WarpedTrekker

What is wrong with using BIPAP specifically? It is similar to CPAP, except can deliver more pressure on inspiration to get past blockages. BIPAP won't force a breath. If you don't breathe, it does nothing. It just marks it as a Central Apnea. That is the way my sleep doctor described it. Now...ASV is totally different, in that it will force you to breathe. ASV shouldnt be used in people with certain heart conditions. You need to have your heart ejection fraction checked, before starting ASV.

But going back to the original post, I had the same onset apneas happen to me a few months ago. My doctors couldn't figure it out. I kept laying down at night, felt jittery/anxious, would fall asleep and immediately wake up, and felt like I wasn't breathing. My BIPAP kept showing CA's occur, which is abnormal for me. I bought a Contec SpO2 monitor to wear overnight, and it showed my oxygen dropping to the low 80's% during each event. I couldn't get any sleep since every time I tried to go to sleep, I'd immediately wake up and felt like I was stopping breathing at night. I'd go a night without sleep. Then the next night was somewhat okay again. But then the cycle kept repeating occassionally. Then a few weeks later, I was hospitalized for DVT/PE blood clots. During in the hospital stay, they put me on a oxygen monitor, and it also showed my levels dropping, whenever I would fall asleep. Yet the doctor didn't seem to care. They just gave me a sleeping pill that night, that really didnt work well.

But now for a few months again, I've been fine. There was only one or two nights where I had this anxious/panic feeling, and tried going to bed and had those same feelings where i was stopping breathing immediately upon falling asleep. VERY WEIRD! My doctor said to either just take melatonin or a half tablet of Klonopin before bed. Which is what I do now, and now I can sleep so far. I hope the issue never comes back. Because I saw many different doctors....neurologists, etc, and they had no answers and blamed it all on anxiety. I just don't see how anxiety could cause Central Apneas and stopping breathing at night though?

I do wish I could get a BIPAP with backup rate though at least, just to have that extra "security" that it would try to make me breathe, whenever i do have Central's. But my sleep doctor keeps saying I don't need it, and that the "backup rate" style machines are old style, and not auto-adjusting. He said if I would have a ton of centrals then I would need ASV.

I am in the same boat. Sleep study showed I have "Mild" sleep apnea, around AHI 7 but around 17 other minor events happening an hour. My oxygen drops during events to 85% or lower sometimes temporarily. No REM sleep at all. Had an AFIB incident with my heart one night, since the obstructions caused me to stop breathing. I would wake up in night sweats, have heart palpitations and racing heart of 100+bpm. Had multiple sleep studies. My first sleep doctor was dumb, and said to just keep using CPAP, that it would get better. It did not. I had the AFIB incident after I started CPAP. So I FIRED that sleep doctor and found another. Then after complaining about poor sleep and tried during the day, the second doctor tried BIPAP on me. This helped for the most part. But I still got obstructions. So I got a ResMed Narval CC dental appliance through my dentist, to move my jaw forward. This helped a little more, but I still have nights with clusters of obstructions happening. So I'm now going to several ENT doctors, to get info on different procedures to clear up my nasal cavity, fix a deviated septum, and maybe get surgery to cut away tissue.

Whatever you do, don't let the doctor tell you that an AHI of 5-10 is "mild" or "normal" in people. The whole sleep industry is a joke, and they need to do away with the AHI range. No normal person should have any blockages of any kind, when they sleep! On nights when I have AHI of 5, I still feel bad the next day. It's only if I get the number down to < 2, that I feel better the next day. If you have any ENT's in the area, I would recommend to go see them, to see what they can offer for sleep apnea. I suffered for too long with this issue, and it has affected my heart, and now I'm on heart medicine for AFIB. I'm going to a new ENT doctor this week, that has some new non-invasive procedures to open airways.

I use a ResMed AirCurve 10, with AirTouch full-face mask. A couple months ago, I started using a ResMed Narval CC in combination with the machine. Does anyone know, if these dental appliances should snap-on to both your lower and upper teeth?

Mine only snaps onto my upper teeth, and kind of just rests on my lower teeth. At night, I tend to mouth breath, and I think it may be slipping off my lower teeth, and then my jaw falls back and causes blockages again. My dentist tried to adjust it, but it feels like it is now pulling on my lower front teeth, and still doesn't snap into place on the lower teeth. My dentist says he has never seen a dental appliance snap into place on the lower jaw. I think he is not telling the truth, and doesn't want to admit that the device is not fitted properly. I use a chin strap to help keep my mouth closed at night, but that doesn't seem to help much.

The Naval CC is now discontinued by ResMed. So I'm wondering if I have any type of warranty to get this damn thing fixed properly?

I'm a relatively new to treatment, got my AirSense 10 AutoSet in August. My doctor had it set to automatic 6-13 pressures, and was doing great on it. Then this past month, I had my first AFIB episode and was in the hospital overnight. The AFIB is currently treated with drugs, "Multaq". Haven't had any further AFIB so far.

When I saw my sleep doctor yesterday, she changed my machine to constant pressure of 12, with a 15minute ramp time. She said that for AFIB patients, it is best to use a constant pressure, then to rely on the machine to automatically adjust pressures.

I really don't like the constant pressure, and last night I felt 12 was a little too much. Felt a little jittery this morning when i woke up. Normally, my machine would adjust pressure from 6-13, and normally would be around 10.6 at night on average.

Is there any documentation that corresponds to what my doctor is telling me? Is it true that CPAP is better then APAP for people that had previous AFIB episodes?