New to Board. Need help interpreting OSCAR

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Quick comment on the urological procedure. It is not a big deal, don’t get scared by folks descriptions. I’ve had that and more invasive ones done a number of times, each time in the doctors office using lidocaine with no issues. Most horror stories are from first time procedures when people are not adequately prepped by the doctor or nurse on what is going to happen and what it will feel like when they do it. It quite literally saved my life.

Do not be afraid or concerned about the procedure. A bit of lidocaine and Bob’s your uncle. It will feel strange, but like most diagnostic procedures it is so important that a moments discomfort will be worth it if they find anything that needs to be treated. Not getting it done out of fear of the procedure may not end well at all.

[Travel2BFree]

As someone who used to have a severe and long opiate addiction (high functioning addict with work) i can safley say that all opiates affect sleep quality. Usually its much harder to fall asleep on opiates atleast on doses that are psychoactive meaning doses you can feel, like giving you a small "high".

Now the longer you take them and if its a steady dose you will adjust and be able to sleep, but most people can never sleep as well on opiates as without them no matter how used to them you are. But then again for some the effect of opiates are necessary due to pain managemen familiar with the relationship betwen opiates and sleep

Thanks for sharing that. From personal experience, I'm all too familiar with opiate abuse and their negative impact on sleep quality. More recently, I've spent a number of years working in addictions treatment and have heard similar experiences from many others seeking recovery from opiate addictions. According to research, sleep may or may not recover after cessation of a prolonged period of opiate use/abuse.

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Quick comment on the urological procedure. It is not a big deal, don’t get scared by folks descriptions. I’ve had that and more invasive ones done a number of times, each time in the doctors office using lidocaine with no issues. Most horror stories are from first time procedures when people are not adequately prepped by the doctor or nurse on what is going to happen and what it will feel like when they do it. It quite literally saved my life.

Do not be afraid or concerned about the procedure. A bit of lidocaine and Bob’s your uncle. It will feel strange, but like most diagnostic procedures it is so important that a moments discomfort will be worth it if they find anything that needs to be treated. Not getting it done out of fear of the procedure may not end well at all.

Thanks for your sensible response. Knowledge is always a good thing.

[Travel2BFree]

Looks like last night worked out well for you aside from the persistent central apneas towards the end of the night. Your sleep study doesn't mention any centrals as part of your sleep study and you've been using CPAP for years so it's unlikely to be treatment emergent central apnea. Can you post a screenshot of the clustered central period towards the end of the night? (zoomed in)

EPR can cause c02 wash-out which can cause your body not to take a breath (because there's no c02 to expel). If you felt good this morning after last night I don't see an issue with keeping these settings for a couple of nights to see if the centrals disappear.

Edit: Is there a reason you go to bed so late? Your sleep quality will be much improved if you can build a habit around going to bed around 10p.

It occurred to me that the CAs may have been caused by or aggravated by the methadone. Typically, I take a dose of methadone about 6-6:30am, an hour or two before I have to get up, and the cluster of CAs came after dosing. From my perspective, it always appears that the hour or two of sleep after dosing is my best sleep of the night; however, the data on OSCAR may suggest otherwise.  

On 12/5/23, (screen shot of group of CAs attached) it appeared that the majority of my CA events took place an hour or more after taking methadone. Typically, it takes an hour or so for the methadone to reach full effect and so there may be a relationship between the methadone and CAs. 

Last night, 12/6/23, I kept the same settings but my sleep felt worse (screen shot attached). I was interested to see if I would have another grouping of CAs after taking methadone at 6am but I didn't see the same frequency of CAs. 

Also, last night I kept settings of CPAP 9, EPR 3, ramp 5 minutes but did not wear the cervical support and wondered if the data indicated any benefit from wearing it on 12/5/23? I will include another screen shot of 12/5/23 for comparison. As I said, last night I did not sleep well so I am not sure if there is enough data but would appreciate your oppinion.

And, should I turn the EPR off for comparison?

[UnicornRider]

Quick comment on the urological procedure. It is not a big deal, don’t get scared by folks descriptions. I’ve had that and more invasive ones done a number of times, each time in the doctors office using lidocaine with no issues. Most horror stories are from first time procedures when people are not adequately prepped by the doctor or nurse on what is going to happen and what it will feel like when they do it. It quite literally saved my life.

Do not be afraid or concerned about the procedure. A bit of lidocaine and Bob’s your uncle. It will feel strange, but like most diagnostic procedures it is so important that a moments discomfort will be worth it if they find anything that needs to be treated. Not getting it done out of fear of the procedure may not end well at all.

I agree with PL&P.

     We were not informed in advance, of the procedure about to be performed. The Urologist was not aware the nurse had not injected lubricant with Lidocaine down the urethra in advance of the procedure, as was supposed to happen.

     The benefit of not getting up 4 to 5 times per night, only getting up once every third night, plus knowing that the bladder was clear of any cause for concern was a great relief.

       Plus we learned to ask every conceivable question in advance of any procedure.

   Every little thing that helps you sleep un interrupted is important and counts.