HELP DIZZY AND FATIGUE SINCE CPAP

[OpalRose]

As I was reading through all your posts about being dizzy, I kept thinking Vertigo; which your last post confirmed. I have suffered with it on and off over the years way before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, but haven't experienced it for almost a year. I'm certainly not a doctor, but I don't think CPAP therapy has any affect on Vertigo, but stress and anxiety might.
Do I assume that your NHS is the same as DME here in the states? Do you know what pressure you were titrated at during your sleep study? Find out and them ask for an APAP machine (auto)
This way, if it is only a 2 week trial, with an auto machine the pressure can be set similar to what you are using now. Don't know how all that works where you live, but it's woth a try. Best of luck to you.

[DariaVader]

Be careful upping the pressure - you will want to use the minimum viable for treatment given the ear issues. That makes auto pap nice, since it only raises when necessary to breathe. You should set the EPR also. You also need to know if your apneas are OSA or CA - CPAP is not going to fix CA, and your treated AHI is not as good as it could be. If the remaining apneas are CA you may need a different type of machine to assist breathing when your brain doesnt trigger the impulse.

[dizzy1]

Hi. Thanks for the info. NHS is the free national health service. We do not pay for health services or medication here in UK. What is DME ?
I have no idea what pressure I was titrated at from the sleep study. I am not sure what you mean.
I have and Auto Cpap machine that is what I am using at the moment.

---

Thanks for your advice. I am using an auto cpap machine. I was diagnosed with OSA AHI 38.2. What is EPR ?

[dizzy1]

As I was reading through all your posts about being dizzy, I kept thinking Vertigo; which your last post confirmed. I have suffered with it on and off over the years way before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, but haven't experienced it for almost a year. I'm certainly not a doctor, but I don't think CPAP therapy has any affect on Vertigo, but stress and anxiety might.
Do I assume that your NHS is the same as DME here in the states? Do you know what pressure you were titrated at during your sleep study? Find out and them ask for an APAP machine (auto)
This way, if it is only a 2 week trial, with an auto machine the pressure can be set similar to what you are using now. Don't know how all that works where you live, but it's woth a try. Best of luck to you.

Hi. Thanks for the info. NHS is the free national health service. We do not pay for health services or medication here in UK. What is DME ?
I have no idea what pressure I was titrated at from the sleep study. I am not sure what you mean.
I have and Auto Cpap machine that is what I am using at the moment.

---

Be careful upping the pressure - you will want to use the minimum viable for treatment given the ear issues. That makes auto pap nice, since it only raises when necessary to breathe. You should set the EPR also. You also need to know if your apneas are OSA or CA - CPAP is not going to fix CA, and your treated AHI is not as good as it could be. If the remaining apneas are CA you may need a different type of machine to assist breathing when your brain doesnt trigger the impulse.

Thanks for your advice. I am using an auto cpap machine. I was diagnosed with OSA AHI 38.2. What is EPR ?

[quiescence at last]

welcome oh dizzy one.

ok - I think we owe it to you to speak up about your CPAP trial and use of settings and stuff.

first - yes, they can tell if you made settings and then adjusted them back. The data card stores that and so does the machine without the data card. there is no way to do the study and trick them.

second - and I know you won't like this - you should be off CPAP for a couple days, maybe 3 to 4, before strapping up their device. The longer you self-treat, the more likely it is that you'll score well. The object is to prove you score badly. I hope you see the inverted logic.

QAL

[dizzy1]

welcome oh dizzy one.

ok - I think we owe it to you to speak up about your CPAP trial and use of settings and stuff.

first - yes, they can tell if you made settings and then adjusted them back. The data card stores that and so does the machine without the data card. there is no way to do the study and trick them.

second - and I know you won't like this - you should be off CPAP for a couple days, maybe 3 to 4, before strapping up their device. The longer you self-treat, the more likely it is that you'll score well. The object is to prove you score badly. I hope you see the inverted logic.

QAL

Thanks. I thought they might be able to tell if I alter settings and that did go through my mind too about not using my cpap machine before I get NHS machine.

Thanks again to all you very helpful people for taking the time to help others.

[OpalRose]

Hi. Thanks for the info. NHS is the free national health service. We do not pay for health services or medication here in UK. What is DME ?
I have no idea what pressure I was titrated at from the sleep study. I am not sure what you mean.
I have and Auto Cpap machine that is what I am using at the moment.

---

Thanks for your advice. I am using an auto cpap machine. I was diagnosed with OSA AHI 38.2. What is EPR ?

dizzy1
Sorry, DME stands for Durable Medical Equipment. We need to go through them to get our machines or purchase on our own if desired.
You said that you already had a sleep study, right? That is how they know your AHI is 38.2. So, they also know what pressure was necessary to clear those apnea events. They may use the same pressure or they will set up as a range on an Auto machine during your CPAP trial to see how you do.
And yes, they would know if you changed pressure during the test and changed back. The machine itself stores the info and will be on the card. Good luck!

[dizzy1]

Hi. Thanks for the info. NHS is the free national health service. We do not pay for health services or medication here in UK. What is DME ?
I have no idea what pressure I was titrated at from the sleep study. I am not sure what you mean.
I have and Auto Cpap machine that is what I am using at the moment.

---

Thanks for your advice. I am using an auto cpap machine. I was diagnosed with OSA AHI 38.2. What is EPR ?

dizzy1
Sorry, DME stands for Durable Medical Equipment. We need to go through them to get our machines or purchase on our own if desired.
You said that you already had a sleep study, right? That is how they know your AHI is 38.2. So, they also know what pressure was necessary to clear those apnea events. They may use the same pressure or they will set up as a range on an Auto machine during your CPAP trial to see how you do.
And yes, they would know if you changed pressure during the test and changed back. The machine itself stores the info and will be on the card. Good luck!

Ok thanks again. I purchased my cpap machine myself but needed a letter from the ENT specialist to say that the sleep study showed I had severe sleep apnea and that cpap would benefit me. As I purchased the cpap myself they were not allowed to set the machine even with a copy of my sleep study. That is why they recommend an auto cpap as they said it would adjust itself. I then found this site and have now realised there is a pressure range the machine can be set at and I have not been getting optomised therapy the past 3 months.

[dizzy1]

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.

[DariaVader]

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.