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erratic respiratory rate
#1
erratic respiratory rate
Most nights my respiratory rate is all over the place and occasionally it is fairly smooth. These are 2 screenshots showing the difference. Can someone explain what this means.

   

   

   


Thanks car54
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#2
RE: erratic respiratory rate
My guess is that in this case it is your sleep state changing. The larger disruptions seem to be at fairly regular intervals.
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#3
RE: erratic respiratory rate
(11-08-2019, 03:33 PM)car54 Wrote: Most nights my respiratory rate is all over the place and occasionally it is fairly smooth. These are 2 screenshots showing the difference. Can someone explain what this means.

Thanks car54

I agree with Bonjour.  Those events seemed timed to sleep cycle changes and the clusters of events together most likely you were sleeping on your back or were "tucking your chin" close to your chest. 

I would drop your pressure back down to be more comfortable.  Raising pressure on the DS APAP in a case like this might be just chasing the wind, bringing you pain with little benefit. 

State changes and Positional .. so what to do?   

State changes? Sleep cycles are good and natural. Do not yet see any issue to address here.

Positional?   Positional issues are some of the easiest to fix.  Read the "Soft Collars" link in Bonjour's signature above.  In short you want to sleep on your side rather than your back and when you sleep you want to be constantly 'sticking out' your chin rather than tucking it into your chest.  

Does that help?

WillSleep

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#4
RE: erratic respiratory rate
Here are some more screenshots. I don't understand the inconsistencies in the respiratory rate in the graph. My RDI is generally very good. I know some of the apneas are positional. I believe that I often change positions because of body aches. I seems that I can't stay in one position too long before my aches and pains start acting up. Whether its relevant I know I dream because often that is when I wake up to move to a different position. I will probably try a collar and see if that gives me a less erratic graph.

   

   

   

Willsleep, I think I understand what you are saying about lowering pressure. I will try it. It may not matter but I have asthma, allergies, COPD, and some emphysema but I am still trying to figure out why generally my respiratory rate is rather erratic and then I have a night where it is very consistent.

Thanks, car54
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#5
RE: erratic respiratory rate
(11-10-2019, 07:23 AM)car54 Wrote: Here are some more screenshots. I don't understand the inconsistencies in the respiratory rate in the graph. My RDI is generally very good. I know some of the apneas are positional. I believe that I often change positions because of body aches. I seems that I can't stay in one position too long before my aches and pains start acting up. Whether its relevant I know I dream because often that is when I wake up to move to a different position. I will probably try a collar and see if that gives me a less erratic graph. 

Willsleep, I think I understand what you are saying about lowering pressure. I will try it. It may not matter but I have asthma, allergies, COPD, and some emphysema but I am still trying to figure out why generally my respiratory rate is rather erratic and then I have a night where it is very consistent.

Thanks, car54

"I am still trying to figure out why generally my respiratory rate is rather erratic and then I have a night where it is very consistent."

I don't think the variance in Respiration Rate has anything to do with machine settings.

As a guess from someone who is not a medical professional my gut response/my guess is the variances in Respiratory Rate are likely from one or a combination of sleep position, allergies, impacts from other meds and sleep hygiene.  

  • Asthma, Allergies or humidity changes affecting the air you are out in during the day and / or at night.  How much fresh air / clean air entered your house that day.  Where the dog or cat is sleeping, etc.    
  • Good sleep hygiene (consistent bed times, eat healthy food, drink enough water, not eating late, no coffee after morning, no alcohol after 6, enough sunlight and exercise through the day, etc.).
I would not be surprised to see that variances in your nightly sleep cycles, sleep effectiveness and the nights heart rate levels and heart rate curve mirror the variances in Resp. Rate.    

So based on just the information here my recommendation would be to prioritize assessing and improve on all the things your would do that have nothing to do with xPAP therapy to improve your nights sleep and sleep architecture and also assess impacts from any other therapies or meds underway. 

///////////////////////

A little more on position and removing sleep disruption from a lack of comfort. 
  • Position plays a big roll in causing apneas.  Your on track trying a neck collar or neck rest.
  • Position and being comfortable enough plays a big roll in damaging sleep architecture, sleep efficiency and causing apneas.  "I often change positions because of body aches."  Sounds like time for a new mattress or maybe a soft and yet surprisingly supportive Talalay Latex 3" Topper (Meduim) ~$250-$450      
//////////////////////

Finally...   "asthma, allergies, COPD, and some emphysema"   

  1. In OCSAR make the top four charts being Event Flags, Flow Rate, Mask Pressure and Resp Rate .. 
  2. Take two days or sessions during the same night that show high variance and zoom in so you can compare into to 2 min periods of time.
  3. Learning how to notice and read distortions and big differences in the shapes of the Flow Rate and Mask Pressure waveforms can become a very accurate method of understanding when and how "asthma, allergies, COPD, and some emphysema" is affecting your sleep and what role they are playing in the variance of your Resp Rate.  


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Is the kind of response you were looking for? Other questions?

WillSleep

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#6
RE: erratic respiratory rate
(11-10-2019, 07:23 AM)car54 Wrote: Here are some more screenshots. I don't understand the inconsistencies in the respiratory rate in the graph. My RDI is generally very good. I know some of the apneas are positional. I believe that I often change positions because of body aches. I seems that I can't stay in one position too long before my aches and pains start acting up. Whether its relevant I know I dream because often that is when I wake up to move to a different position. I will probably try a collar and see if that gives me a less erratic graph.







Willsleep, I think I understand what you are saying about lowering pressure. I will try it. It may not matter but I have asthma, allergies, COPD, and some emphysema but I am still trying to figure out why generally my respiratory rate is rather erratic and then I have a night where it is very consistent.

Thanks, car54

You are not using the same scale from one graph to another hence why some graphs look worst but they are not. Set the max to 50 and stick with it and you'll see that your respiratory rate is quite steady. You'll still see some spikes at the end of each sleep cycle (around 90 minutes). That's REM sleep. The amount of REM sleep increases as the night progresses hence why you'll see more irregularities in the last sleep cycles.
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#7
RE: erratic respiratory rate
(11-10-2019, 11:01 AM)alexp Wrote: You are not using the same scale from one graph to another hence why some graphs look worst but they are not.
Nice catch Alex!
WillSleep

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#8
RE: erratic respiratory rate
Thanks all for your replies. I try to do my part to make my sleep habits as consistent as I can. I can't do much as far as the environment and how that affects my outcome. I also see how the scaling of the graph can visually affect the way the results look. Right now they are determined by the highs and lows so it changes day by day. Is there a way of setting the scale to a fixed point in OSCAR? 

Again, thanks for your replies, it is greatly appreciated.
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#9
RE: erratic respiratory rate
(11-10-2019, 03:08 PM)car54 Wrote: Thanks all for your replies. I try to do my part to make my sleep habits as consistent as I can. I can't do much as far as the environment and how that affects my outcome. I also see how the scaling of the graph can visually affect the way the results look. Right now they are determined by the highs and lows so it changes day by day. Is there a way of setting the scale to a fixed point in OSCAR? 

Again, thanks for your replies, it is greatly appreciated.

Just right click on the graph vertical axis.
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