Chin Tucking as cause of apnea

[ejbpesca]

UnicornRider I think your suggestion of a higher min. pressure is what I've been needing.  Looks like the higher min. is preventing OAs and other events.  

I taped okay last night but had to remove the collar before I could get to sleep.  I am thinking, for my anatomy, that a collar causes airway restriciton.  I practiced a chin tuck with the collar on and found I could barely exhale.  Remove the collar and the air flow restriction is removed.  The pressure of my chin/throat upon the top edge of the collar constricts air flow.

I had a pretty good night outside a typical cluster which is possibly due to chin tucking.  I will try sleeping with no pillow to see if that may help alleviate the cluster(s) so common on my OSCAR reports.  I think if I could just stay off my back there may be no apnea clusters.  The rolling to my back is most likely due to pain developing as I sleep in one position.  That pain wakes me at times.

This is not bad and I woke up alert today which is extremely rare for me.

   

[UnicornRider]

UnicornRider I think your suggestion of a higher min. pressure is what I've been needing.  Looks like the higher min. is preventing OAs and other events.  

I taped okay last night but had to remove the collar before I could get to sleep.  I am thinking, for my anatomy, that a collar causes airway restriciton.  I practiced a chin tuck with the collar on and found I could barely exhale.  Remove the collar and the air flow restriction is removed.  The pressure of my chin/throat upon the top edge of the collar constricts air flow.

I had a pretty good night outside a typical cluster which is possibly due to chin tucking.  I will try sleeping with no pillow to see if that may help alleviate the cluster(s) so common on my OSCAR reports.  I think if I could just stay off my back there may be no apnea clusters.  The rolling to my back is most likely due to pain developing as I sleep in one position.  That pain wakes me at times.

This is not bad and I woke up alert today which is extremely rare for me.

You still show some Frilly Flow Limits sticking up, then when you get a large leak those opportunistic flow limits jump right up there, therefore driving pressure up and  OA;s, RERA's and CA's. 

 You said in an earlier post:  " I do not have enough chin for a collar to hold up unless I choke myself with it.  If a collar is comfortable, my chin will still drop down.       "

Now for the Hard Dart:  Grow a Chin.  

Have you tried a pool noodle sewn to the back of your PJs to prevent back sleeping?

Similar item:  https://www.amazon.com/CPAPology-Positio...r=8-1&th=1

Or you could try boosting your pressure min to 13 (cmH2O)

Post back and let me know how it works out for you.

[Ddobson85]

hmm I wonder if I am chin tucking...

[ejbpesca]

Please take a look at this OSCAR report from last night.  Today I am waking alert as opposed to my usual zombie, stumbling, dizzy, state I think is caused by lack of O2 during the night.  The event cluster on the right is typical for me to have one or two like it per night. They are disturbing looking with one OA after another indicated.  Does not the rest of the report look okay?  Are flow limitations fixed by min. pressure setting now 13.4?  From all the OSCAR reports I see on Apneaboard, that is a very high min. pressure setting.  My min. has been 8 for over 15 years and for 15 years I have rarely felt I have good sleep even though I use CPAP daily.  It is sad to think I've needed a high min. pressure all these years and just now discovering it.

Once again I think the cluster occurred as a result of rolling to my back and possibly doing the chin tuck.  I may give my collar another try but through experimentation, it seems to be a source of airway constriction when my head lowers.  The pressure of my head against the top of the collar causes me to not be able to breathe. 

Thank you for your help and advice unicornrider.  Just maybe, after 15 years I am finally getting my machine set correctly.  My medical people do not look at OSCAR reports, nor ask anything, nothing..nada.  They only want to check if I am using the CPAP so they can prescribe it annually.

   

[ejbpesca]

Somehow my reply post got posted twice.  I don't see where to delete the second so I am editing it with this text.  That did not work.  My edit turned into yet another post that I am editing now.  I will go to user controls to try to delete the duplicated post.

[Crimson Nape]

Your duplicate post has been deleted.
- Red

[ejbpesca]

I have experienced aerophagia in the past. I have much trouble with acid reflux so I will be cautious with the high min. pressure.

[UnicornRider]

My Heart is gladdened to hear you are starting to reap the benefits of *PAP and experience Restorative Sleep!

That event cluster of OAs & CAs lasting ~45 minutes duration, is your body being deprived of Oxygen. That is the very reason I wear the Wellue Checkme O2 Max Pulse/Oximeter/Motion recording monitor.  It is Bluetooth to my Phone with an app that allows remote monitoring of current status, as far away as the living room with audible and vibratory alarms. The Wrist unit also has audible and vibratory alarms. Both the smart phone and the wrist unit alarms are user defined as to set point, loudness of the audible and strength of the vibratory signal. For me, a back to back double CA event of 24 seconds will drop my SpO2 below 70%, I could not imagine what 45 minutes would do to me. Brain damage I suppose.

Could you zoom in and post a couple of ~3 to 5 minute screenshots inside that cluster?

Could you also provide a zoomed screen shot from 01:00 to 01:05 of that same OSCAR image, I would like to see your Flow Rate shapes under average Flow Limits. That will enable me to tell you if the rest of the report looks okay.

Looking at your Flow Limits in the "Statistics" area of the left hand side bar on your OSCAR Report, 95% = 0.13, 99.5% = 0.33. I would really like to see those lower. By the time you read this you should have a couple of days to acclimate to the min pressure of 13.4 (cmH2O). I truly want you well adjusted to that pressure because after Christmas I will suggest an additional increase of 0.2 (cmH2O) to a min pressure of 13.6 (cmH20), that is after reviewing more posts with after Christmas screenshots of Oscar Reports.

I realize that seems like a high min pressure compared to other Apneaboard members, we are each unique. Look at my profile pressures, that is why I am giving you time to adjust, before additional conservative increases. I want you to be comfortable with therapy, please report any discomfort you may experience.

I do not want you to experienced aerophagia, there are tongue exercises that can minimize or eliminate aerophagia. As for acid reflux, they generally recommend back sleeping on an incline mattress/pillow or sleeping in a recliner. In your case, not a viable option at this time. I have taken two week Rx doses of acid reducers comparable to Costco's Lansoprazole. A couple of times a year I have to repeat the two week Rx, but it truly does work for me.

What type of collar are you using? You may have to shop around to find something compatible with your needs, that also provides the comfort you need for restorative sleep.

I am fortunate that my Sleep Clinic does utilize OSCAR, does recognize we are human and communicates in advance what possible uncomfortable side effects I would experience going from 14 (cmH2O) C-flex 3; to PS-4, 18 to 22 (cmH2O).  

Sleep well, Enjoy family and friends throughout these holiday season

Merry Christmas to all!

Good Night.

 

[ejbpesca]

I have a Wellue Oximeter Ring.  I wore it for a few nights.  The O2 readings were so low at times I concluded it does not work properly.  One Forum member saw my O2 report and claimed it was me moving that caused the extremely low O2 readings.

I have taken Omeprazole daily for over a year.  My primary said the two-week limit was not needed to be followed.  With it and several doses of antiacids during the day, I still have acid reflux.  I once took a now banned Zantac formula with great success and only needed it occasionally.  Once it was gone, my acid levels began causing me much grief. I've had this chronic condition for 50 years.

Here are two 3-5 minute OSCAR expanded views from the cluster in the last report posted. Thank you for your attention and expertise.

           

[ejbpesca]

Last night was going okay then bad news again.  I had my Corflex collar on but removed it before sleep due to irritation. I have tried a nicer one with a smooth fabric surface but its inner structure was very uncomfortable.