Help...Unsure if apnea is causing my severe insomnia

[Kiko2017]

Kiko, it would be a huge help if you would get copies of your sleep studies and let us know more exactly the type and numbers of events and impact for oxygen saturation.  Thin, fit people have sleep apnea, and it is not nearly as uncommon as you might thing.  Furthermore, it may be obstructive or more insidious central apnea which the clinics and doctors are really not very tuned into.  Obstructive sleep apnea can come from anatomy of the upper airway, nasal passages and be made worse through sleep position or poor head-neck alignment.  Think about whether acute angles of your neck (tuck chin to chest), increase respiratory effort.  If that causes increased effort or cuts off your airway, there may be sleep position solutions that will avoid CPAP.  

There are variations of sleep disruption that may be respiratory based, and of course unrelated to your respiratory function.  If your sleep is disrupted, your will experience the same symptoms regardless of the cause.  Starting with your report is just a way to eliminate some of the possibilities.  Something else you can try is a recording oximeter to see if lower oxygen levels are occurring when you sleep.  These devices are inexpensive and can help you to confirm or refute that your problem is respiratory related.

Hi Sleeprider,
Here are some of the sleep study stats I was able to pull out:

Type: SAS/PSG
AHI: 27.1
Min 02 Sat (%): 91
Comments: ODI: 12 PLMs: 4.6, Max TcCO2: 51.7 Torr, Baseline TcCO2: 43torr

Online research indicates that 27.1 is "Moderate" and that "Severe" starts at 30. So I guess Im close to being a severe case ;-( 
I still cant believe this number as I had no problems sleeping whatsoever till I was in my early 30's and then all of a sudden my sleep fell off of a cliff when I turned 32. How can it get so bad so quickly?

As I said Im 5'11 (1.8m), 175 pounds (80Kg), BMI of 24.41 (Kg/m2). My weight, lifestyle and exercise habits haven't changed since I was in my 20's. If anything, I had more belly fat when I was young. Now I'm more fit,  exercise more, eat so much healthier, ...etc. 

[Spy Car]

Kiko, it would be a huge help if you would get copies of your sleep studies and let us know more exactly the type and numbers of events and impact for oxygen saturation.  Thin, fit people have sleep apnea, and it is not nearly as uncommon as you might thing.  Furthermore, it may be obstructive or more insidious central apnea which the clinics and doctors are really not very tuned into.  Obstructive sleep apnea can come from anatomy of the upper airway, nasal passages and be made worse through sleep position or poor head-neck alignment.  Think about whether acute angles of your neck (tuck chin to chest), increase respiratory effort.  If that causes increased effort or cuts off your airway, there may be sleep position solutions that will avoid CPAP.  

There are variations of sleep disruption that may be respiratory based, and of course unrelated to your respiratory function.  If your sleep is disrupted, your will experience the same symptoms regardless of the cause.  Starting with your report is just a way to eliminate some of the possibilities.  Something else you can try is a recording oximeter to see if lower oxygen levels are occurring when you sleep.  These devices are inexpensive and can help you to confirm or refute that your problem is respiratory related.

Hi Sleeprider,
Here are some of the sleep study stats I was able to pull out:

Type: SAS/PSG
AHI: 27.1
Min 02 Sat (%): 91
Comments: ODI: 12 PLMs: 4.6, Max TcCO2: 51.7 Torr, Baseline TcCO2: 43torr

Online research indicates that 27.1 is "Moderate" and that "Severe" starts at 30. So I guess Im close to being a severe case ;-( 
I still cant believe this number as I had no problems sleeping whatsoever till I was in my early 30's and then all of a sudden my sleep fell off of a cliff when I turned 32. How can it get so bad so quickly?

As I said Im 5'11 (1.8m), 175 pounds (80Kg), BMI of 24.41 (Kg/m2). My weight, lifestyle and exercise habits haven't changed since I was in my 20's. If anything, I had more belly fat when I was young. Now I'm more fit,  exercise more, eat so much healthier, ...etc. 

Can you include the apnea types/percentages in the study?

I've had pretty bad insomnia (often running in jags) over the years prior to starting on APAP in August 2016. Sleep apnea wasn't on my radar prior to a sleep study, as I was worried most about getting to sleep, not staying asleep.

In my case, APAP helped. I feel like not having the sleep disturbances when I did sleep helped set up better patterns of sleep and helped break the insomnia cycle. Not perfectly. But better.

Over time I developed more central apneas (that really wiped me out) and I just switched to a specialized ASV machine (that I'm still getting used to). In the last two weeks, I've had two unusually refreshing night's sleep (the best in decades), two pretty good nights, and one horrible night of insomnia (the night after the best night ever).

So for me at least, some ups and downs, but overall really worth it.

Keys to comfort IMO include finding the right mask (really critical) and dialing-in the best settings (which people here can help with) and making sure you have the right type of machine.

With your numbers, you need treatment. That's clear.

More data from the study will help advisors help you.

Best,

Bill