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Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Adoniscmj - 10-11-2016
So, back when I had my sleep test I had a lot of things going on. it was allergy season, I was 25 pounds overweight and my Testosterone level was over 1,700. All of these things contributed to a moderate OSA result. High on the moderate I must say. As of the last few months I have gotten my Testosterone under control. It is now at 400. I lost some weight. Instead of being 210 pounds I now weight in at 188. I am out of the allergy season as well. So, that being said. When I saw my sleep doctor last he said, well either the CPAP is working really good or you no longer have Apnea. I thought, how is this possible? For many reasons I have figured and I just listed them. High T causes Apnea to worsen and so does extra pounds. Every time I went into the SH software I was looking at a smiley face with no events or maybe if I was lucky one. I mean that because I enjoyed looking at the results every morning. I don't use the machine much anymore and I wake up feeling like I slept fine. Now, I still use it sometimes because I think that I still may need it, but there is no evidence that I do. When I first started using it I had lot's of events logged, but now, nothing. Is this possible? Am I fooling myself? I guess the only way to know for sure is to take another sleep test. That is what I am going to do and I will report the results, compared to my first test to see what changes there may be.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - justMongo - 10-11-2016
I'm curious, were you supplementing with exogenous T ?
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Sleeprider - 10-11-2016
(10-11-2016, 10:22 AM)justMongo Wrote: I'm curious, were you supplementing with exogenous T ?
Seriously? That is freak of nature, body builder stuff. Definitely self-inflicted. I think it's great he got this under control and seems to have positively affected his SA.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - justMongo - 10-11-2016
(10-11-2016, 10:37 AM)Sleeprider Wrote:(10-11-2016, 10:22 AM)justMongo Wrote: I'm curious, were you supplementing with exogenous T ?
Seriously? That is freak of nature, body builder stuff. Definitely self-inflicted. I think it's great he got this under control and seems to have positively affected his SA.
I just looked up what the lab I use considers the normal range:
241 - 827 ng/dL. IDK if they adjust that range for age. Yeah, 1700 would be like 2X normal.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Adoniscmj - 10-11-2016
I was put on TRT from my doctor at the time. I had no insurance due to losing my job during the recession. He gave me testosterone, but never checked my levels. That happened at the same time that I got a job again with insurance. My Endocrinologist checked my T level as soon as I saw him and cut my dose. The other doctor had put my health at risk by not checking my level. It was self inflicted, but I was under the care of a careless doctor. I wasn't body building. I was on TRT because I have Crohn's disease and it damaged my bodies ability to manufacture testosterone. My T level before being on TRT was nearly 0 and as a result I had osteoperosis at the age of 38. When I had my sleep test I was still on a high dose of T.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Sleeprider - 10-11-2016
I put the T levels and forum name together and made an assumption...sorry. I was started on a dose of 1-cc T-Cypionate biweekly originally and dropped to 0.4 cc weekly, but never saw levels like you got. Pretty amazing, and lots of potential side-effects at that blood level, including the apnea and polycythemia.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - PaulaO2 - 10-11-2016
Get a recording oximeter. They aren't too expensive. I suggest you get a decent one vs the cheap model. Like the CMS-50F wrist model with finger probe. They last longer.
With it, wear it with the CPAP for about a week. Then go without the CPAP for about a week but use the oximeter. Compare the two. It should come with software and you'll need to upload it each morning. Do a few readings during the day, too, to see where you run normally.
With the CPAP set to 6-9, you can't go much lower without feeling suffocated.
The only other thing is if your machine is giving you absolute zero AHI, 0.0 AHI, then unplug the machine from the wall, unplug it from the back of the machine, wait about a minute or more, and then plug it all back in again. Then see if it continues to give you all zeroes.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Sleepster - 10-11-2016
Another thing you can do is set your machine to a fixed pressure of 4 (lowest possible setting) and see if your AHI is still very low.
Beyond that and what Paula suggested, only another sleep study can confirm that you no longer have OSA.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Adoniscmj - 10-12-2016
My doctor had me injecting .3ml three times per week. That is how it got so high. Very unsafe as it can damage organs and cause blood clots to form. I hope it didn't cause me permanent harm. If so I may have to take action for it. Any way the high T can make Apnea much worse and I was at an AHI of 38 during my sleep test. It is the high side of moderate. i would have to think it would improve after getting my T under control at least.
RE: Off the Machine Now and Doing Well - Adoniscmj - 10-12-2016
I have been getting maybe one or two events per night when I use it. I have my pressure set fairly low as it is. It is 7.5 to 9.5 max and with that I am getting an AHI under 1.0. It is usually at maybe a .2 . I wake up feeling rested and I don't wake up gasping for air anymore. I have not had that problem since going down on testosterone. I do still have Apnea, but I would say it is probably mild.