Tonight is the Night! Asv 1st Night - Lets Do This!!! LoL

[Guest]

The long pole in the tent is getting the right amount of undisturbed sleep.

I am trying to understand why/how this could be true.

Looking back at science class (forgot which one), air movement is controlled by 3 variables: flow, volume and pressure. All 3 could be stable, but if you change one, then you have to change at least one other one. On CPAP, this person had stable pressure, but flow and volume changed dramatically (resulting in respiratory events).

On ASV, volume has now become stable, but the pressure required to create the flow to do that is dramatically inconsistent, obviously from a lack of patient participation (either effort or obstruction).

So my question is:

From the brain's point of view, is not sleep quality precisely as bad before?

TIA.

[metsfan302]

That I do not know, I'd assume the brain is doing the same things as before, its just this machine is able to breath for me correctly? I really do not know the science behind it. I am sure someone will reply that has alot more info on this subject then I.

Here is a link I found that explains ASV a little more... - http://www.alaskasleep.com/blog/adaptiv ... leep-apnea

[Pugsy]

Eventually your sleep will become less disturbed by the pressure swings. As your brain and body get used to the "new normal" it will be just part of the way things have to be. It does take some time though and it's why ASV users are told to expect perhaps a longer adjustment time than others.

Sort of like sleeping next to the train tracks or in the dorm over a busy ER department with all the ambulance sirens......you get used to it and the brain tunes the noises out.

Your brain has to come to accept this machine doing this weird stuff as your new best friend....and in time it will.

[icipher]

I started ASV two years ago due to idiopathic central sleep apnea.

The first month or so was incredibly daunting and took a lot of courage to keep at it. The first two weeks were horrific as I tried to learn to trust my self to slip into unconsciousness with a mask over my mouth an nose, not knowing how my body would subconsciously react to the pressure or if the power went out.

Fast forward two years and now when i put my mask on and go to sleep, it's completely normal feeling and my stress over it has been greatly diminished. I still have terrible nights here and there and sometimes i still wonder if the ASV disturbs my sleep in some ways, but I think I am better off now then i was two years ago.

[Ricochet]

Wow I can say the I really do envy you and those numbers

Its nice to see you taking to it so well

[metsfan302]

You too can get there, just need an asv

My ahi was over 40-50 every night
Mostly centrals

[JDS74]

Thanks so much!!!

My wife last night asked me a question that well I could not answer.

Why do all these Cpap/vpap etc companies make so many different models when they can make just 1 say an ASV type machine that can be set to do Cpap/Apap/Asv etc..... ?

I think the base reason is that almost all apnea patients only need what a straight CPAP delivers. That is, they only have obstructive events and a plain vanilla cpap will fix that completely. A smaller percentage need what the various auto and bi-level machines provide in terms of pressure relief during exhale because of either comfort issues or because their pressure requirements change quite a bit during sleep.

Only a very few need what an ASV machine can provide. That is the ability to deal with central apneas by becoming a sort of ventilator and "fixing" the problem of the patient just not breathing.

BTW, Respironics makes such a machine - the V60 Ventilator but it is a hospital only device.
Respironics V60 Ventilator Manual

As the most recent study done and reported by ResMed indicates, putting someone on an ASV machine when they have other specific issues related to heart conditions increases mortality risks - so much so, that these patients are routinely removed from ASV cpap therapy until the researcher figure it out.

I think that having a single platform that allows for the implementation of different functionalities would be a great idea. My wife recently got hearing aids and the manufacturer has a whole spectrum of models that supply increasingly complex solutions to hearing loss. But, there is only one hardware base. The audiologist changes the firmware to select the level of support that the patient needs. Costs go up as the firmware becomes more capable.

Just speculating but it may be that the distribution of patient needs for hearing loss issues likely does not look like the distribution in apnea patients.