(02-06-2015, 01:31 PM)DariaVader Wrote:

(02-06-2015, 01:20 PM)dizzy1 Wrote: Just checked my sleep study report and my Central Apneas were only 0.3 per hour.
There is no mention of any pressure settings for cpap.

Good; OSA is easier to treat than CA

EPR is expiratory pressure relief. Resmed uses EPR; Respironics calls it Flex (can't remember aflex or cflex) but in anycase it is a lower pressure when you exhale. Making sure you only swallow after exhale is another ear health tip.

You said you have inner ear issues - getting the pressure high enough to abate your OSA without further damaging the inner ear will be your goal.

(02-06-2015, 02:26 PM)dizzy1 Wrote:

(02-06-2015, 01:31 PM)DariaVader Wrote:

(02-06-2015, 01:20 PM)dizzy1 Wrote: Just checked my sleep study report and my Central Apneas were only 0.3 per hour.
There is no mention of any pressure settings for cpap.

Good; OSA is easier to treat than CA

EPR is expiratory pressure relief. Resmed uses EPR; Respironics calls it Flex (can't remember aflex or cflex) but in anycase it is a lower pressure when you exhale. Making sure you only swallow after exhale is another ear health tip.

You said you have inner ear issues - getting the pressure high enough to abate your OSA without further damaging the inner ear will be your goal.

Thanks again. Much appreciated. I paid a little extra for the cpap I have as it has a feature which adapts to breathing when you exhale. So they say.
That said it is still one of the cheapest cpap's I could find and seems popular over here. It is made by a US company. Link below.

http://www.eu-pap.co.uk/sleepcube-autoadjust-plus-autocpap.html

(02-06-2015, 02:22 PM)TorontoCPAPguy Wrote: My observations and comments based on experience. I am NOT an MD.

When was the last time you had a physical? Is the bloated head and dizziness consistent and if so please comment on exactly when it occurs and how long it last for.

I have the same issues but believe them to be from a different source although now that I have YOUR experience under my belt I am going to investigate further. What you and I are experiencing should be setting off alarm bells to be blunt. Doh. I have Atrial Fibrillation (which can be difficult... very difficult to ascertain if it is intermittent, etc.). I was started on a drug called TIKOSYN which put me in Normal Sinus Rhythm supposedly (but remember it is hard to detect as the AFIB can last only minutes or hours and be almost asymptomatic). I have been thinking that I have been suffering side effects of TIKOSYN as they are well known and published; fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, dizziness and 'balloon head' are all on the list. Get thee to a cardiologist. My AFIB was found quite by accident... wife said I was short of breath. GP took an EKG and saw nothing but sent it to a cardiologist. Cardiologist saw nothing but to cover his butt put me on an event monitor for a few days and PRESTO! Diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. After he messed me around for a while I asked for a referral to one of the best electrophysiologists in North America and on arrival discovered my heart was enlarging rapidly. What took one year to produce (left atrium enlargement) took FOUR YEARS to reverse while in NSR. I am now booked for a catheter ablation which will resolve the problem and get me off the nasty, nasty medications. Get thee to a doctor. What you might be experiencing is a lack of oxygenation of the vital organs. You need to find out. BTW, my balloon head occurs from about 5:30 a.m. on awakening and continues to 10 - 11 a.m. Every day. Same times and situations and CPAP or no CPAP makes little difference if any.

Have you tracked and examined your other vital signs during and after sleeping? For example, a recording of your SpO2 (blood oxygen) during sleep and during the day. If you get a Contec CMS50EW it will do just what you need and will also record your pulse rate. If your SpO2 is dropping below 90%ish you are in respiratory distress - it will probably be accompanied by a spike in pulse rate. (And a spike in BP as well). These are great precursors to a stroke. I am not suggesting you have had a stroke by any means, just that your vital organs have not been oxygenated perhaps.

In any event, you have to be your own advocate in these matters as once you start down the path you will find, with a due respect, that the MD's tend to pass the 'busy' cases off. If you think that a test needs to be done you need to be able to say so and back that up with solid knowledge and experience.

Good luck. I am sure that you can find your path and conclusions along the way. DO NOT give up and DO NOT take no for an answer if you feel that a test needs to be done in order to assist or in order to rule out certain conditions.

Good luck to you and always remember that you are your own best advocate. GO FOR IT!

Regards,
Murray L.

(02-06-2015, 02:58 PM)dizzy1 Wrote:

(02-06-2015, 02:22 PM)TorontoCPAPguy Wrote: My observations and comments based on experience. I am NOT an MD.

When was the last time you had a physical? Is the bloated head and dizziness consistent and if so please comment on exactly when it occurs and how long it last for.

I have the same issues but believe them to be from a different source although now that I have YOUR experience under my belt I am going to investigate further. What you and I are experiencing should be setting off alarm bells to be blunt. Doh. I have Atrial Fibrillation (which can be difficult... very difficult to ascertain if it is intermittent, etc.). I was started on a drug called TIKOSYN which put me in Normal Sinus Rhythm supposedly (but remember it is hard to detect as the AFIB can last only minutes or hours and be almost asymptomatic). I have been thinking that I have been suffering side effects of TIKOSYN as they are well known and published; fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, dizziness and 'balloon head' are all on the list. Get thee to a cardiologist. My AFIB was found quite by accident... wife said I was short of breath. GP took an EKG and saw nothing but sent it to a cardiologist. Cardiologist saw nothing but to cover his butt put me on an event monitor for a few days and PRESTO! Diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. After he messed me around for a while I asked for a referral to one of the best electrophysiologists in North America and on arrival discovered my heart was enlarging rapidly. What took one year to produce (left atrium enlargement) took FOUR YEARS to reverse while in NSR. I am now booked for a catheter ablation which will resolve the problem and get me off the nasty, nasty medications. Get thee to a doctor. What you might be experiencing is a lack of oxygenation of the vital organs. You need to find out. BTW, my balloon head occurs from about 5:30 a.m. on awakening and continues to 10 - 11 a.m. Every day. Same times and situations and CPAP or no CPAP makes little difference if any.

Have you tracked and examined your other vital signs during and after sleeping? For example, a recording of your SpO2 (blood oxygen) during sleep and during the day. If you get a Contec CMS50EW it will do just what you need and will also record your pulse rate. If your SpO2 is dropping below 90%ish you are in respiratory distress - it will probably be accompanied by a spike in pulse rate. (And a spike in BP as well). These are great precursors to a stroke. I am not suggesting you have had a stroke by any means, just that your vital organs have not been oxygenated perhaps.

In any event, you have to be your own advocate in these matters as once you start down the path you will find, with a due respect, that the MD's tend to pass the 'busy' cases off. If you think that a test needs to be done you need to be able to say so and back that up with solid knowledge and experience.

Good luck. I am sure that you can find your path and conclusions along the way. DO NOT give up and DO NOT take no for an answer if you feel that a test needs to be done in order to assist or in order to rule out certain conditions.

Good luck to you and always remember that you are your own best advocate. GO FOR IT!

Regards,
Murray L.

Hi. sorry to hear that you have been suffering these symptoms. My dizziness has been constant for a year now among other symptoms. The migraine or headaches are on and off but most days. My head is always very strained and I can feel my whole brain in my head. I have not had a full physical but if blood tests, blood pressure and eye test means a physical then I have had one. My blood pressure has been a little high on and off and my thyroid is a little low but improving now.

(02-06-2015, 03:15 PM)dizzy1 Wrote:

(02-06-2015, 02:58 PM)dizzy1 Wrote:

(02-06-2015, 02:22 PM)TorontoCPAPguy Wrote: My observations and comments based on experience. I am NOT an MD.

When was the last time you had a physical? Is the bloated head and dizziness consistent and if so please comment on exactly when it occurs and how long it last for.

I have the same issues but believe them to be from a different source although now that I have YOUR experience under my belt I am going to investigate further. What you and I are experiencing should be setting off alarm bells to be blunt. Doh. I have Atrial Fibrillation (which can be difficult... very difficult to ascertain if it is intermittent, etc.). I was started on a drug called TIKOSYN which put me in Normal Sinus Rhythm supposedly (but remember it is hard to detect as the AFIB can last only minutes or hours and be almost asymptomatic). I have been thinking that I have been suffering side effects of TIKOSYN as they are well known and published; fatigue, shortness of breath, insomnia, dizziness and 'balloon head' are all on the list. Get thee to a cardiologist. My AFIB was found quite by accident... wife said I was short of breath. GP took an EKG and saw nothing but sent it to a cardiologist. Cardiologist saw nothing but to cover his butt put me on an event monitor for a few days and PRESTO! Diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation. After he messed me around for a while I asked for a referral to one of the best electrophysiologists in North America and on arrival discovered my heart was enlarging rapidly. What took one year to produce (left atrium enlargement) took FOUR YEARS to reverse while in NSR. I am now booked for a catheter ablation which will resolve the problem and get me off the nasty, nasty medications. Get thee to a doctor. What you might be experiencing is a lack of oxygenation of the vital organs. You need to find out. BTW, my balloon head occurs from about 5:30 a.m. on awakening and continues to 10 - 11 a.m. Every day. Same times and situations and CPAP or no CPAP makes little difference if any.

Have you tracked and examined your other vital signs during and after sleeping? For example, a recording of your SpO2 (blood oxygen) during sleep and during the day. If you get a Contec CMS50EW it will do just what you need and will also record your pulse rate. If your SpO2 is dropping below 90%ish you are in respiratory distress - it will probably be accompanied by a spike in pulse rate. (And a spike in BP as well). These are great precursors to a stroke. I am not suggesting you have had a stroke by any means, just that your vital organs have not been oxygenated perhaps.

In any event, you have to be your own advocate in these matters as once you start down the path you will find, with a due respect, that the MD's tend to pass the 'busy' cases off. If you think that a test needs to be done you need to be able to say so and back that up with solid knowledge and experience.

Good luck. I am sure that you can find your path and conclusions along the way. DO NOT give up and DO NOT take no for an answer if you feel that a test needs to be done in order to assist or in order to rule out certain conditions.

Good luck to you and always remember that you are your own best advocate. GO FOR IT!

Regards,
Murray L.

Hi. sorry to hear that you have been suffering these symptoms. My dizziness has been constant for a year now among other symptoms. The migraine or headaches are on and off but most days. My head is always very strained and I can feel my whole brain in my head. I have not had a full physical but if blood tests, blood pressure and eye test means a physical then I have had one. My blood pressure has been a little high on and off and my thyroid is a little low but improving now.

I was only looking on ebay at oximetery meters the other week. There are cheaper options available with usb and software which look exactly the same as the Contec for around £30.

A copy of my sleep study is below including Oximetery:

the dizzy one Wrote:Cheaper Contec model below do you think is is worth purchasing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Finger-pulse-o...4182dcd796

Toronto man Wrote:...snip...
(I suspect) as you approach REM sleep and your breathing becomes shallow, your SpO2 is dipping (diving?) and your body is being aroused by your autonomic nervous system. Bingo. No REM sleep. Or... little REM sleep.
...snip...