New member introduction with obligatory questions...

[Funkwit]

Morning All,

I have snored loudly for as long as I can remember. I've had complaints from people not even in the same room and some evil glances from fellow travelers on the rare occasions I've fallen asleep on a plane. After a bad nights sleep I can feel my soft palate is loose when I swallow - I guess due to the snoring. The snoring, coupled with my stopping breathing during the night, plus feeling increasingly tired at work, eventually prompted me to go to the doctor.

I was given an overnight home test with a basic meter that gave an indication of 18 events per hour. A nose exam revealed a restriction that they now want to examine under general anaesthetic. I then had a home PSG done. This showed:

AHI 32.8>Central Apnoea 42(4.7)>Obstructive Apnoea 0>Central Hypopnoea 129>OH 1>Undefined H 121> Total Apnoea 42(4.7)> Total Hypopnoea 251(28.1)> Min O2 87%> O2<90% 00:05:06> Mean O2 95%> Heart Arrhythmia 39(4.7)> Snore 1213(135.7)> Sleep Efficiency 89.4%

This came as a bit of a shock as I was told all previous indications had pointed to OSA being the cause of my sleeping worries. I was given an ResMed 10 Autoset, initially to be used in auto but changed to fixed pressure by the person who delivered it and set it up. I have only used it one night so far but found that it has dropped the AHI to 0.3> Total AI 0.1> CA 0 >Leak 11Lpm. This is just with the initial setting of 6.6cm fixed pressure and no adjustments made! Can it really have made so much difference so quickly? I didn't feel like I slept well (woke up a couple of times, only slept for 6 hours) but that is probably me adjusting to sleeping like Darth Vader. From what I've read on internet (a doctor's favourite phrase) it seems like a CPAP can only have no or negative effects on CSA, contrary to what the sleep specialist has told me.

Anyway that is all my info. As I have only had it one night I will let it build up a bit more data before I use the analysis software (my care provider wanted to charge me around $80 for it....).

This board has already been invaluable as I travel around a lot with work and have to visit doctors of varying levels of interest in various countries. Often the language barrier makes things more difficult too. It's good to have an online resource for all this new information. I have found the somewhat blase and contradicting information I've been given by my care provider to be a bit worrying.

Thanks to you all for all the info I've already got from this site.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Funkwit,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Some people notice improvements right away, and for some, it takes a while.
Hang in there for more answers to your questions and much success to you as you start CPAP therapy.

[DariaVader]

first of all, hooey -$80 for software? install Sleepyhead... It is free and gives you better info that whatever they are selling

second, yes, it really can make a huge difference immediately. It does seem odd that CA could benefit from the APAP, tho. I will let others who deal with CA tackle that one.

[retired_guy]

Yes, eliminating the CA's so quickly seem odd, but actually just indicate they may not be true CA's. Your home test results are a bit suspect in that you showed no OA's but lots and lots of CA's. I'm thinking environment more than actual.

But the proof is in the pudding, and your early use of the A10 is impressive. So stay right where you are for a few days. Download and install Sleepyhead so that you can get to the actual results. Then come back with them here and we'll help you figure them out.

Good job getting started with the therapy. You're going to love the "new you."

[Funkwit]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I'll report back in a week or so with some detailed info.

What do you mean by 'environmental more than actual', retired_guy?

[John Ryland]

Hi Forum,

Only 3 days into the APAP, having used an oral device previously with no results. I have experienced about a third of AHI since beginning the APAP only 3 days ago. So maybe it is possible to get results so quickly. Also had a decrease in the central apneas. I wonder how accurately the Res Med APAP can discern between central and obstructive? Anyway, the total numbers are certainly encouraging.

[trailrider]

From your initial post, it looks to me like your snores were causing your major sleep disturbance. The tissue was fluttering a lot and the simple CPAP therapy stopped the flutter. So that might explain your (great!) results.

For info, you can download Resscan for free. I tried both but prefer Sleepyhead. Keep up the therapy and check your stats in a week or so. You and your body need time to get settled to this new routine.