Average... guess it depends on your problem and its severity.

Like others, I just can't shake the feeling it's partially snake oil, even though my own experiments with a pulse oxymeter tied to my phone do show it works. The sleep doctor felt like a scammer and right off the bat told me he was "bumping my numbers" to qualify for treatment!!!

I did sleep with a finger pulse oxymeter with and w/o CPAP and you can tell my O2 bottoms out 5x a night without, and heart rate correspondingly increases. I'm not seeing the "41 events per hour" the carpet-salesman-sleep doctor sold the insurance though. But CPAp smoothes out the sleep cycles and I dream more.

I guess my disappointment with CPAP lies with all the promises that it would make me feel rejuvenated, sleep 10x better, more refreshed, regrow hair etc. (lol).. Reality for me is my O2 levels are better so I probably have more REM sleep, but I do not feel ANY difference before /after, with without. None. Nada. The graphs look good but I wasn't tired before, no less tired now. I stuck with it with the idea it was good for my heart.
I think the fact CPAP forces me to sleep on my back (not my normal position), the nose pillow/gear gets reduced airflow when side sleeping, means I wake up more often at night than without CPAP - so in the end the # of times CPAP wakes me up is more or less equal to whatever no-sleep I was supposedly getting before.

My wife likes it, no snoring, no more big breath catching a couple times a week that freaked her out. Also no more teeth grinding/TMJ. I use it at home, but I stopped taking it on vacation (like I'm gonna die without it), because it's a PITA... For some folks it's life/sleep changing. For some less so. I think I stand on the wrong end of the spectrum, you may love it. I'm gonna focus on losing weight (main cause of apnea) and getting rid of it.

If you don't think the CPAP is doing you any good, are you pulling your sleep numbers off the device? For life changing help, your AHI needs to be 5 or under.

I have a Phillips CPAP and they have a bluetooth app I use to pull my numbers. Alternatively, you can pop the SD memory card out of the CPAP and use the PC app Sleepyhead. It appears it works with all the devices mentioned in this thread.

Once you know your numbers, you can start adjusting your evening routine for better sleep. In my case, I dropped eating a snack between dinner and bed.

HTH

Thanks for the tips Halm ! The doc is pulling #s and I am at or under 4 now. Supposedly from 41!! You'd expect I'd have superpowers from such a success? I'm just saying it changed nothing for me, which is puzzling if I was truly at 41. I was not tired before, at all, nor am I less tired now or noticed more energy.

I snore less, check, I scare my wife less with the "occasional" sharp air intake (a few times a month according to her). I grind no more. I am not sure what my "actual" numbers were before (the sleep doc doesn't show you the test device printout, just tells you, and I as I said I felt the wrong vibes when he said he'd bump me up to qualify). My experiments sleeping without CPAP with a pulse oxymeter do show I drop below 90% a few times a night (4-5 in 6 hours from memory) but not match the 41 number he gave me, and I suspect they greatly exaggerated my initial condition to sell the product/service.

All in all, I'm sure this helps people who need it because you can't argue with positive pressure opening airways, and my own experiments do show it "smoothes out" the night (until I wake up and yank it off in semi-sleep around 4am anyway). Just sayin' I can't be sure how bad I needed one in the first place (and if sleeping badly with a cpap is better/worse than feeling like I sleep well without, but possibly kick started my heart a few times) - so "perceived" benefit to me is 0. And that place gave me really fraudulent vibes, like when you're a hammer everything is a nail, you know ? Generally if you consult a surgeon they'll recommend surgery, if you consult a sleep doc will they tell you 'nah you're good, go home?" .

I'm keeping it on because it was hard to get used to, and in the hope there is a "non-perceived" benefit until I lose weight. That's all I'm trying to say. No doubt it helps folks. Maybe not me though.
If this thread stick around I may do another round of tests with the connected pulse oxymeter, w andw/o CPAP... It shows drops <90% and heart rate.

It’s not just the flapping, but I’m a side sleeper and the fighter mask pushes against the pillow, making it uncomfortable. I tried it on the advice of one of my home buyers. He said it was a game changer for him.

Edit. I agree with you, that I should talk to the doctor about the BiPAP machine.

There is an implant that uses nerve stimulation to open your airway during sleep.

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dont-like-cpap-an-implantable-device-is-another-option-for-your-sleep-apnea/

No further knowledge about it, just thought it was interesting.

I went for sleep apnea surgery. Fixed.

Bought my own CPAP machine. Not covered by insurance

Hard to believe insurance will pay for the implant.... Wondering the price point and maintenance required.... I guess all out of pocket

The AHI is the sum of the number of apneas (pauses in breathing) plus the number of hypopneas (periods of shallow breathing) that occur, on average, each hour.

Pulled that from some website. Best not to assume everyone knows every abbreviation.

I have a resmed. I'm on my 2nd machine and it has changed the way I sleep. I have a spare tank, hose, nose piece and AC adapter just in case. I take it when I travel - very dependent on it.