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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
I have made the changes that were suggested, I have raised the minimum pressure from 9.5 to 10, I have also lowered the C-Flex setting to 1. I do see differences in the last two nights but I'm not sure they were caused by the changes since I have seen similar results quite a few times before. I have included screen shots from the last two nights, I have also included a zoomed in screenshot of an awakening from last night. These awakenings are extremely common for me and are something I would like to eliminate.
For now, this post, let's say there are two forms of Central Apnea, Treatment Emergent which occurs when some users start CPAP, in one of its many forms, and alter the CO2 balance in the bloodstream which signals the brain that it has no need to breathe. This form of CA frequently dissipates after about 8 weeks. At this time we do not have enough information to see if this is the case. Your initial sleep study, the diagnostic study without CPAP, should indicate in the details, not necessarily in the summary, whether or not you exhibited Central Apneas before CPAP.
The second form is n0nemergent central apnea. This is what I GUESS you likely have. (I don't have enough data to make a better determination at this time) If this is the case you will find one consistent factor about your treatment. No matter what settings you use, some days will be good, others not so. Your results will be consistently inconsistent. Again if this is so a different machine may be in your future. The numbers I see will not qualify you for an ASV machine. You will need to track your symptoms and keep your medical team informed to move on. Read this Wiki article Justifying_Advanced_PAP_Machines
Fred
Gideon - Project Manager and Lead Tester for OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Thanks Fred, What you say makes sense , It has been seven weeks since I restarted treatment, If Central Apneas are going to subside hopefully it will happen soon.
What you have said sort of confirms something I have experienced on several occasions where I would awaken and find myself not breathing , not struggling to breath as in an OA event, just not breathing or breathing extremely shallow.
Something else makes sense, since I restarted therapy my AHI has been extremely inconsistent sometimes running as low as 3 but at times running as high as 13. Looking at my statistics for the last month, My AHI is 6.35 Obstructive index 1.78, Hyponpnea index 1.17, Clear Airway Index (Central Apnea) 2.86. This all seems to fit in with what you have said.
I have an appointment with my sleep clinic next week, I think we have something to talk about.
I have been thinking about the question of emergent or non-emergent central apneas, I went back to Sleepyhead data from 18 months ago when I got my machine looking for central apneas. In the first few months of treatment there were none to speak of, they didn't start to show up in my charts in any kind of numbers until six weeks ago when I restarted treatment after a year long break.
Since I have restarted I have had more success reducing obstructive apneas maybe this is why central apneas are just starting to emerge.
I am including a couple of 2 minute flow charts, One showing normal breathing and one showing central apneas.