10-05-2017, 03:17 PM
New to Forums, Looking for a bit of guidance
Hello all,
I found this site about a year ago, 6 months after I began sleep therapy. I found the other threads very helpful as I tried to address some of the issues I was experiencing.
Over the last year, I have followed some of the advice of users here to get my numbers consistently below 2 events an hour. However, I think I can do better, and I wanted to ask your advice.
Background:
1. 23yo Male, 6'6", 280lbs, powerlifter.
2. Original symptoms were: blackouts, waking in sweats after 16+ hr nights, poor cognitive function until after noon, and suicidal urges (among other psych issues).
3. Sleep panel showed ~30 events an hour, with 8 being obstructive, the rest being central.
BACKSTORY:::
I adapted to the therapy very fast, and I immediately noticed a difference. It was very encouraging. After 30 days, they switched my cpap for a bipap. The first month with the bipap was not positive, because on the low pressure I tended to hold my breath instead of exhaling, and my doctor ended up revising the settings.
I was still not thrilled with the results 90 days later, so I began to tweak the settings on my own once I found this forum. At this point my numbers improved dramatically, and I began to see many of the psychological symptoms resolve.
Over the last year, I have only had 2 major panic attacks, and my level of depression has remained relatively under control. I take Nuvigil to deal with the constant drowsiness I have been experiencing, and while the drowsiness is getting better, I still need Nuvigil to prevent falling asleep while driving, for example.
END ::::::::
The last week I decided to revisit my sleep therapy, since I have been feeling more exhausted than normal. I increased my Ti Min value from 0.3 seconds to 1.3, leaving max at 2.4 seconds. I feel that 1.3 seconds is unrealistic for minimum breath depth, but I was curious what would happen. Sure enough I saw my events per hour shoot up to 15, and only 1 physical obstruction, which I think is more of a rounding error by comparison.
Anyways, I did feel more alert early this morning. I think I got more oxygen. Moving forward, there are a few things I am considering:
1. Auxiliary Oxygen line
2. Titrate tidal volume up
3. Do nothing
Any thoughts? Recommendations? I'm an engineer, and I would certainly like to have a more quantitative view of what is going on. Any software recommendations?
Thanks so much,
jg
I found this site about a year ago, 6 months after I began sleep therapy. I found the other threads very helpful as I tried to address some of the issues I was experiencing.
Over the last year, I have followed some of the advice of users here to get my numbers consistently below 2 events an hour. However, I think I can do better, and I wanted to ask your advice.
Background:
1. 23yo Male, 6'6", 280lbs, powerlifter.
2. Original symptoms were: blackouts, waking in sweats after 16+ hr nights, poor cognitive function until after noon, and suicidal urges (among other psych issues).
3. Sleep panel showed ~30 events an hour, with 8 being obstructive, the rest being central.
BACKSTORY:::
I adapted to the therapy very fast, and I immediately noticed a difference. It was very encouraging. After 30 days, they switched my cpap for a bipap. The first month with the bipap was not positive, because on the low pressure I tended to hold my breath instead of exhaling, and my doctor ended up revising the settings.
I was still not thrilled with the results 90 days later, so I began to tweak the settings on my own once I found this forum. At this point my numbers improved dramatically, and I began to see many of the psychological symptoms resolve.
Over the last year, I have only had 2 major panic attacks, and my level of depression has remained relatively under control. I take Nuvigil to deal with the constant drowsiness I have been experiencing, and while the drowsiness is getting better, I still need Nuvigil to prevent falling asleep while driving, for example.
END ::::::::
The last week I decided to revisit my sleep therapy, since I have been feeling more exhausted than normal. I increased my Ti Min value from 0.3 seconds to 1.3, leaving max at 2.4 seconds. I feel that 1.3 seconds is unrealistic for minimum breath depth, but I was curious what would happen. Sure enough I saw my events per hour shoot up to 15, and only 1 physical obstruction, which I think is more of a rounding error by comparison.
Anyways, I did feel more alert early this morning. I think I got more oxygen. Moving forward, there are a few things I am considering:
1. Auxiliary Oxygen line
2. Titrate tidal volume up
3. Do nothing
Any thoughts? Recommendations? I'm an engineer, and I would certainly like to have a more quantitative view of what is going on. Any software recommendations?
Thanks so much,
jg
