Onetime Apnea like event 20 to 30 minutes into sleep every night even with CPAP

I am 40 years old ( 5' 10'' with 96 KG weight ) . It began when I started waking up from sleep with choking sensation every night in the first 30 minutes of my sleep. After the apnea like event happens once, I am able to sleep the entire night without further awakening. But the choking sensation itself was scary and my doctor suggested sleep study. I was diagnosed with moderate obstructive sleep apnea in 2019 ( 14 AHI ). Initially they suggested the oral appliance and I gave it a try. It did not solve my problem. I still choked and the first thing that I do on waking up with the sensation was to throw the appliance away. After 5 t o 6 months of unsuccessful trial and 2000 dollars later, I went for another sleep study. This time I had 15 AHI and opted for CPAP therapy. I intended to buy Dreamstation Auto CPAP as I found it quite cheap in Amazon. During the 1 month machine trial( December 2020), I didn't had any issues for the first 10 days, but after that I started having the choking sensation ( in the fist 30 minutes of sleep ). My sleep specialist told that it will go away after some time. I decided not to go with the sleep clinic's 2500 dollar Dreamstation and bought my own dreamstation for 45 dollars( Canadian). With the Dreamstation my AHI had come down to 2 by June 2021, but I still had the choking sensation 30 minutes into sleep. I tried pressure settings of 4 to 7 minimum to 11 to 20 max . I have also seen that my AHI shot up when I increased the minimum pressure to 6 or 7. After Dreamstation got recalled, I bought Fisher and Paykel sleepstyle Auto and it is currently showing my AHI as 0.7 ( 9 hours of sleep with a pressure range of 4 to 15 cm H2O). But I still have the one time choking sensation 30 minutes into sleep. Did anyone else had such an experience? I am starting to think that I may have some other medical condition causing it.

About all I can suggest is using OSCAR to look at the detailed data. I am not sure if the F&P Sleepstyle is supported by OSCAR. The preceding SleepyHead did not. But, the Dreamstation did. If you still have the SD card from the Dreamstation there may be useful information on the card.

Yes, I have the Dreamstation SD card.

Thank you for your reply. I had posted my Oscar report as your reply. But can't see it here. Please let me know which particular figure in the Oscar report should I concentrate on?

Hi Sierra, Please see the screen shots for January 10.

Hi Sierra, Thank you very much for the reply. Yes, I had removed the mask because I had the choking sensation. I don't know whether that sensation is real or mental. I will increase the minimum pressure and see how that works.

I still have my 6 month old Philips Respironics auto CPAP with me, cleaned and neatly packed for the re-call.

Hi Sierra.. Thank you for introducing me to the term "Sleep onset Apnea". I read some posts about that and it indeed describes my issue. I am eagerly waiting to re-use the dreamstation with Oscar once the foam issue is settled. F&P Sleepstyle do flag some events as Central Apnea, it could be that they have improved their app recently. I have also felt that F&P sleepstyle is more comfortable to use than the dreamstation, perhaps due to their Senseawake feature.

Have you been diagnosed with Acid Reflux/GERD? That choking event sounds as though it could be a symptom…

Thanks for the reply. I will discuss this with my specialist the next time.

Shaji- There can be a relationship between Sleep Apnea and GERD. When an apnea occurs, your throat muscles lockdown and inspiratory efforts create a vacuum that can suction stomach acids up into the throat. As you might guess, that can be very irritating, hence the choking or coughing.