Spo2 results with and without cpap

[I_will_never_sleep_again]

Could someone take a look at this chart. I am not sure I even need cpap anymore. Last night I used my Cdms50f oximeter. The first and very last part of the night was with cpap, the middle part was without cpap. I don't see that much difference in the spo2 with or without.
I really don't know how to interpret the data anyway, so it might be bad both ways. What level should the spo2 be?
Need help.
Thanks

[ardenum]

Sleep apnea isnt just oxygen sat%. You don't just magically 'get over' it. If you keep this up im sure you'll start seeing desaturations like you previously had.

[Walla Walla]

You may not need a CPAP anymore. The only way to be sure is do a sleep study. I think I'd look into doing a home sleep study before stopping treatment though.

[mesenteria]

I agree with Walla Walla.  It's good to second-guess a circumstance now and then, but change the conditions or methods only with firm and contradictory information firmly in hand.

Also, most of us have AHI that vary from night-to-night.  Some nights are better than others.  This is just me, but I would want a pretty convincing string of almost consecutive nights showing that the 'trend' is real, or that the change is real.  Even then, one bad night without CPAP can cause some damage that took weeks or months to get reversed or at least stabilized.

Bottom line, it's a good thing you are vigilant, open-minded and inquisitive, a bit skeptical...but don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

[I_will_never_sleep_again]

Thanks, Probably a good idea to at least do a home sleep study.

[Broomstick]

I read an article about how you can probably go a few days without CPAP but eventually you will resort back to having problems. Among other things, it mentioned the airway being swollen from struggling to breathe which carries over to the next night. I imagine if you went a few days without CPAP, you would eventually see the O2 drop.

[I_will_never_sleep_again]

I read an article about how you can probably go a few days without CPAP but eventually you will resort back to having problems. Among other things, it mentioned the airway being swollen from struggling to breathe which carries over to the next night. I imagine if you went a few days without CPAP,  you would eventually see the O2 drop.

Thanks, That is something to consider.
My req'd pressure has came down so much in the last few years, and the only events I have in the last yr or so has been CA's. Every time I lowered pressure the CA's got lower also. That made me think maybe I don't need it anymore.
I had 3 things that I did that helped. In order of most improvement:
1. Stopped drinking alcohol (this was the biggie, I have no moderation button)
2. Switched to nasal mask and tapped mouth
3. Lost weight (this didn't help as much as I thought it would)

So from reading the comments, I think I should try without for about a week (while wearing o2 monitor), then if still okay, then do a home sleep study.
Even if I don't need it every night, I still need to keep it by the bed for nights that I can't breathe through my nose perfectly. As soon as I mouth breathe my airway
closes, so I will never be completely free of it. Sometimes when I go to bed with allergies acting up, the Cpap pressure is welcomed, other times it's annoying.

[2SleepBetta]

An alternative way of interpreting your graphed periods off and on CPAP: your flow limitations probably do not kick in while you are awake making CPAP seem ineffective by an inappropriate comparison.

As presented in your image, your larger FL clusters, for example at 2330 and 0400, are followed by the larger drops in SpO2 at about 2340 and 0417, respectively. Your waking SpO2 is more regular and without the significant irregularities seen during the lower SpO2 sleep. A couple of caveats are in order: one, your data is from a low fixed pressure which I have not ever thought about after once getting away from its exacerbating effects on my sleep (and on mine only--for others it is good); your synchronization of oximeter and pump clocks may be perfect or faulty.


I too have been looking at (deeper) troubling SpO2 drops: their timing and extent in relation to other sleep data my A10 Autoset  and CMS50I collect including the 50I's perfusion index. Seemingly on a different topic is the question, "When did I fall asleep?" With my APAP settings you can see, I find that in the first few minutes--before falling asleep, I say--my pressures are flat and are as set at low end, 10.4 and 7.4 (EPR 3) until I see Flow Limitations rise enough to trigger higher pressure. During those minutes awake my SpO2, Pulse Rate and PI will vary much as in my normal waking ranges when I'm idle and lying about--nothing remarkable. (But after sleeping for 2-5 hours, immediately upon getting up for a bathroom break, I have found--too often--that SpO2 and PI have suddenly plummeted down to the low 80s--or worse--and near 1.0, respectively, and those low periods often remain for 30-60  minutes after returning to bed. Accordingly, for that and other reasons I have an appointment set with our area's "best pulmonologist"--who I am told, irrelevantly, that I will not like his widely criticized manner.)

Thanks to applying information from and the replies to me on this forum, my RDI's have dropped from (was it near 60? 3 years ago) to AHIs of 0.6 for the year and AHIs  to 0.0 - 0.2 after using an accelerometer to convince me of positional effects and induce me to make it impossible to sleep on my back. What I see from A10 and 50I is that the A10 can overcome collapsing and closing tendencies of airways and can overcome my very present flow restrictions and snores: do this if I avoid, as I do now, sleeping inside the 30-degree-wide arc centered at the supine, flat on back, position.

Nothing here is intended to divert you from getting appropriate advice from forum experts and doctors--both far above my pay grade and knowledge.