Are non-snorers more difficult to treat?
I'm a non-snorer and it's part of the reason I delayed getting a sleep test that was suggested by a few doctors who thought some arrhythmia issues I'm having might be related to sleep apnea. After 3 months on an APAP and collecting a lot of data but having limited success they now want another titration test(the initial one was unsuccessful) to see if I should be using a BiPAP machine. That got me to wondering if there is some structural difference in the non-snorer that might make it more difficult to stop the apneas with PAP.
RE: Are non-snorers more difficult to treat?
Better question is: What type of apnea do you have? Is it obstructive or dominated by central apnea?
As for structural, I don't think so... but, that's an opinion.
Bilevel is used when higher pressures are required to give a person more expiratory relief.
Also, bilevel is the next step in treating central apnea. Sometimes it works for CA.
The best machine for CA and mixed apnea is an ASV which is expensive.
Hence, the hoops one must jump through to get to the ASV.
01-09-2016, 08:10 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-09-2016, 08:11 PM by eseedhouse.)
RE: Are non-snorers more difficult to treat?
(01-09-2016, 09:20 AM)justMongo Wrote: Better question is: What type of apnea do you have? Is it obstructive or dominated by central apnea?
If one has central apnea then snoring will likely not happen. Your brain just "forgets" to breath for awhile every so often while you are sleeping. It's just as bad for you as obstructive apnea (where you generally will snore quite a lot) but a bit more difficult to treat.
Many people have mixed apneas, where both types occur. I am one of them.
If you have pure central apnea you need a machine that will, in effect, make you breath when your brain forgets to. These are rather more expensive than the usual CPAP machine. In my case added oxygen seems to have done the trick but that means I'm on two machines, and APAP and an oxygen concentrator.
So yes, it's possible to have severe sleep apnea but not be a snorer.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH
Part cow since February 2018.
Trust your mind less and your brain more.
RE: Are non-snorers more difficult to treat?
I also induce O2 into my PAP flow. I tend to desat during REM.
RE: Are non-snorers more difficult to treat?
I'm a non-snorer, but have severe OSA (AHI 35). Not all snorers have OSA, and not all people with OSA snore.
