Disaster struck last night...

[tl424]

So last night I went out and had hard liquor with a few of my friends, I was sober when I got back and put on my PAP and went to bed.

What did I find this morning? A HUGE cluster of OA's that a pressure of 18cmH20 could not even stop!
Here's a look the hideous cluster:
http://s32.postimg.org/anas08gzp/screen ... 120642.png

This is the first time since treatment that I've had anything like this happen to me, and surely I hope it is the last time. Makes me wonder, does alcohol really make OSA that much worse?

Let me know what you all think

[Pugsy]

Might not have been related to the alcohol. Might have been related to sleeping position (on your back) or REM stage sleep pressure needs or even maybe a combination of both.
I have on occasion have had some ugly clustering like that and I don't drink alcohol except very rarely and when I do no where around bedtime and never to excess (too old for those old party nights anyway).

Sometimes we just "blame it on alien abductions" and shrug our shoulders and move on.
Sometimes crap just happens.

It was relatively short lived, at around 20 minutes, despite being ugly when it happened.
I would only worry about it if it was happening frequently during the night. An occasional "ugly" time frame that is short lived isn't the end of the world and is unlikely to impact the overall therapy all that much.

[BlackSpinner]

It takes 24 hours for the effects of alcohol to leave your system.

Alcohol is a depressant and "feeling sober" is not the same thing as having no alcohol in your system.

[LSAT]

Huge Cluster???? I see 2 OA and 2H....What am I missing?

[Morchella]

I get similar "one event per minute" clusters when I roll onto my back during REM sleep. You can see a graph of one that I posted in this thread:

viewtopic/t111859/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1 ... 1#p1072201

I definitely try not to sleep on my back, but it sometimes happens anyway when I'm sleeping more deeply. Incidentally, I experimented with raising the pressure high enough to break up those clusters, and for me the pressure required was so high that it caused major aerophagia (air-swallowing), so I'm now relying on the old tennis ball trick to prevent myself from rolling over.

[Sir NoddinOff]

It takes 24 hours for the effects of alcohol to leave your system.

Alcohol is a depressant and "feeling sober" is not the same thing as having no alcohol in your system.

+1 If you were doing even light to moderate drinking I hope you had somebody drive you home or you took a taxi. Blood alcohol levels can sneak up on you really fast.

I saw this in a previous post of yours:
Being 19 and having these health problems is very difficult.. it doesn't help that I'm at a college with an insane workload either.

Most young people have very little experience judging their own blood alcohol levels; for that matter, so do most others

[palerider]

A HUGE cluster of OA's that a pressure of 18cmH20 could not even stop!
Let me know what you all think

two things... first. don't shrink your images, post them full size.

second... that ain't a 'huge' cluster.

[tl424]

Thanks everyone for your input.

To Sir NoddinOff, I appreciate your concern about the lack of judgement regarding blood alcohol level in young people. That being said, I will try to limit my alcohol consumption now that I know it is not only detrimental to my health, but also my treatment. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to vent a little bit, I hope that someone is willing to hear me out.

I have been on CPAP for around 4 or 5 months now and have adhered to the treatment to the best of my ability. There hasn't been a single night since my diagnosis that I have not worn my CPAP to sleep. However, it recently has just hit me that sleep apnea is a lifelong condition, and I will have to use a CPAP for the rest of my life. This, for me, is a sobering moment.

A few months ago, everything in my life seemed to be in place. I was a young, healthy (or so I thought) young man attending an Ivy League university, with a caring and supportive family and a loving girlfriend. Yet, to be diagnosed with severe OSA (AHI of over 35) at the age of 19, I felt as if life has played a cruel joke on me. I realize that this may make me sound ungrateful or unappreciative of the many great things in life that I have been given, but it is also difficult for me to suppress my anger.

And the worst part of this is, I dont think my treatment is is optimal for me as it could be. I'm tweaked my CPAP pressure, experimented with EPR settings, and changed many variables, but I still wake up at least twice a night and struggle to consistently bring my AHI below 2. But I guess that is how life is. I have to accept the reality of my condition and persevere on. I will not quit and will try my best to not let it drag me down.

Thanks for listening everyone, I would appreciate it if anyone is willing to share their story with OSA and CPAP. I guess we are all a community, right?

[Pugsy]

Don't beat yourself up too much with 2 or 3 awakenings a night. I know we all think that lights out..and wake up 7 or 8 hours later is a goal we should strive for but did you know that it's entirely normal to waken during the night?
It's normal to wake briefly after each REM stage. We may or may not always remember it. Even people who have no sleep disordered breathing issues will awaken briefly during the night.

What's more important about however many awakenings you remember is what you do .....are you able to turn over and go back to sleep or do you have difficulty falling back to sleep?

[BlackSpinner]

It is ok to feel that way. We all do. At every age.

It also takes time for all the good stuff to kick in. You know that by using your cpap nothing is getting worse. Your organs are getting O2, your brain is not suffering and deteriorating. There are almost no scary side effects to the treatment. And you use it only at night when at most only one other person can see you.

[chunkyfrog]

There are a lot of lifelong conditions we could have.
This is one you only have to treat when you sleep.
Otherwise, normal living.

[DeepFriedDuck]

I will have to use a CPAP for the rest of my life.

At that age, you should undergo Maxillomandibular Advancement surgery - http://www.sleepapneasurgery.com/maxill ... ement.html

You will be cured for life.

Don't hesitate. Have it done this summer. You are young, so you will tolerate the surgery well and heal quickly.

If I were your age, I would go for it. Even if I had to borrow the money.

[ChicagoGranny]

At that age, you should undergo Maxillomandibular Advancement surgery

I agree, but first I would get an opinion from an orthodontist who does corrections for sleep apnea. Sometimes, braces and palate and jaw expanders can get the job done without surgery.

[tl424]

Thanks for the suggestions, the MMA surgery sounds like something I want to explore. One thing though is that I just started orthodontic treatment with invisalign a few weeks ago, I wonder how the MMA is gonna change things.

Does anyone have any experience with the surgery? Any ideas about the recovery time and side effects?

Thanks alot!

[tl424]

A concern that I have with the MMA surgery after perusing numerous medical literature for the past hour, is that for such an invasive and painful procedure, it is not a magic bullet cure for OSA. Yet I suppose there is no harm discussing it with my doctor when I get home...