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Alright party people....... It's not a ton of data but it is a start. On 6/4 I was foolish enough to try pillows again which did me no good. 6/5 I went back to the full face mask and that data is below. It is uncanny how I wake up at the 3:00-3:30 mark seemingly without fail. When this happens I am hyper alert and I guess mildly panic'd so I take off the mask.
I have included the full session, a window with an OA an CA flagged, as well as the end of the session prior to arousal. In the limited information I have consumed since my first post I am intrigued by my inspiratory flow shapes. In my very limited opinion, maybe I'm dealing with UARS\RERAs?
Looking forward to some feedback from those with much more knowledge than I.
This weekend produced my longest CPAP sessions yet. Attached are some screenshots from last nights session. I am curious if anything is jumping off the charts at people. I am particularly curious about the data in the second screenshot from ~0240-0300. My sleep appears disturbed but I'm not seeing anything obvious when I look at the data. Is it simply an environmental factor that disturbed me?
One thing I did not previously mention which I just realized could be a contributing factor to my recently perceived exacerbation of my sleep issues - I'm diagnosed with hypothyroidism. It was typically controlled well with TSH held down to ~1.5. I was reading about some of the links between hypothyroidism and OSA\CA when it dawned on me that my meds changed just about 90 days ago. I went from taking armour thyroid to a generic desiccated thyroid med. Now I'm curious if my TSH has crept up because of some small differences in the formulation of the two products.
PeaceLoveAndPizza - I don't think there was a particular reason but the new settings seem to be well tolerated. I will certainly drop it back down if you believe it would be a better range given what is in my current data.
The zoomed-in section looks like standard arousal breathing. Likely moving around or flipping over in bed. Nothing to be concerned with there.
There are a few periods of breathing instability that may be caused by movement, which is where most apnoea’s and flow limitations are happening. That is what I am focusing on for now.
I suggest increasing your min pressure and adding another 1 cmH2O of EPR.
Mode APAP
Min pressure 10
Max pressure 14
EPR 3 full-time
No ramp
That should help with those remaining flow limitation spikes we see and a bit more bottom pressure to help smooth things out. Give it a try and let us know how it goes.
I believe acclimation is starting to kick in as I am more or less able to sleep through the night with my mask on now. Anecdotally I do feel somewhat better throughout the day. I had a visit with a pulmonologist earlier in the week who ordered an in-lab study for me. We will see how long it takes to get in and get it completed.
I'm visiting with the Dr once more in 30 days as he wanted me to have some more consistent data under my belt to get a better picture of treatment.
Something unexpected was the Dr posited that maybe something else is causing my disordered sleep. The Dr. was able to pull my last in-home sleep study from 4-5 years ago where it indicated I was having ~8.5 events an hour. While it is mild, I'm still having a number of events per hour with treatment. For now, however, I will continue on with treatment and see what the future holds.
Greetings, everyone. I have yet to get in for an additional sleep study as insurance denied an in-facility study. My Dr. also seems reluctant to try and appeal the decision and would rather try to get me situated with a bi-pap. I don't know how I feel about this since, in my mind, it's just throwing something at the wall and hoping vs getting true diagnostic info to base a decision on. My AHI is probably something that most would be happy with but I wan't all that high to begin with. I'm curious if anyone thinks the attached wave forms are problematic and if they are, what may be causing such a jagged graph. I do not snore but I believe I have issues with exhaling. Audio of my breathing here ( https://imgur.com/a/pJrVMbV).
What about your detailed sleep study? You could post it redacted of the your personal info as attachments like you do with OSCAR. It would be good for you to know what exactly you're dealing with for yourself.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Insurance denied it and my Doc doesn't seem too motivated to appeal the decision. I have an appt next Thursday where I am going to learn more about his thinking and push for it. I'm all about data so I definitely want a true in-lab study done. I've had a couple at homes and they were always "inconclusive." My Doc was able to find the one from a number of years ago and my last at home only had me clocked at an AHI of 8.
