Todays the big day [First night with Cpap]

[Broomstick]

I don't know. Went to sleep relatively fast and with machine on. Thats an improvement at least.

Woke up a short while later feeling like I couldn't take any more air rushed at me. I have NOT used the humidifier yet and wonder if that was the problem. I was feeling a "dusty" feeling which I imagine is attributed to the air drying my throat.

Went to sleep without it, woke up suffocating. Tried the mask again. The rest is a blur. The "dusty throat" feeling was bothering me but I was in no condition to be figuring out the humidifier for the first time.

Until now, I had many CA flags while testing the machine fully awake. Well this time, the CA flags are starting to look legit.


Again, I need to mention my  biggest concern:

I often experience hypopnea while laying on my back awake. I automatically start holding my breath for 10+ seconds at a time because this becomes the most efficient way to breath when I'm struggling. 

I often WAKE UP with a hypopnea that continues until I sit up, and resumes when laying back down. 

If I'm experiencing a long hypopnea episode while asleep, why the hell WOULDN'T my unconscious brain start do the same thing and cause me to continuously hold my breath for long periods.

How do I know that the Central Apnea isn't just my response to a hypopnea. Look at the flag that comes immediately before that chain of centrals...its a hypopnea.

Edit: The AHI said 17

[Walla Walla]

It's not a matter of holding your breath while asleep. What's happening is brain's not sending the signal to breath to your lungs. The question now is the cause. Sometimes the body needs time to adjust to the change of lower CO2 levels in your blood stream. But than sometimes the problems with the electrical impulses from the brain. In the mean time you should drop your maximum pressures until you get it sorted out.

[Broomstick]

Another garbage night. Tonight's strategy was to wear just the mask for a little while then plug in the hose at the last minute. Bad idea. But that might have been irrelevant.

I fell asleep (apparently) and woke up 2 minutes before the 30 minute ramp ended. I remember thinking "I can't take this anymore" and had to shut it off.

Does this thing count apneas while in ramp mode? Did my breathing pause for many seconds at a time???

I'm new at this, but the flow data on the left looks like like the classic pause in breathing, sudden arousal, breathing falling back down again, and repeating.

Ramp was at 5. I could definitely set the ramp to 9-10 with no problems.

[jaswilliams]

The machine does not count anything during ramp that's why we often recommend turning it off

[Broomstick]

I would like to make a new post where people would actually look at this, but I'll probably get scolded again. So here it is.

This is a typical night. 

HATE the mask and air. Want to be able to sleep like a normal person again. Feel like I'm not gonna be able to sleep like this. Then surprisingly I do...

THEN I wake up. Then I take it off and rest naturally. The status quo is not working out with this thing.

Don't know if this machine is causing centrals or if that was always the problem. Person on the phone mumbled "looks like theres some centrals in there" after sleep study. Getting a report of the 1 hour study isn't gonna happen anytime soon because I can't bring myself to picking up the phone and talking to someone. I have a more important call I need to make and I'm having a hard time bringing myself to do that.


So insurance will take the machine away if you don't hit the ground running with it. Basically signing my death certificate. Nice. Not like this machine is working out anyway.

[Broomstick]

Heres a better attachment.

[Walla Walla]

Turn off your EPR and set your pressure maximum to 8cm for the short term and see if you can at least reduce some of those CA events. Also when you post your charts set them up like the link below describes. It gives everyone here more information to help you. Quitting is not the answer. Getting the right machine is the long term goal.

[Broomstick]

Turn off your EPR and set your pressure maximum to 8cm for the short term and see if you can at least reduce some of those CA events. Also when you post your charts set them up link the link below describes. It gives everyone here more information to help you. Quitting is not the answer. Getting the right machine is the long term goal.

Heres the problem. The other day I fell asleep and woke up before the 30 min ramp ended. FIVE (5) cm and it looks like I had problems with centrals. EPR was ON though and set to 2.

Edit: OK, I just saw the rest of your post now. I will try to take better screenshots in the future. I have a problem with executive functions. I am always missing something, just like I missed your comment just now. I have a problem with working memory. Its hard to flip back and forth between looking at what my chart should look like and what it actually is. Like its hard for me to hold that data in my head and not miss anything.

[Sleeprider]

So far, your apnea is all central. The solution is to try low, fixed pressure without EPR. The honest impression I have is that giving you advise is like talking to a broomstick. You either ignore what is suggested, or just have better ideas of your own. Your commitment to make the therapy work appears to be very low based on low usage hours, but when we look deeper, there is clearly a lot of distress that makes it uncomfortable.

You need help to get the therapy you need, but you need to persuade your doctor, the problem is not your commitment and effort to make this work, but the fact the CPAP therapy is not tolerable,and you need something else. Your ability to communicate this effectively is working against you. Somehow, you need to get a titration study, and you need to sleep during the test. From what I see, these obstacles may he insurmountable. I hope someone on the forum can give you advise in a way you can make it work, but so far, that person has not been me.

[Broomstick]

So far, your apnea is all central.  The solution is to try low, fixed pressure without EPR.  The honest impression I have is that giving you advise is like talking to a broomstick.  You either ignore what is suggested, or just have better ideas of your own.  Your commitment to make the therapy work appears to be very low based on low usage hours, but when we look deeper, there is clearly a lot of distress that makes it uncomfortable.  

You need help to get the therapy you need, but you need to persuade your doctor, the problem is not your commitment and effort to make this work, but the fact the CPAP therapy is not tolerable,and you need something else. Your ability to communicate this effectively is working against you. Somehow, you need to get a titration study, and you need to sleep during the test.  From what I see, these obstacles may he insurmountable.  I hope someone on the forum can give you advise in a way you can make it work, but so far, that person has not been me.

My brains are fried. I thought I followed exactly what was suggested. I lowered the thing to a constant 5 and still had problems. Was I supposed to keep at it? At the same time, I'm picturing a doctor telling me "Why the hell did you change the settings?" and me responding "Well the internet said..."

So yeah, I've been flipping back and forth between what I've been told here, what a doctor prescribed, and my own ideas because I'm desperate to find SOMETHING that works.

But whats really enraging me (and this is directed towards the insurance/compliance) is that I consider what I'm doing to be compliant. As far as I'm concerned, I AM trying. OK, so I "slept" for 1 hour and now air is blowing at me at 15cm. Resetting it back to 5cm will make me feel air starved after that. I'm too disoriented and tired to figure out any settings. Like, "OK I tried and the thing beat me again. I had enough torture for one day. Time to put it away and try again tomorrow." To me, THAT should be considered compliant and no one should be rushed to make it work immediately or have it taken away. 

They can wheel it the hell out of here because its looking like I need that ASV machine from what I've read.

In the meantime, I'm gonna try the machine at a constant 5cm with EPA, or whatever its called, off, as prescribed by the Apnea Board. And I'm gonna try my best to continue with it for the entirety of my rest. But I'm not hopeful though and am sure this isn't going to work out.