DavidAM - Treatment

[Sleeprider]

It's always a concern because we use CPAP in the hope that our sleep will improve. So far, it's hard to nail down the arousals and whether they arise from respiratory events, or spontaneously. We can mitigate respiratory events with PAP, but that's not the only cause of sleep arousals that cause the fatigue and symptoms your are looking to relieve. We need to identify the pathology of arousal, and that means identifying them in the charts and seeing whether or not there are respiratory precursors.

[DavidAM]

Thank you, Sleeprider. What other possible causes are there for arousals? And how can we go about identifying them in the charts?

[DavidAM]

This is last's night data. The obstructive apneas of the first half of the night and their corresponding pressure profile puzzle me; does this seem like positional apnea? I'm thinking of getting a soft cervical collar or a chin strap. 

Last night I put my APAP behind my bed, rather than to its side, so I could always be at the same distance from the machine and thus minimize leaks. It seems like it worked, there were less leaks and FLs are looking good.

[Sleeprider]

i see a periodic pattern of approximately 20 minutes between events. I can't identify the source from the chart. Maybe zoom in to where we can see how the events evolve and resolve. A night vision camera might reveal whether a periodic movement is occurring or if you are somehow moving into an obstructive position. Typical positional apnea has a greater frequency or clustering of events, rather than evenly spaced ones.

[DavidAM]

I don't know if you saw my previous response, but: what other possible causes are there for arousals that you know of? Does my sleep profile look like UARS? I made a thread where I explained my situation and uploaded screenshots of a sleep study's report.

I zoomed in. This is what I saw:

[Sleeprider]

I don't see UARS. Flow limits are generally non-existent with current settings, and OA events are not preceeded by flow limits, so there is no increase in pressure. They seem to come out of nowhere without any respiratory antecedent.

[DavidAM]

Thank you. What about my sleep studies, do they indicate UARS? And, if they do, does having a low FL mean that I'm successfully treating it?

[Sleeprider]

To be honest, I don't know and without a link I'm not looking for it. FYI, I'm not going to be around a few days after Thursday due to a surgery, so don't feel ignored if you don't hear from me for a few days.

[DavidAM]

A link? A link to what? 

Oh, don't worry. I hope your surgery goes well!

[DavidAM]

Hi. Last night I upped my pressure in order to diminish flow-limited breathing, and I woke up to these results. Should I diminish the min. pressure, or wait until the central apneas resolve on their own? 

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