My Journey Begins

[MediocreOpie]

Hey, all! It's hard to believe it has been over two years since my last post. Life has been crazy busy but I'm still around. And, I am still using my machine. So, how have the past two years been? Interesting...

Based on your current results with pressure at 14 and EPR 2, your AHI is really beating the odds.  This is one for the books.  I expect your results will be inconsistent and that central events will eventually return.  Based on your sleep study, you should be failing at your use of CPAP, and yet, you're doing great so far.  If CA events return, you will ultimately need a more sophisticated machine called an adaptive servo ventilator (ASV).  On the other hand, you may be one of the rare cases that resolves sleep disordered breathing using CPAP.  These are remarkable and unusual results. For the time being, there is nothing I would change about your therapy, but I will be surprised if it actually works in the long run in its current form.

So, Sleeprider, I have been struggling for about the last 12-18 months. I have had every blood test they can throw at me and they have all come back normal. I had mentioned to my doctor that I felt it might be my sleep and, after much nagging, she finally agreed to refer me for another sleep study. My goal was to have the study done as I used my machine, so they gave me a home sleep test (HST). The HST essentially showed that my apnea was under control. I think it came back with an AHI of 1. I finally managed to get a sit-down with the sleep doctor, so I took my MacBook in with my data loaded into OSCAR. As I explained everything to him, he said that I have the wrong machine if I am struggling with central events and agreed that I should be reevaluated. He was perplexed that I have not had a follow-up in the three years I have been using my CPAP. He also changed my prescription from a fixed 14cm in CPAP mode to 6cm to 12cm in APAP mode. Last night was my first night with it, so we'll see how well it works. I have my sleep study next Sunday night to evaluate me without a machine to see if I am still having a moderate number of central events.

something along these lines may or may not be in store for you but keep it in mind as you progress.  your numbers aren't terrible by any means so it comes down to how you feel and whether you are satisfied with the apap treatment. and whether your ca dissipates or continues.

sheepless, my CA has continued. Over the past week, it has been horrible and I don't know why. My Cheyenne-Stokes episodes have been crazy over the past week as well. I really expect the doctor to recommend an ASV after my sleep study, but we will see what happens. My fear is that I go in and have a good night (I have those on my machine from time to time) and they way, "Well, you seem to be fine." Time will tell.

[Sleeprider]

Thanks for the update. I still remember my surprise that you achieved such good results on CPAP with your diagnostic results indicating central apnea. Keep updating as the story develops and you have further tests.

[MediocreOpie]

Well, interesting turn of events. I guess the plot thickens!

I had my sleep study last night. I woke up at some point, wide awake, tossed and turned for a bit before finally getting back to sleep. The technician woke me up this morning and I didn't have a mask on, so I wasn't sure what happened. I still felt pretty tired and not well rested after the tossing and turning. Another technician called me this afternoon with the news: obstructive sleep apnea. Apparently, my AHI for obstructive was 13.8 while on my back and 8.3 while on my side. My central AHI was 3.2 with 20 central events for the night. I have not seen my report yet. I hope to get a copy of it before I meet with the doctor next month. I am curious to see what it says.

Is it odd to go from primarily central sleep apnea to obstructive? Stranger yet, I weigh less now than I did 3 years ago when I did not have OSA. It's so weird and I am still struggling with fatigue issues that we can't seem to find a cause for.