Should this be flagged as periodic breathing?

[jen61]

I've only had 2 instances of flagged periodic breathing in the past month, but honestly the breathing pattern that was flagged looks more normal than this pattern I noticed last week. This breathing pattern wasn't flagged for periodic breathing. Does this look like anything normal?




Below are the events flagged as period breathing.



What do you all think?

[PoolQ]

I had something like that, different shape but the same repeating like yours. I don't know enough to comment further, but there are those here that do. Wait for them to come by and comment.

[vsheline]

Hi jen61,

The posted zoomed-in Flow waveforms have mixed obstructive apneas and central apneas marked. Unlike with most users, your obstructive apneas rarely ended with sudden "recovery breaths" but instead end gradually, with the amplitude of the Flow waveform gradually increasing in amplitude, as if Periodic Breathing.

So your Flow waveforms look a lot like central PB, but I think what is missing in your waveforms and would be present in central PB is smooth rounded tops on the inhalations. Instead, the tops usually show signs of Flow Limitation, which indicates partial obstruction of the airway and indicates the pressure during inhalation was too low to adequately open the airway.

Your Min Pressure (4) is set way too low for your present pressure needs.

Your 95 percentile pressures were 20, 20 and 17. This is an average of 19 and is very high. Our 95% pressure is the estimated pressure that our mask was at or below for at least 95% of the time. The 95% pressure is also the estimated pressure the mask was at or above for at least 5% of the time.

I think it is generally advisable for our Min Pressure to be set between 1 to 4 lower than our average 90% or 95% pressure, although a few APAP users have found they do best when their Min Pressure is even closer to their 95% pressure.

I would suggest gradually working your Min Pressure up to around 15 or 16, if your average 95% pressure remains around 19.

I would also suggest requesting your doctor to prescribe an auto-adjusting standard bilevel. Auto BiPAP machines are more adjustable and usually more comfortable than APAP machines when our treatment pressures are higher than 15.

But Obstructive Sleep Apnea is often strongly positional, and perhaps your pressure needs could be greatly reduced by taking precautions which would prevent you from rolling onto your back while asleep.

Take care,
--- Vaughn

[jen61]

Thanks for helpful info. It's hard for me to figure out the rhyme and reason of all these stats sometimes. I had another night last night of odd breathing patterns, even at pressures of 17-18.
I'm scheduled for an in-lab sleep study soon (vs the home study I did before being diagnosed). The sleep lab tech also mentioned possibly needing a bi-pap machine when I showed her the odd breathing patterns I was having. Since the lab study will be more in depth, hopefully they can come up with a solution soon. It's been almost a month and my numbers are still varying greatly.

[PoolQ]

I would suggest that you say that you want a BiLevel machine, you don't need an ASV (highest level) and the BiLevel has some nice features that the APAP does not have- you can always just not use them. I have found that the sleep lab tries to give me the machine I want, if for nothing more than to get me off their porch

[jen61]

I have found that the sleep lab tries to give me the machine I want, if for nothing more than to get me off their porch

LOL... I don't know much about machines but I will check into that one.