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About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
#1
About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
Hi all,

I've been using a BiPAP for about 2.5 weeks now and have noticed that I'm getting quite a few central apneas. I don't really have any obstructive apneas or hypopneas (or RERAs). What do you think I should do?


Also, I'm definitely feeling a little better, but am not where I want to be with my sleep. Does it take a while for your body to heal from years of apnea/UARS?

I've attached 2 screenshots from OSCAR from a typical night to this thread. One is in VPAP-S mode, the other is VAuto mode. I seem to wake up more often with VAuto mode. Maybe that's because the pressure changes wake me up. Not sure though! Either way, I'm still having quite a few central apneas with each mode.

Any insight is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!


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#2
RE: About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
Having just gone through this on my VAuto, I have a couple of questions for you.  (I've been doing this for the past 2.5 weeks myself!)

Do you use a soft collar for head and neck support?  It really helps.  If your collar is older than 6 months it may not give you enough support.

What are your settings for the following:  TiMin, TiMax, Trig & Cycle?

At least for me, I found changing those items above helped me a lot.  My Centrals were 0 last night.  First time in 2.5 weeks!  (On VAuto)  Actually, first time my CA were zero in over 1 year!
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#3
RE: About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
(11-10-2020, 03:44 PM)happydreams Wrote: Having just gone through this on my VAuto, I have a couple of questions for you.  (I've been doing this for the past 2.5 weeks myself!)

Do you use a soft collar for head and neck support?  It really helps.  If your collar is older than 6 months it may not give you enough support.

What are your settings for the following:  TiMin, TiMax, Trig & Cycle?

At least for me, I found changing those items above helped me a lot.  My Centrals were 0 last night.  First time in 2.5 weeks!  (On VAuto)  Actually, first time my CA were zero in over 1 year!

Ti max = 2.0s
Ti Min = 0.3s
Trigger = high
Cycle. = medium

I have tried a collar before I started on bipap and had a hard time getting used to it, but will certainly try it again!
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#4
RE: About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
The collar can feel awkward at first.  Make sure you can easily put two fingers into it when it's around your neck, otherwise it is probably too tight.

Try setting Trig=Very High.  If you find that uncomfortable, we can change TiMin, TiMax & Cycle to get you there.

I ended up at TiMin=0.7, TiMax=2.4, and Cycle=Low.  You may not have to change any of these.  What is interesting to me is that lowest value of TiMin shown in the clinician's manual is 0.5.  And that is for respiration rates of 35 breaths per minute.  The highest respiration rate that I have observed for myself corresponds to 25 BPM.  So I set TiMin=0.7 as in the table on page 6.  For myself, I found I could only tolerate Trig=Very High when Cycle=Low, you may differ.

Hope this helps.
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#5
RE: About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
(11-10-2020, 04:37 PM)happydreams Wrote: The collar can feel awkward at first.  Make sure you can easily put two fingers into it when it's around your neck, otherwise it is probably too tight.

Try setting Trig=Very High.  If you find that uncomfortable, we can change TiMin, TiMax & Cycle to get you there.

I ended up at TiMin=0.7, TiMax=2.4, and Cycle=Low.  You may not have to change any of these.  What is interesting to me is that lowest value of TiMin shown in the clinician's manual is 0.5.  And that is for respiration rates of 35 breaths per minute.  The highest respiration rate that I have observed for myself corresponds to 25 BPM.  So I set TiMin=0.7 as in the table on page 6.  For myself, I found I could only tolerate Trig=Very High when Cycle=Low, you may differ.

Hope this helps.

Okay great! Thank you so much. I'll try this tonight and report back.
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#6
RE: About 2 weeks in... a lot of central apneas.
Sounds like you've got a good idea on the timing edits. Do update after next sleep session so we can track progress. Good luck to ya.
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