New member having difficulty
I was reading somewhere online that there is such a thing as Complex Sleep Apnea. In other words -
Complex sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when a patient is identified as having OSA, but with the application of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) to eliminate the OSA, the patient develops Central Sleep Apnea. The cause of complex sleep apnea is not known at this time.
I have described my problem to sleep therapists, and they seem to discount what I am describing, by telling me to just hang in there and in time I will get used to the machine.
What happens to me is that while I am going to sleep, as I totally relax, after exhaling, my diaphragm doesn't involuntarily draw the next breath, and I will snap out of that state to being fully awake to consciously take a breath. This is not due to obstruction at all, and I am just barely awake enough to sense what is going on.
This happens while asleep too. I will wake up gasping for air with my bipap machine going so I know the event was not obstructive in nature. Is it possible that I have this complex condition, brought on by using CPAP?
RE: New member having difficulty
There are lots of different names for things. You sound like what I was going through. Any reason to think you might have COPD? That is what it was with me and I would describe my situation the same as you do. It took a long time to get the sleep Doctor to hear me.
If you want to really know what is going on you need to get the sleephead software assuming it supports your machine.
It would also help a lot if you entered what machine you are using and not just the therapy type.
If you are having trouble breathing just before you go to sleep, this is not sleep apnea because you are not asleep yet-it is happening, it's just going to be called something else.
RE: New member having difficulty
(10-04-2016, 11:40 AM)PoolQ Wrote: There are lots of different names for things. You sound like what I was going through. Any reason to think you might have COPD? That is what it was with me and I would describe my situation the same as you do. It took a long time to get the sleep Doctor to hear me.
Thanks for your reply.
Quit sure its not COPD. I am (I think)quite healthy for 65 yoa. Non smoker, eating right, have check ups, etc.
But I will post specifics tonight. I know it's a Philips bipap machine. And I will download that software
RE: New member having difficulty
(10-04-2016, 11:21 AM)Slim1950 Wrote: I was reading somewhere online that there is such a thing as Complex Sleep Apnea. In other words -
Complex sleep apnea is a condition that occurs when a patient is identified as having OSA, but with the application of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) to eliminate the OSA, the patient develops Central Sleep Apnea. The cause of complex sleep apnea is not known at this time.
I have described my problem to sleep therapists, and they seem to discount what I am describing, by telling me to just hang in there and in time I will get used to the machine.
What happens to me is that while I am going to sleep, as I totally relax, after exhaling, my diaphragm doesn't involuntarily draw the next breath, and I will snap out of that state to being fully awake to consciously take a breath. This is not due to obstruction at all, and I am just barely awake enough to sense what is going on.
This happens while asleep too. I will wake up gasping for air with my bipap machine going so I know the event was not obstructive in nature. Is it possible that I have this complex condition, brought on by using CPAP?
What you are describing sounds like central sleep apnea. The central ventilation drive in the brain is dysfunctional. Best treatment is an ASV machine that will non-invasively ventilate a person when a breath is missed.
10-04-2016, 12:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-04-2016, 12:55 PM by bernerbits.)
RE: New member having difficulty
I've been on CPAP less than a month but I have had the exact same issue. I had no centrals on my polysomnograph; apparently CPAP can induce central apnea-like events when falling asleep, especially during the adjustment phase. I talked to my doc and got on Ambien to get me over the hump of getting used to CPAP.
However, what's helped take care of the breathing issues in the meantime is switching to a full face mask, upping the minimum pressure, and (on my model) adjusting the mask type setting.
RE: New member having difficulty
Slim, if you're able to download and use #Sleepyhead, we will be able to tell very quickly whether it matches the pattern of complex sleep apnea. Events like you're describing as you fall asleep are not actually central apnea, because you're not asleep yet, but if they occur repeatedly during sleep and especially in large numbers or clusters, that is a pretty good indicator. For your Philips BiPAP, anything prior to the System One 50 series without a SD card does not support sleepyhead. If you have a 50, 60, or Dreamstation series, you're all set.
Try to post a couple more times as you won't be able to post links or attachments without at least 4 posts...good luck!
RE: New member having difficulty
Hi Slim1950,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you with your CPAP therapy and getting used to it.
Hang in there for more responses to your post.
trish6hundred
10-05-2016, 06:14 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-05-2016, 06:15 AM by Slim1950.)
RE: New member having difficulty
I am excited to report that although it took me about 2 hours to get to sleep, I did get there finally, and stayed asleep until 5:45 this morning! Although I did wake up with a headache. AHI reading this morning was 1.7. I am assuming AHI means events per hour?
Periodic breathing was 0.
Onwards! Now I know it can be done.
RE: New member having difficulty
Good news! At least you put an issue you were worried about to rest. That's what we use the data for.
RE: New member having difficulty
I downloaded and installed the Sleepyhead software and have imported my data. How do I upload it so that you can read and interpret the results?
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