09-28-2023, 11:38 AM
CPAP Does Not Control Small Chokes
Hi all,
I'm a newcomer to the board but a long time CPAP user (most of a decade at this point). Unfortunately, despite using CPAP non-stop for many years, its effectiveness has been only about half as good as I would hope. I badly need it and can't do without it - but it also badly lets me down as I have a lot of what I call micro-chokes which still shatter my sleep quality and destroys my life. Explaining my issues to multiple different doctors has been about as useful as talking to a brick wall, so I'm hoping some of you may have some insight.
My story:
I am diagnosed with mild-to-moderate OSA, but my issues seem to be deeper than doctors understand. CPAP seems to work well to control actual apneas, both by my experience and my CPAP's data. What it doesn't seem able to prevent is these incredibly brief but violent choke events that are difficult to describe. I often notice these micro-chokes when I am in a half-asleep or semi-lucid state so I know they occur and how they shock me awake.
How I can describe them is that I am inhaling through my nose, but partway through the inhale I can't get enough air in, and my body suddenly gets jolted as I suddenly inhale much harder to complete the breath. I don't think this can be called an apnea as technically I never stop breathing, but it feels like the breath hits a tripwire and I am snapped awake. I'm not sure my CPAP even registers the event but they seem to happen a huge amount. (I see a lot of you use software to read your own data - I have never tried this.) I wake constantly throughout the night.
It is worth noting that this problem does get worse when I am overweight, BUT it is still severe even when I am at my thinnest/ideal weight. In addition to seeing 3 different sleep specialists, I have been seen by a single ENT surgeon who told me he can't see a problem with my airways. I also recently saw a dentist about the possibility of a Mandibular Advancement Device, and while he acknowledged there was a possibility one could help he was unwilling to prescribe one.
Upon browsing this forum I'm seeing the term hypopnea come up. I was vaguely aware of the term before but it never came up with my doctors. Reading about it I'm unsure if my micro-chokes are hypopneas or something else.
The obvious questions are:
I'm a newcomer to the board but a long time CPAP user (most of a decade at this point). Unfortunately, despite using CPAP non-stop for many years, its effectiveness has been only about half as good as I would hope. I badly need it and can't do without it - but it also badly lets me down as I have a lot of what I call micro-chokes which still shatter my sleep quality and destroys my life. Explaining my issues to multiple different doctors has been about as useful as talking to a brick wall, so I'm hoping some of you may have some insight.
My story:
I am diagnosed with mild-to-moderate OSA, but my issues seem to be deeper than doctors understand. CPAP seems to work well to control actual apneas, both by my experience and my CPAP's data. What it doesn't seem able to prevent is these incredibly brief but violent choke events that are difficult to describe. I often notice these micro-chokes when I am in a half-asleep or semi-lucid state so I know they occur and how they shock me awake.
How I can describe them is that I am inhaling through my nose, but partway through the inhale I can't get enough air in, and my body suddenly gets jolted as I suddenly inhale much harder to complete the breath. I don't think this can be called an apnea as technically I never stop breathing, but it feels like the breath hits a tripwire and I am snapped awake. I'm not sure my CPAP even registers the event but they seem to happen a huge amount. (I see a lot of you use software to read your own data - I have never tried this.) I wake constantly throughout the night.
It is worth noting that this problem does get worse when I am overweight, BUT it is still severe even when I am at my thinnest/ideal weight. In addition to seeing 3 different sleep specialists, I have been seen by a single ENT surgeon who told me he can't see a problem with my airways. I also recently saw a dentist about the possibility of a Mandibular Advancement Device, and while he acknowledged there was a possibility one could help he was unwilling to prescribe one.
Upon browsing this forum I'm seeing the term hypopnea come up. I was vaguely aware of the term before but it never came up with my doctors. Reading about it I'm unsure if my micro-chokes are hypopneas or something else.
The obvious questions are:
- Do these micro-chokes sound familiar to anyone? Are they hypopneas or other?
- Does anybody have any idea how to deal with this problem? My doctors sure don't.
