Bubbles Anyone?

[PaulaO2]

Any events recorded while you are awake are not "real" events. It is called Sleep Apnea for a reason. While we are awake, lying in bed, either just waking up or trying to go to sleep, we are rolling over, getting settled, thinking, yawning, daydreaming, stretching. We may be talking to our bed partner, to a pet.

As for the central apnea, a lot of us with OSA also have central events. Very few have enough to have the diagnosis of Mixed Apnea. If you have an Elite or Autoset, or the regular VPAP (vs the VPAP Adapt), the central index (CI) will remain over 5 every night IF you have mixed apnea or central apnea diagnosis. That's because those machines (and others) do not treat central apnea. But if you typically have a CI of just 1 or maybe 2 (or less) each night, then you do not have the dx of Mixed. You're "just" one of the lucky plethora of others who also have them. No need to be concerned unless that CI goes over 5 and way higher than the AI, every night.

I typically have a CI of about 1.3 or less each night. Sometimes more, depending on various factors.

[psphoto]

The short answer is that the plain, non-auto S9 works really well for my central sleep apnea; my average AHI for the past year is 3.4, i.e. normal. A friend at RESMED suggested I be part of the trials of the early Adapt models, but I moved away from the lab where the tests were done. More recently, I have studied their literature, and as far as I can tell, what the Adapt does is turn down EPR during CSA events. I don't like or use EPR, so nothing would be gained.

I have gone through three Stanford sleep studies, and all I really learned was that I do have sleep apnea; my wife had already told me that. They could never decide whether it was OSA or CSA or a mix. My own sense was that it was CSA, and the S9 agrees with me. Early experiments with bi-level did not work well for me, so I have settled into a CPAP setting in the 7.5 - 8 range. Occasional upward jumps of my AHI do not respond well to increases in pressure, so what I think I need to do is work on my state of mind.

This is what works for me, but I do recognize that we are each an individual case.

[me50]

I would be concerned about 3 sleep studies that the doctor, etc., was unable to determine what type of apnea you have. Unless you didn't sleep at all during the sleep study, they should be able to tell what kind of apnea you have. If you have central apnea a plan S9 CPAP will not treat it. Can you please look on your machine around the power button and tell us what the actual S9 is that you have? It would be very helpful to have that in your profile.

At any rate, much success in your journey

[PaulaO2]

The short answer is that the plain, non-auto S9 works really well for my central sleep apnea; my average AHI for the past year is 3.4, i.e. normal.

If you have central apnea diagnosis, a plain S9 does nothing to treat that. Nothing. It cannot. Not even an APAP can treat CSA.

Folks with mixed SA or with CSA need a totally different machine. These machines work constantly to trick the brain. I'm not sure exactly how that works. A person with OSA is not helped by using an S9 Adapt and a person with CSA is not helped by using an Autoset.