Switch from CPAP to Bilevel

[Mersim85]

That’s a good enough answer for me. Any input on why my flow rate looks wonky? I still wake up 2-3 times a night and can’t figure out why. Other than UARS I have no other medical condition, am 36 yo and in quite good physical shape. I appreciate your time.

[Sleeprider]

I'm not sure what constitutes "wonky". I can find artifacts in my therapy results every night, and as I get older I find I am increasingly awakening at night with difficulty to fall asleep. I don't have any miracle cures that can solve these problems that don't likely arise from the therapy. Everyone has some weird events or breathing, but they don't have detailed Oscar graphs to help you see it. So who knows normal. I would guess we should not pursue perfection, but if we are comfortable and not experiencing sleep disordered breathing that is actually harmful to health, it might be good nuf.

[Mersim85]

I was under the impression that a normal flow rate is sinusoidal and mine usually isn’t. It usually has what you called artifacts every few minutes. If that’s not important it’s ok but I assumed it had something to do with the reason I am waking up so many times a night.

[SarcasticDave94]

I suppose the irregular pattern could be a reason for disruptions to sleep. Then again, wearing a mask while connected to a PAP isn't exactly normal either. Just an opinion, if you feel OK and are gaining rest via PAP, it might be just fine. I'd say get it checked out with the doc if you really want to know, but that rabbit hole is chock full of a few useful and a lot of meaningless testing with a lot of valuable time and money spent.

What I've noted when starting PAP was that my awareness of every little thing that's off one little bit began to be noticed a lot more. I'm not saying just to ignore it offhanded. If you're feeling very badly and you think this is the reason, by all means talk with your Dr. Dolittle.

And note I've got more issues than most here and I'm not dead for them yet. Severe currently untreated Central Apnea, COPD, heart PVCs, very very bad back with pain sidekick, and a major case of bad pulmonary doctoritis. Oh and a coffee and energy drinks addiction to stay awake.

Your little blips may be fine to endure, I'm not certain either way. If it goes perfectly flat though, you got a little issue. Anyway, the best cure for all things Apnea is never hold your breath.

[Mersim85]

Dave you sound like a fun guy to get coffee with. Thanks for the advice. If you’re ever in the Lehigh valley, I make a mean triple espresso.

[SarcasticDave94]

We may bump into each other somewhere.

As for your therapy, keep an eye on your blips and see if you can connect them to any issues. Apnea aspects are full of NoS items, either Nothing or Something. Just pick the something things to combat against. What I'm meaning is if you can connect the blip to an issue, you have evidence to address the something. If after a short space of time you can't find a combat cause, it's likely a nothing. The Apnea Board members will help in determining which of the 2 this is.