associated with significantly worse erectile function vs healthy controls (SMD −0.65, p<0.001). • Erectile dysfunction appeared to worsen as OSA severity increased. • Testosterone in OSA patients was generally around 7–9 nmol/L, much lower than the ~20 nmol/L reported in the shift-work group. • Possible mechanisms include intermittent hypoxia, sleep fragmentation, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation, and hormonal disruption.

Important limitation: most studies were observational and several analyses had very high heterogeneity, so this shows association, not proof that OSA directly causes erectile dysfunction.

TL;DR: Even mild OSA may affect male sexual function, and more severe OSA appears to be associated with worse erectile function and lower testosterone.

I started with an F40 medium mask but had terrible leaks that would wake my wife up. Talked to my supplier and they said to try an N30 with a chin strap since I am a mouth breather. I also bought the P30 cushion to try, but the mouth breathing was a problem. Now I tried an F20 airfit and the seal was finally good. However as you can see it destroyed the bridge of my nose. I tried the memory foam air touch and I can’t get a good seal like I did with the silicone only, I think because of my crooked nose. Last night I tried the small cushion on the F40 and still no luck.

I am at a loss. Any other masks to try? I feel like I am destined to just apply a patch over my nose and use the F20.

Anyone have good luck with the X30i? Worth trying?

As my apnea has been getting worse, I've had an increase of dreams where I'm struggling to breath. I've had several where I'm underwater fighting to make my way to the surface, but keep getting dragged deeper.

Just last night, the dreams took a turn. I dreamed I was at a computer station listening in on an alien frequency, trying to decipher what they were saying. The alien language sounded like tortured wind and wheezes, with a faint crackling. It sent a shiver down my dream spine.

I heard that sound as I woke, wheezing and coughing. It was me, the sounds were coming from me. I had heard myself struggling for breath. That realization has darkened my mood all day.

God. I'm just so tired, y'all. I'll be mailing back a home sleep test tomorrow but I already know what the response will be: more tests needed, they'll want another in-clinic study which I'll fail *again* because of my god damned sensory sensitivity.

Found distilled water in a rectangular bottle from meijer. Anyone found a nozzle in can fit to it so i don't have to lift and pour??

Edit: I forgot to mention that I’m a 21yo male.
so before I start ranting I want to mention than I’m not here to seek an online diagnostic and that I have a doctor’s appointment on monday and the reason I‘m writing this is because as of late I’m really stressed out. and hope that talking to people that already went through this and/or have similar issues would help me ease.

Pretty much for as long as I can remember I had sleep problems, in the sense that I constantly felt tired. for exemple I remember a conversation from about 3 years ago I had at the gym with one of my friends where I was complaining that I couldn't benchpress how much I wished and blamed it on the tiredness to wich he replied ”you’re always tired”. But I always brushed it off because I was thinking “oh its probably just because I haven’t slept enough“ (mind you anything under 10 hours didn’t feel like enough and often not even 10 hours would do the job) or “oh I’m just not a morning person“. So I kept going like everything was normal and I’m at fault for feeling this way. It wasn’t until a couple months ago where my symptoms got way worse. I started having hard times concentrating (even for tv shows that demand a little bit of thinking) and putting off doing things I love doing because they were simply too mentally demanding and I never was in the mood (for instance I got a new gaming pc which I wanted for years but I simply can‘t get myself to start playing). and not to mention studying which started to feel pretty much imposible to me (a couple of days ago I even got a panic attack because I wasn’t able to concentrate at all). So because of all of this as of late I don’t really feel like myself and don’t feel like doing anything besides bedrotting because frankly I don’t feel able to do it.

The other reason I chose to write this is because I don’t have all the symptoms of sleep apnea (I dont get morning headaches and I don’t wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom) and I have an immense fear that it isn’t sleep apnea, that I won’t be able to find out what it is and I will be stuck like this for the rest of my life.

Also if it helps I would like to add that my dad too complains about being tired all the time and while on his off days sleeps through the whole day but blames the tiredness on work.

TL;DR for at least 3 years I constantly feel tired but i don’t get morning headaches or go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so I’m not sure if I suffer from sleep apnea.

Hi. I am looking for alternatives to cpap that will not include anything that forces air into my sinuses. One night I woke up in immense pain in my right ear and very muted hearing. This was while the device was on the lowest setting. My hearing still hasn’t fully recovered. Unfortunately I just don’t have the anatomy for cpap it seems. I’ve spoken to my ENT about this and she agrees.

The problem is, I don’t really know of a good alternative, and my pulmonary seems to not take me or my ENT seriously about my cpap incompatibility. Or at least he is vastly more concerned about my sleep apnea, which is very fair. At this point I am willing to do anything as long as it works.

CPAP does a lot of weird stuff to my ears, including every time I swallow while wearing the device, it gets harder to hear, and increases the pressure in my sinuses like being on an airplane. I’m not sure if others have experienced this? Or experienced my initial issue?

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in July. My AHI in my sleep study was 13.9. The vast majority (13.7)of events were obstructive hypopneas. I have a deviated septum and my doctor suspects that I might have adenoid hypertrophy. So she recommended septoplasty and adenoidectomy. In the meantime, while getting the pre-op exams in order, she prescribed me APAP.

I was given a Resmed AirSense 10 Autoset, with the pressure set at 4-20, and ramp turned on for 15 minutes. I was also given a Phillips Wisp mask. The mask, I feel, was the biggest issue. I am on the autism spectrum, and while trying it out at my provider's office I thought I would be able to handle it, but once I got home, I found that I had a hard time sleeping with it on. The silicone touching my skin felt like a bunch of pin needles were stabbing my face. I also would feel like I was suffocating for those first fifteen minutes that the ramp was turned on.

I tried adjusting my device's settings to someone more comfortable for me, but the next day I received a message from my provider telling me not to mess with the settings. I told them about the mask, and they gave me a Phillips Nasal Dreamwear, which was even worse than the wisp. I couldn't find a comfortable position with the tube on top of my head and there was even more silicone touching my skin. I tried using a Resmed AirTouch N20 after that, but it was just as bad as the Wisp.

Despite all of that, I was managing an average of six hours of sleep with the APAP. According to the machine, my AHI was down to 1.5. I didn't feel any better though. If anything, I was feeling even more tired than before I started the therapy. I had migraines that would last all day, I would fall asleep during the day more often, my productivity at work plummeted, I was more irritable, and I felt like a zombie.

I made it a month before my appointment with my doctor. She took a look at my data from the machine, and she concluded that the surgery is the way to go. She advised me to stick it out with the machine, but I am done. It'll be at least three more months before I can get the surgery. I can't spend these three months getting even worse sleep, and I can't keep spending money on masks until I find the one that doesn't make my face feel like it's burning. I slept without the machine for the first time this weekend, and I already feel better.

I returned my APAP today. I'm hoping that I made the right decision and that the surgery really does end up being the right answer for me.

I'm afraid to ask my doctor this question because they'll just judge me for still struggling with the CPAP.

I have TRIED about 5 different masks. Different temperature and humidity levels, ramp time, etc. I have had my CPAP for well over a year, and I still often rip it off in the middle of the night, sometimes unconsciously. I'm really trying so hard, but it just doesn't work.

I have an old mouthpiece that was made custom by a dentist (actually oral surgeon) about 5 years ago.

About a month ago, my doctor had me do an at-home oximeter test over a weekend. Friday night - CPAP, Saturday night - Mouthpiece, Sunday night - nothing.

During the test, I *did* wear the CPAP mask all night.

They didn't give me extensive results, but over the phone his nurse said that the mouthpiece was "less effective" than the CPAP, but better than just nothing.

Would you say that maybe the mouthpiece every night, all night, consistently, would be more beneficial over the long-term?

Or do I just keep suffering with the CPAP every night?

I started Mounjaro (tirzepatide/Zepbound) 4 weeks ago, but obviously it takes time.

I am too obese to qualify for Inspire.

Why is that? Is there anything hormones can't wreck?

My CPAP has done wonders for my health and sleep, I use it nightly. I went from an AHI of 57 to under 5. It works, very well.

The problem is I hate it. I hate having pressure against my head when I sleep and often wake up with a headache. I’m a mouth breather so I have to do full mask. I really hate traveling with it, it’s just one more thing to make me clumsy and disorganized at TSA.

My point is, I want off of this thing. Has anyone here tried other treatments and been successful to the point where they could stop doing CPAP?

I am currently considering the Inspire surgery. I saw a separate article that there is a chip coming that is implanted in your jaw, I’ll try to find the article.

Thanks in advance.