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Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
#1
Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
So frustrated. Been doing this a year, settled into AHI that ranges from 4-15 and just live with it.

Tonight woke up after 3 hours and left arm COMPLETELY numb and dead. I sleep on recliner, so was not laying on it. Feeling came back, but an hour later still tingly. Checked my AHI which was 14. Trying to fall back asleep I felt machine wasn't working right or I couldn't breathe right.....as I dozed off I would have to almost remind myself to breathe. It feels like I just stop breathing (I'm awake).

My family doc. Put me on a baby aspirin a day after 2 incidents of sudden brief vertigo while sitting. My ears checked out ok, but he is concerned with small clots causing those incidents, like a TIA.

When I wake up I put a pulseox on and oxygen is 98% and pulse in the low 60's. But I feel awful and just think my issue goes beyond obstructive apnea.

I NEED ANSWERS AND FEEL LIKE IVE BEEN GETTING THE RUN AROUND FOR A YEAR.
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#2
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
Hello Daisylouu

This could be nothing or it could be something quite serious. My advice would be to get to a doctor and insist on a detailed investigation.
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#3
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
(05-19-2016, 03:33 AM)Daisylouu Wrote: When I wake up I put a pulseox on and oxygen is 98% and pulse in the low 60's.
It's rather surprising how quickly the O2 levels bounce back as soon as you wake up after a desat. It is possible that your O2 is dropping while you are asleep. It might be useful if you could get a recording pulseox monitor and see what happens all night long.

Quote:But I feel awful and just think my issue goes beyond obstructive apnea.
Perhaps. But then there's this:
Quote:So frustrated. Been doing this a year, settled into AHI that ranges from 4-15 and just live with it.
How often is your AHI actually below 5? And how often is it above 10?

Those AHI numbers are still way too high if you are frequently seeing AHIs that are between 10 and 15. And that could explain many of your ongoing problems. Have either your PCP or sleep doc said anything about the efficacy of your therapy as opposed to just patting you on the head saying "Good job with using the CPAP every night"??

And what's the breakdown of the AHI? How much of it is OAs? How much is Hyponeas? How much is CAs? That's important information.

Quote:Tonight woke up after 3 hours and left arm COMPLETELY numb and dead. I sleep on recliner, so was not laying on it.
This sounds like a neurological symptom and it may very well be related to something other than the OSA. You need to report this to your primary care doctor. Don't let him/her just blow you off about it. Tell them it was very disturbing and that you are quite worried about your overall health.
Questions about SleepyHead?  
See my Guide to SleepyHead
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#4
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
Daisylouu, as far as I know you have never uploaded data to get help with the problems you have had with CA or periodic breathing and now this. There is only limited value to our speculating on the problem if you won't or cannot provide some insights in the form of data. Have you successfully installed and been able to view Sleepyhead or Encore? Please consider attaching a screen shot of your data.
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#5
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
You have any reason to think you could have COPD? feeling like you have trouble breathing while awake is a symptom. Yep I have it and felt the same way
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#6
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
Last Night's data
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#7
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
Daisylouu,

Those nasty clusters of OAs are timed about right for REM-related OSA. A lot of people's OSA is a lot worse in REM and many people need more pressure in REM than non-REM to keep the airway from collapsing.

It looks like your min pressure is too low: Once the events start, it takes too long for the machine to raise the pressure up to an appropriate level. The fact that the pressure never dips below about 12cm for any amount of time between those two nasty clusters is significant.

You might very well want to increase your minimum pressure up several cmH2O. But you will want to do it slowly: Too big of a jump in pressure can be hard to adjust to.

It also looks like you are using a ramp that starts at 5cm. How uncomfortable are you when the machine is blowing with a pressure that is above 10cm? And do you have any problems with aerophagia or exhaling against the pressure? Answers to these questions will give a lot of information about how slowly you may need to go in adjusting the minimum pressure up to something that will help end those clusters of REM-related events.

The other thing that stands out in your data is that your tidal volume increases quite a bit as well as becomes more variable after you hit the ramp button at around 2:50AM and you turned the machine off and back on around 3:05AM. Any chance you were awake or sleeping very lightly (i.e. dozing) between 2:50AM and 4:10?

Did you wake up with the arm numbness at around 2:50? Or at 4:10? And what did you do after turning the machine off for good at 4:10?

Answers to those questions might illuminate possible reasons for why you are still feeling so bad during the day time.
Questions about SleepyHead?  
See my Guide to SleepyHead
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#8
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
Might I suggest that you visit your physician for a workup to rule out issues like nerve compression and the possibility of positional carotid narrowing or other physiological symptom. If your physician is not providing adequate answers ask for a referral to a cardiologist first and a neurologist second. Best of luck with a diagnosis and treatment. Remember, it's your life that is being affected.
"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
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#9
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
(05-19-2016, 11:00 PM)robysue Wrote: Daisylouu,


The other thing that stands out in your data is that your tidal volume increases quite a bit as well as becomes more variable after you hit the ramp button at around 2:50AM and you turned the machine off and back on around 3:05AM. Any chance you were awake or sleeping very lightly (i.e. dozing) between 2:50AM and 4:10?

Did you wake up with the arm numbness at around 2:50? Or at 4:10? And what did you do after turning the machine off for good at 4:10?

Answers to those questions might illuminate possible reasons for why you are still feeling so bad during the day time.

I woke with arm numbness at 2:50. I was awake from 2:50-4:10 trying to go back to sleep. 4:10 I shut machine off and gave up and got up for the day.
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#10
RE: Wake up, arm numb. Can't breathe, AHI high
(05-19-2016, 11:00 PM)robysue Wrote: Daisylouu,


It also looks like you are using a ramp that starts at 5cm. How uncomfortable are you when the machine is blowing with a pressure that is above 10cm? And do you have any problems with aerophagia or exhaling against the pressure? Answers to these questions will give a lot of information about how slowly you may need to go in adjusting the minimum pressure up to something that will help end those clusters of REM-related events.

questions might illuminate possible reasons for why you are still feeling so bad during the day time.


I am a little uncomfortable starting at a high # so I might want to increase slowly. I am a mouth breather and do swallow a lot of air but it's tolerable for sure. Don't think I have problems exhaling against air. At my last sleep study they tried different machines during the night, one machine felt like it was breathing for me - very strange ..... the thing with sleep studies is that it's not a normal night sleep......and I'm not a normal apnea patient. I'm very skinny, don't have a big neck, and my numbers vary greatly (one night a 3, the next a 14). I can not sleep on my side due to shoulder, collar bone, and joint pain.

I sleep in a recliner. When I go for sleep study I'm in a bed.

Doctor seems to think I'm just at the best I'm going to get and just seems focused on my compliance.
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