Doc wants me to take Acetazolamide

[mugen4u]

previous topic with discussion and oscar reports:
can someone read my oscar chart and tell me if it's good or bad? | Apnea Board

ok so my doctor finally said that CPAP doesn't work for my CSA (what we already expected).


According to doctor google the researches for this medication combined with CSA are quite good, the side effects are not very bad but i can't call them good either. 

Anyone here has any experience with this medication? i am supposed to take half a pill 1 hour before i go to bed and have to use the CPAP.
not sure why i also have to use CPAP, what does that help?

[ChadBSr]

I don't have personal experience but I have read of doctors using this.  Dr. Thomas uses EERS and 2nd adds O2 if needed.  If those two things don't work he then prescribes acetazolamide.  This is a medication shown to eliminate periodic breathing in high altitudes.

[cexer]

which pressure are you using ?
i ramped up my epap to have a bit fresh air around my nose.
this helped with feeling claustrophobic under the mask.
could this help ?

i was curious about the medication, but i have obstructive apnea, too
and my body hates the jaw retainer.
there was acid building up under it, which was eating up my teeth
and my jaw started crackling while chewing, if i got my teeth together at all (jaw dislocation).

the medication would also cover hypopnea, right ?

the deal is that it allows you to sleep without a machine, if you only have central-like stuff, right :-)
if you have time, you can try the doctors thing and then without.

you could also try a more advanced machine, to take the load of the medication off your body.
maybe you just get used to a machine and then decide.
how do you feel about it ?

[ChadBSr]

The medication is usually taken with CPAP not by itself.

[cexer]

ah, i did not know that. why ?

[ChadBSr]

Most of us have at least some of both types of apnea.  Central apneas also tend to cause obstructive apneas during the pause in breathing.  The machine may still label these as central.  I doubt the medicine is enough to cure sleep apnea on its own, it's used as an aid when cpap isn't enough.  Also, if you take a pill and stop using the cpap you no longer have data showing it's working.  In theory could someone have mild apnea and not need the machine anymore? Sure but I'm not sure it's very likely.  I think it's also more typically used for people with TECSA, not true central apnea.