Central Apnea

[LoneRider]

On Saturday night, I have 6 Apnea episodes with cardiac oscillations. IOW, AFAIK, Central Sleep Apnea. This causes me to worry a bit.

I was wondering if anyone here has any good references handy on Central Apnea, causes, treatments and such. So I am trying to figure out if there is anything in my environment that could contribute to CSA, blood pressure medication, caffeine??

In my sleep study I think I might have had a single CSA episode, but I am not a very good sleeper at the studies I've found.

BTW, I've been somewhat rare on the forum over the last few days, getting ready for a field trip, riding to Vegas. Best man at a wedding Saturday. I leave tomorrow morning at 6 and have 2 1/2 days to get there, day to ride on Friday and ride back Sunday. Should be about 4500 miles on the bike when I get back home Anyway, had to catch up on some maintenance. Hopefully I will have some pictures to show y'all. Got some baby pictures of my daughter http://www.thenerdranch.com/abby.html Better ones will have to wait until December/January. I know, off topic, but y'all sorta are starting to feel like old friends. Funny how some on-line forums can do that.


cheers,
Tom

[rested gal]

Hi Tom,

You're a busy man!

Here are lotsa' links about central apnea. It's perfectly normal for people to have a "central" even while awake and moving about in the daytime. The excellent posts by christinequilts will reassure you, I think:

Links to Central Apnea

Wow, when you said baby pictures you really did mean, itty bitty baby, didn't you? Amazing, isn't it!

Wishing your wife all the best and looking forward to seeing the January pictures later!

[Born Tired]

Tom,
Thanks for sharing the pictures. Is this your first? Being a parent is a WONDERFUL thing. Big responsibility but also a big blessing!
Esther
___

[christinequilts]

On Saturday night, I have 6 Apnea episodes with cardiac oscillations. IOW, AFAIK, Central Sleep Apnea. This causes me to worry a bit.

6 centrals is not a lot- less then 1 per hour, and is perfectly normal. Everyone has central apneas- take 3 or 4 very slow & deep breaths right now, then count how many seconds after the last inhale until you feel the need to inhale again. Was it more then 10 seconds? If it was, you just had a central apnea. Next time you sigh take note how long before you inhale again....yep, another central apnea. Yawn? same thing can happen. Pick up a heavy box or weight- did you remember to breath? if you didn't, then you had another central apnea. Think of what you hear exercise trainers lecture about breathing while exercising- its human nature to not breath when we exert themselves.

Of course all of these are awake apneas- but any time you don't breath for 10 seconds, you technically have an apnea. While sleeping, you can have similar things happen- you can take several deep breaths and not need to breath for several seconds. During transitions between sleep stages, it is common to have central apneas because the acceptable levels of O2/CO2 are different for each stage...sort of like when you're still going 55MPH as you enter the 35MPH zone. When you turn over at night, it is common to not take a breath- just like when you lift something or exercise when awake. In people with OSA, they don't consider centrals a problem until they are well above 5 per hour- central apneas can be a symptom of OSA, just like snoring, arousals, etc. A few centrals are nothing to worry about- most sleep labs don't get concerned about centrals unless there are a lot of them.

Also, you have to remember your autoCPAP is only guessing that you are having a central apnea- there is no way to tell for certain without a full hookup like they do in sleep studies. And having centrals is not really any different then obstructive apneas- they just have a different cause, but they both mean you are not breathing as well as you should be. If you read some of my old post in the links Rested Gal gave you, you'll see I have a lot of centrals apneas, even with using BiPAP ST. Thankfully our bodies have lots of backup systems when it comes to breathing- that is why we can't hold our breath forever.

Congratulations on the little one- its amazing how much you can see on ultrasounds these days. You better enjoy your sleep now...since you won't be getting as much of it once you have a newborn in the house.

[LoneRider]

Next time you sigh take note how long before you inhale again....yep, another central apnea. Yawn? same thing can happen. Pick up a heavy box or weight- did you remember to breath? if you didn't, then you had another central apnea. Think of what you hear exercise trainers lecture about breathing while exercising- its human nature to not breath when we exert themselves.

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense.

As far as the little one, it is just strange. And it will definitely be a life changer.

cheers,
Tom

[Guest]

just like when you lift something or exercise when awake. In people with OSA, they don't consider centrals a problem until they are well above 5 per hour- central apneas can be a symptom of OSA, just like snoring, arousals, etc. A few centrals are nothing to worry about- most sleep labs don't get concerned about centrals unless there are a lot of them.

Hi, Christine and all. I just joined the group yesterday and have been browsing the posts. I have been using a bipap for a couple of years. About a month ago I had a re-titration and was told that I have predominantly central sleep apnea with some OSA. My doctor isn't as informative as some judging from the detailed information some on this forum have offered in their posts. From the little I've been able to find on the internet regarding CSA, it is uncommon and most often found in conjunction with underlying diseases such as heart disease or brain stem disease. In your post you commented that most sleep labs don't get concerned about centrals unless there are a lot of them. How many is considered a lot?

Does anyone know if the ipap and epap numbers are any indication of severity? My last sleep study indicated that my machine needs to be changed from 8/12 to 15/19. Is it unusual to jump that much? I don't know if I have a mild, moderate, or severe case of apnea. And, last but not least, I was told that no dreaming was indicated on my sleep study. Has anyone else been told that and what it means?

I apologize for all the questions and thanks in advance for any information.

SnoozeHunter

[SnoozeHunter]

just like when you lift something or exercise when awake. In people with OSA, they don't consider centrals a problem until they are well above 5 per hour- central apneas can be a symptom of OSA, just like snoring, arousals, etc. A few centrals are nothing to worry about- most sleep labs don't get concerned about centrals unless there are a lot of them.

Hi, Christine and all. I just joined the group yesterday and have been browsing the posts. I have been using a bipap for a couple of years. About a month ago I had a re-titration and was told that I have predominantly central sleep apnea with some OSA. My doctor isn't as informative as some judging from the detailed information some on this forum have offered in their posts. From the little I've been able to find on the internet regarding CSA, it is uncommon and most often found in conjunction with underlying diseases such as heart disease or brain stem disease. In your post you commented that most sleep labs don't get concerned about centrals unless there are a lot of them. How many is considered a lot?

Does anyone know if the ipap and epap numbers are any indication of severity? My last sleep study indicated that my machine needs to be changed from 8/12 to 15/19. Is it unusual to jump that much? I don't know if I have a mild, moderate, or severe case of apnea. And, last but not least, I was told that no dreaming was indicated on my sleep study. Has anyone else been told that and what it means?

I apologize for all the questions and thanks in advance for any information.

SnoozeHunter

[WAFlowers]

SnoozeHunter, welcome to the forum.

The numbers you are titrated at have NO correlation to the severity of your apnea. They merely reflect how much pressure is required to splint your airway open, allowing you to breathe.

The determination of mild, moderate or severe apnea is essentially a function of how many events (per hour) you have.

Not dreaming is normal for untreated or inadqueately treated apnea and other sleep distrubances. OSA happens most frequently during REM sleep when your muscles relax. REM sleep is also when you dream. If you have an apneic episode during REM this disturbance will pull you out of REM sleep, possibly waking you. Lack of REM sleep is associated with memory problems among other problems; you'll have trouble learning and remembering new things.

[Guest]

WAFlowers,

Thanks for your reply. I got very confused when I posted to this forum because I had forgotten that I arrived here by following a link posted on a different site. Couldn't remember where I'd posted this but just now found the like again and your reply.

Your comments make a lot of sense. Since my last post I've been doing a lot of reading and asking questions. Last night I had another sleep study and was hoping for different results, but looks like it went about the same as the last one. So much for denial.

SnoozeHunter