DanM

Hi @MikeJ. Cheyne Stokes respiration is a very specific breathing pattern, and central apneas are one part of the pattern. The condition is not considered normal, and I do encourage you to talk to your physician about what the software is reporting. Please keep in mind that the CPAP machine and/or the software might be seeing central apneas and reporting them as Cheyne Stokes respirations in error. As a technologist, I have seen this occur. If you have not had a new sleep study since your diagnosis 10 years ago, requesting a new study might be helpful in determining whether your sleep apnea has changed in some way. Best wishes, and please let us know if we can answer any questions!

Hi @WillingChartreuseSalmon3914. I hope your mask change continues to help improve comfort with treatment. I might also recommend you have your machine checked by your home care company to make sure it is still functioning properly and at the appropriate pressure. CPAP machines sometimes malfunction, so it might be worth looking into. Let us know how the new mask works out for you!

Hi @GlennP. I am very sorry to hear about your seizure and the associated injury. Welcome to MyApnea.Org, and I hope you are on the mend and recovering well! While there have been some published studies on sleep apnea and seizures, there are sometimes no certain answers about the cause of a seizure. I am glad your family doctor suggested a sleep study and treatment for your sleep apnea. I encourage you to continue using your treatment nightly, but do contact your physician or home care company if the awakenings associated with high pressures continue after another couple of weeks. It does take some time to adjust to the air pressure, and I'm happy to hear you are no longer snoring. And I'm sure your wife is happy too! Keep us posted on your progress, and we invite you complete the surveys and propose any research questions that might interest you. All the best with your treatment and continued healing.

Hi @azpatsmr. I'm sorry to hear your first couple of nights have been so difficult, but you are not alone. Your idea of attempting to wear the mask while awake and watching baseball is an excellent one. We often suggest that new patients try wearing their treatment while awake and doing something like watching television or reading. This helps adjust to the feeling of the mask on your face and to the feeling of the air pressure that is entering your airway. As for the dryness, continue using your humidifier to see if dryness improves as you adjust to treatment. For some patients, an additional room humidifier and the use of saline spray at night may be helpful. If severe dryness persists, I encourage you to contact your equipment provider and ask them to make sure your humidifier is functioning properly. Several MyApnea.Org members have reported that visualization helps them lower anxiety and adjust to their new treatment. Imagine yourself in a place that you consider most relaxing and pay attention to slowly breathing in and out. Please keep us posted on your progress, and come back to the forum and post additional questions if we can help!

Hello @SilverStar. There are other treatment options that you may consider discussing with your physician, as he would best know what is appropriate based on your sleep study results. Have you considered talking with him about an oral appliance (dental device), possible surgical options or something like the Inspire implant?

Hello @CreativeIndigoShark2210. Welcome to MyApnea.Org. For some people, PAP treatment does improve some of the symptoms you mention. However, medications and underlying medical conditions may also contribute to these symptoms and behaviors. It would be important to discuss this with your physician to see if there are other factors contributing to the challenges you mention. Your questions about reasons for lack of improvement in the areas you describe, potential brain damage and dementia are all good ones, but these questions would likely require further testing by your husband's physician or other specialists. I am happy to hear he is using his treatment regularly, as we know that sleep apnea contributes to so many other health conditions. Please continue to visit the forum, complete the surveys and consider posting a research question. And best wishes as you continue to seek answers and help improve your husband's health.

Hi @ModestCeruleanCat5596. While patients treated with CPAP can experience a decrease in fatigue and an increase in energy, the symptoms you describe are usually not related to CPAP use. There are other factors that may contribute to the increase in activity you describe, such as medications, caffeine or other medical conditions. Have you discussed these changes with your physician? If not, I encourage you to do so. Good luck, and welcome to the MyApnea.Org forums!

Hi @Kyle. I have worn a Fitbit, but I have not used it in sleep mode. For the general health monitoring, wearing the device did remind me to get up and move more. I could see how close to my activity goal I was at any given time.

Hi @VersatileMagentaLlama0669. I agree with a lot of what @WhiteBeard posted. Your condition can be a difficult one to treat, and persistence is key. Your respiratory therapist can only do so much without a prescription, so talking this over with your sleep physician is a good plan. Central apneas sometimes resolve with time, but this should be monitored closely in the event BIPAP does not improve your condition. I would also encourage you to talk to your provider about the nighttime nasal stuffiness to determine if there is treatment that may be able to help.

Hi Anthony. I read through your earlier posts, and I see that you were told you had mild sleep apnea. I did not see any mention of treatment. Did your doctor put you on CPAP or some other treatment? If not, do you know if he or she plans to try treating the sleep apnea? The symptoms you describe can be associated with sleep apnea. In fact, one of the most common complaints among patients with sleep apnea is that they fall asleep when trying to read or watch TV, or that they become drowsy while driving. A diagnosis of narcolepsy is more difficult, and it usually requires an overnight sleep study followed by a daytime study called a Multiple Sleep Latency Test. Your physician would likely consider the results of both tests, but sleep apnea would usually be treated first. I hope this information is helpful, but please do post any questions you have.

Thanks,

Dan