Didgeridoo, Singing, wind instruments ... what else

[BillSteamshovel]

Hello,

Bill the newb.

I stop breathing an average of 40x per hour according to sleep test data.

Would like to get my hands on the raw data - the graphs that the specialist created were atrocious.

Test was done at a private hospital - lots of wires; breathing, snoring, ecg and body position were all recorded. Is there a standard format for the data and do I have a legal right to be given a copy of the data in Australia ?

I suspect very little interpretation of the data takes place with the report being created by automatic routines in the relevant software - immediately after the test the technician summarised the results for me, and 4 weeks later, after doing his "analysis", the specialist told me exactly the same things. 

I have seen references in forums to Didgeridoo playing and Singing as being of some benefit to apnea sufferers. (apneaists ? is there a word - spellchecker says no)

I tried posting links and attachments but it appears that I am not allowed to do this until I have completed 4 posts.


What about wind instruments in general ? Do trumpet players etc generally get a benefit from their profession ? How about breathing exercises in general ie Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Yoga, Martial Arts, Free Diving ? etc

Bill

Bill

[Mosquitobait]

Wind instruments in general are helpful, but it appears that it is mostly helpful for those who have only mild apnea. In addition, you have to continue to do these exercises DAILY. Even then, there may be a limit depending on age. My BIL managed to avoid apnea problems for several years but the didgeridoo is no longer doing it. Raising his headboard has once again eliminated the apnea, at least for awhile. He's 75 and yes, may eventually have to give in and get a unit.

[Gideon]

First you want, as you stated, a machine that is fully data capable.  In general we recommend an automatic machine.
I would suggest you look at SleepyHead software for your computer, see my sig.
Read the Mask Primer (sig again) Masks are often the most difficult portion of therapy.

I'm going to ask that you post your sleep study data.  It is possible that the data there would indicate a different type of machine.

Current acceptable in Production Machines

• ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet (best choice)  (Fixed CPAP, Auto CPAP) 
  
  
• ResMed AirSense™ 10 Elite CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier (Fixed CPAP) 
  
  
• Philips Respironics DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine (DSX500x11) (Not all Dream Station Models, Check SN on bottom, bricks look the same) (Fixed CPAP, Auto CPAP)(best choice)
  
  
• Philips Respironics DreamStation CPAP Pro (DSX400x11) (Not all DreamStation Models, Check SN on bottom) (Fixed CPAP)
  

Current Machines to Avoid

• ResMed AirStart™ 10 CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier (all models) (Lack of full data capability)
  
  
• ResMed AirSense™ 10 CPAP Machine with HumidAir™  (Lack of full data capability)
  
  
• Philips Respironics DreamStation CPAP (DSX200x11) (Not all DreamStation Models, Check SN on bottom) (Lack of full data capability)
  

Note: These are current machines, there are older models that have full data capability that are available via secondary markets if budget is an issue. Please inquire on the forum and your questions will be answered.

[trish6hundred]

Hi BillSteamshovel,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you as you start CPAP therapy and hang in there for more responses to your post.

[BillSteamshovel]

Hello,

<snip>

Test was done at a private hospital - lots of wires; breathing, snoring, ecg and body position were all recorded. Is there a standard format for the data and do I have a legal right to be given a copy of the data in Australia ?

<snip>

Bill

OK,

To answer my own questions, might be useful to other people.

1. The European Data Format is a standard format for sleep files to allow data exchange and consistency in data collection. These files have the suffix .edf ie

0001.edf
0002.edf
etc

2. Freedom of information is not relevant to medical information in Australia, however, Googling finds the " Health Records Act 2001"  which is relevant, and seems to indicate that the patient does have a right to be given relevant data gathered about their health. It appears that doctors, specialists and hospitals   have a widely held assumption/belief that the data belongs to the doctor/specialist and that permission is required from the doctor/specialist before the hospital can release the data to the patient.

Bill

[Ockrocket]

Apneacs apparently. according to Dr. Jim Pagel, director of Penrose Hospital's Sleep Disorder Center in Colorado Springs. 


How good is your relationship with your GP?

He would/should have access to you test results, and would possibly be happy to share them with you.

[BillSteamshovel]

Apneacs apparently. according to Dr. Jim Pagel, director of Penrose Hospital's Sleep Disorder Center in Colorado Springs. 


How good is your relationship with your GP?

He would/should have access to you test results, and would possibly be happy to share them with you.

Thanks,

Thats a useful scrabble word.

I get on fine with the GP and he has given me the specialists report which unfortunately is text based rather than graphics base - ie a heap of words instead of a heap of pictures.
Given that I knew 400Mb of data was gathered I wanted to see a few graphs, ie snoring vs time vs apneas vs body position etc etc etc

Bill

[Ockrocket]

Don't take it as an official word, that is just what the good Doctor says it is.. 

Apneac doesn't seem to come up in any official form of dictionary..

But hey, maybe we can make it an officially recognised word if we use it often enough here.  

[Sleepster]

Given that I knew 400Mb of data was gathered I wanted to see a few graphs, ie snoring vs time vs apneas vs body position etc etc etc

A graph of volume flow rate versus time will look something like a wave, in that it cycles between positive and negative values as you breathe. The convention is positive for inward flow.

If the flow rate is zero or nearly zero for ten seconds or more, that scores as an apnea. The thing you want to know, which is not reflected in the AHI, is the length of the apneas and the amount of oxygen desaturation that results.

[BillSteamshovel]

Given that I knew 400Mb of data was gathered I wanted to see a few graphs, ie snoring vs time vs apneas vs body position etc etc etc

A graph of volume flow rate versus time will look something like a wave, in that it cycles between positive and negative values as you breathe. The convention is positive for inward flow.

If the flow rate is zero or nearly zero for ten seconds or more, that scores as an apnea. The thing you want to know, which is not reflected in the AHI, is the length of the apneas and the amount of oxygen desaturation that results.

Thanks,

Initially I didn't properly appreciate how useful your above advice is.

But it clicked when I looked at the graphs. Attached pdf clearly shows correlation between body position, snoring and apneas with snoring/apneas and oxygen desaturation showing a high correlation with body position.

Graph created in edfbrowser, am completely unable to get sleepyhead to open my edf files - have tried on two different computers now after installing/uninstalling twice on each machine - must be something about the files that sleepyhead doesnt like.

Bill