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+--- Thread: Unpleasant arousals increased since I began APAP (/Thread-Unpleasant-arousals-increased-since-I-began-APAP)
Unpleasant arousals increased since I began APAP - StevesSp - 05-05-2020
Since starting CPAP some years ago, my AHI has been controlled pretty well, though I do not feel any better than I did pre-therapy in terms of energy and sleepiness.
However, I periodically experience 'unpleasant arousals' where I awake after a bad dream, one in which I am struggling to do something like climb a hill or just open a door, accompanied by fear of something. I am breathless, my heart rate is usually elevated and I feel lightheaded - all symptoms of suffocation I guess, and due to a prolonged apnea. I suppose the suffocation causes my brain to invent a dream that rationalises the feeling of being out of breath or struggling physically.
I was hoping this might happen less frequently when I upgraded from CPAP to APAP (Airsense Auto For Her), simply because it delivers better therapy. Disappointingly, I'm having MORE of these arousals.
Before I start messing with settings, armed mostly with equal measures of ignorance and desperation, may I ask for suggestions on the basis of the accompanying Oscar chart please? If I need to provide more charts or zoom in, just let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Steve
RE: Unpleasant arousals increased since I began APAP - StevesSp - 05-05-2020
Another chart:
RE: Unpleasant arousals increased since I began APAP - Sleeprider - 05-06-2020
Steve, have we never discussed increasing EPR to tame the flow limits and hypopnea? These are the root cause of most RERA. You should be using EPR at 3.
RE: Unpleasant arousals increased since I began APAP - StevesSp - 05-06-2020
(05-06-2020, 10:01 AM)Sleeprider Wrote: Steve, have we never discussed increasing EPR to tame the flow limits and hypopnea? These are the root cause of most RERA. You should be using EPR at 3.
I've been threatening to post charts for months now, but delayed because I was planning to upgrade my machine. I don't recall the EPR suggestion, but maybe I missed that, or forgot.
I was using minimum EPR because I thought that reduced centrals. Can't recall.
If you think changing EPR will help, I'll give it a go. Thanks!
By the way, where do you see flow limits? I don't understand how to interpret the charts. I'm curious to understand why I have periods of elevated respiration rate, too. Is that related to flow limitation?