Mixed Apnea

[Procrastinator]

Hello All,

I was diagnosed this week with mixed apnea and a host of other problems that stem from the sleep disorder (high blood pressure, issues with the heart, etc.). The doctor has recommended a number of life-style changes that I have begun to incorporate into my life (with many yet to start). I regret not looking into this sooner as my brother and father have both been diagnosed with OSA and have had surgery to alleviate the problem. Unfortunately, I couldn't have surgery as my blood pressure was 190/150 and it now looks like I will be on bp meds for the rest of my life. I am a 35 year old male, that never gets sick, but after my test and diagnosis I have the doctors somewhat alarmed. My blood oxygen level drops to 49%; I had 97 incidents of apnea per hour and my heart-rate dropped to 26 beats/min and then stops for roughly 3 seconds +/-.

I am quickly coming up the learning curve with this and have received excellent treatment from the doctors and specialists that have gotten involved. I was wondering how effective the CPAP or BiPAP machines are for people with significant episodes of central apnea. I need to shed a few lbs to alleviate some of the OSA, but I am not clear about the central apnea. Any thoughts?

[Peter]

Wow! You've got a lot on your plate, and a BP of 190/150 is pretty alarming. I understand why your doctors are concerned. Although the systolic of 190 is high, the 150 diastolic is extremely high. Did you sense anything was wrong? Add to that the O2 levels dropping to 49% and a heart rate of 26 that stopped for 3 seconds +/-, I'd say you were diagnosed in the nick of time. Unfortunately, my understanding is that any type of CPAP will not help with the central apneas. The OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) is where the there is some type of obstruction, be it extra tissue in the throat, etc, that simply needs some external air pressure to overcome the obstruction. Central Apneas are where the brain simply forgets to breathe, and only a ventilator will overcome that. Unfortunately, I don't think that's an option you could use at home, as that's more for critical care life support. I'm not an expert in any of this and I could be mistaken on some things, so please be sure to check back with this forum. There are others out here that really know their stuff, as one of us even works in a sleep lab. Just can't recall his user name at the moment. He'd be able to answer your questions much better than I. (If anyone remembers his name, please refer him to this post.) Good luck to you. Keep us informed of your treatment/progress. Besides being concerned for you, I think we'd all like to know how you are doing.

Peter

[Janelle]

The 420E from what I have learned is about the only one that can effectively deal with Central Apneas. It is an AutoPap. The other Autopaps don't deal with Central Apneas at all, just ignore them. The problem with using a regular straight CPAP would be that the pressure might be too high for central apneas.

I'm still learning myself, but from what I have read here and elsewhere I think I'm correct. Rested Gal, Muck, SWS, somebody help!

[Procrastinator]

No, I never new anything was wrong. People just laughed and made jokes of the way I slept (or didn't sleep). In the past year or so, I found myself waking up several nights per week getting sick in my sleep. I just thought I had and acid reflux problem. Eventually, my girlfriends nagging became more annoying to me than my snoring was to her and I went for a sleep test. I was just tired all of the time and I started getting winded without really exerting myself. As for knowing about the bp, I can't really say I did. Until the last few years, I was always a good athlete and strong as an ox. I started putting on weight inexplicably and just thought it was that point in my life where I start to look like my father. Live and learn I guess.

[-SWS]

My understanding is that many or most cases of "significant" central apnea events actually require a BiLevel type machine (e.g. BiPAP, VPAP). However, I also understand that some patients experiencing central apneas seem to actually do okay on ordinary CPAP once they get treated and their respiratory drive gets "back on track".

The ideal would be having a titration performed so that the medical staff assesses exactly which type of PAP machine best suits your respiratory drive. Not a good idea for a patient with "significant" central apneas to take a DIY approach. Purely obstructive apnea patients can and do get away with a DIY approach thanks to modern AutoPAP technology.

[buddy0013]

Hi...I am a 25 year old male that has been suffereing from sleep apnea for a few years now. In May I started treat after a sleep study found I had OBS ans CNS apneas. My question is this, does a CFLEX treat the CNS portion of the apnea? Thanks.

[Mike2000]

ResMed sell a VPAP Adapt SV which apparently treats mixed apneas. Details are on their website. I am not aware of any other machines that treats complex/mixed apneas.

[Goofproof]

[quote="buddy0013"]Hi...I am a 25 year old male that has been suffereing from sleep apnea for a few years now. In May I started treat after a sleep study found I had OBS ans CNS apneas. My question is this, does a CFLEX treat the CNS portion of the apnea? Thanks.

[DME_Guy]

This is correct. It sounds like this is the machine for you.

http://resmed.com/portal/site/ResMedUS/ ... nPNum=null



[quote="Mike2000"]ResMed sell a VPAP Adapt SV which apparently treats mixed apneas. Details are on their website. I am not aware of any other machines that treats complex/mixed apneas.

[Snoredog]

The above is a YEAR old thread.

[Bella]

The above is a YEAR old thread.

Most of it is, but it looks like "buddy" pulled it up yesterday as a basis for his/her question.