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Help interpreting event in SH?
#1
Help interpreting event in SH?
Long story short: unexplained fitful sleep. Sleep test revealed "very mild sleep apnea." But I know for a fact that two of the three "OAs" it flagged were while I was not yet asleep. Experimentation with CPAP also shows that a deep relaxing exhalation breath that lasts 10 sec will be (understandably, if mistakenly) flagged as an OA event. Bottom line: I'm just not convinced that I have bad enough apnea (if I really even have it at all) to warrant continuing to subject myself to CPAP, which is definitely hindering my sleep as much if not more than whatever I have that's causing my restless sleep/many arousals a night (it's likely not RLS, or narcolepsy...it's basically a mystery...).

Here is a screen shot of an event. It looks to me like something happened with the mask, and then my breathing/the machine goes wonky and then an OA event is flagged. It doesn't seem like a real OA event to me, but I was wondering how you more experience/knowledgeable folks interpret it?.....

(I've also included the only other OA event during that session, as well as a screen shot of a randomly chosen duration when nothing of note was going on, for comparison.)
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#2
RE: Help interpreting event in Sleepyhead?
G'day jomama. Welcome to Apnea Board.

Looking at your charts, these look like normal obstructive apneas. I'd say your machine is doing an excellent job of treating your apnea. If you feel you don't really have apnea, please post a copy of your sleep test report so we can have a look and maybe give some further advice.

Could you also post a few all-night charts so we can see how your overall sleep is going and try to sort out why the machine is disturbing you so much. How long have you been using it?
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#3
RE: Help interpreting event in Sleepyhead?
Hi! Thanks for replying!

Here's a copy of the sleep test. The thing is, I was awake a lot of the time it said I was asleep on that first night. Also, when I was awake and just breathing deeply for a minute, it flagged an apnea. The point is that I think much of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. What it shows me is what I already know, which is that I have multiple arousals a night. It also shows lots of breathing events, but, again, given how easy it is for my regular breathing when relaxing to flag as a full apnea, shallow breathing can and does easily show up as hypopneas. So, there's really no telling how real any of these breathing events are, meaning if they were while asleep or awake, or as a result of obstruction. 

But what this test also shows me is that if I do have apnea, it is likely very, very mild. It shows an AHI of 3, but that's obviously inaccurate, given what I stated above. It also means the real RDI is very likely much lower, too. This is why I continue to suspect that I don't really have apnea, or if I do, it is simply not bad enough to explain my restless sleep, and why I do not want to continue subjecting myself to this horrible CPAP experience. Yes, I know that RERAs might be causing my arousals...I have done a ton of research, but, again, given my experience with is so far, I am not at all sure that this machine is actually going to help me. I am not convinced that my arousals are caused by obstructions, is the point. 

The machine is disturbing because it is unnatural breathing. I never feel like I am getting enough air, no matter the settings, higher or lower, EPR on or off, whatever. It's subtle, but I am a very sensitive person, and my body knows, and is distressed by it, even if I go in with a calm, positive attitude. Could I maybe eventually get more used to it? Maybe. Maybe not. But, again, a few hours is enough to see that if I do have apnea, is it very mild. You said it looks like my machine is doing a great job controlling my apneas, but if there are no apneas to control, it would look like this, too.

Oh, I don't have full night charts, as I couldn't sleep a full night with it. And the point is that I do not think that forcing myself to get used to this thing over a period of months would necessarily even help me, given all the evidence, so, it's a pickle.....
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#4
RE: Help interpreting event in Sleepyhead?
You have mild to very mild apnea that would not qualify for treatment under many insurance plans. The health impacts to you would likely be minimal if you elected to stop treatment, or try alternatives that help keep your upper airway more open. That said, you are at risk for worsening AHI and RERA if you gain weight or as your age.

Your comment about not getting enough air tell me you are using the small or medium P10 pillow. Try the next size larger. Also, with EPR 3, you should really use a minimum CPAP pressure of 7.0. That will deliver the full EPR of 7.0/4.0 at the minimum pressure. Your minimum pressure of 6.0 is can only allow 2-cm of EPR and 6/4 is a very low pressure.
Sleeprider
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