Plmnb's Never Ending OSA Journey (Data)

[JoeyWallaby]

Flow rate is a reading of your breathing rate, flow limitation is when you inhale and your breathing on inspiration (breathing in) flattens out at the top, which is indicative that your airway is narrowing enough to make it difficult to inhale but not enough to cause hypopnea or apnea... which is why it's called a flow limitation.

RERA is respiratory effort related arousal. It's when the flow limitations are bad enough that it causes an arousal.

[Plmnb]

Thank you Joeywallaby.

So if the graph is indicating a RERA episode with the yellow line, what is the reason for the 0 number in the pop up box? Is this a glitch or something?

Same sort of question for the other pop up boxes when hovering over the lines, what do the little numbers in the parentheses mean?

[JoeyWallaby]

Don't know honestly, I don't use Philips machines.

[Plmnb]

Phillips?

My machine says ResMed.  Is that made by Phillips?

How does who the machine is made by impact the information showing in OSCAR?

Regards,
Plmnb

[SarcasticDave94]

If I recall rightly, that number represents the length of time for the event.

[Plmnb]

Ahhh.

So with this thinking, I am having RERA episodes, but they are so short no number was created? And the other lines, indicating other things like OBSTRUCTIVE events would mean 10 seconds or 40 seconds for that episode?

[JoeyWallaby]

Oh yea, getting confused.

I don't think RERAs get a number because they're not cessation or blockage of breathing event like an apnea or hypopnea is.

[Plmnb]

Oh yea, getting confused.

I don't think RERAs get a number because they're not cessation or blockage of breathing event like an apnea or hypopnea is.

Oh!  I see.  Thank you.

But regarding the other events, the numbers represent seconds?  For example, the graph is saying for each OBSTRUCTIVE event I stop breathing for anywhere from 10 seconds to over 40 seconds?  This would be in line with my sleep study which reports OBSTRUCTIVE events as long as 60 seconds each.

So, even though I am using CPAP, I am still possibly going to get headaches from lengthy no breathing periods?  From what I have been told, the drop in my O2 from lengthy no air is why morning headaches happen.  is this accurate?

Regards,
Plmnb

[JoeyWallaby]

Yes, the numbers are length of event. We really have no idea how much oxygen desaturation you're experiencing without an oximeter but very long apneas will almost certainly cause some degree of significant desaturation.

[Plmnb]

Very good to know, thank you!

Sooo, If a person stops breathing for an extended period of time each episode, even though they may be having LESS episodes with CPAP, if enough episodes are occurring, the AMOUNT OF TIME that these episodes total could be why a person could still feel so tired after waking up?

CPAP therapy doesn't help length of time of episodes, it should help prevent the episode from happening at all.  So, even if I get relief from the number of episodes, I may ultimately still feel exhausted??

Oh dear.