raised heart rate on waking

Have a puzzle here I am looking for input on. I have tried on and off for years to use a bi-pap machine. What has always stopped me is the noise of the air movement at my face. I have absurdly good hearing and am a light sleeper to begin with. Well I finally found a mask that is quiet enough I can get to sleep (wearing earplugs as always), an AirFit N20. I have tinkered endlessly with the settings and 12 IPAP and 9 EPAP seems as good as it gets. I still don't stay asleep for long (an hour or two) and when I wake up I feel like I have been exercising (not sure how else to describe it). My pulse rate is up and I am a bit out of breath as if I had been walking fast or some sort of gentle but non-stop exercise for a long while. I have been giving up the 2nd time I wake each night. I am not even slightly claustrophobic or anything else that would cause me to have an emotional reaction to this, at worst I am bored with it taking me longer getting to sleep with something unfamiliar on my face. Some other details that may or may not matter. I have MS, had it 30 years now. I was getting migraines with a CPAP machine, my Dr. switched me to the bi-pap as he had seen that in others with neurological conditions. I am somewhat overweight (6' tall, 250 lbs.) and definitely out of shape with the sedentary life MS fatigue forces on me. I am a side sleeper. I have a res-med machine with an attached humidifier. I have a heated hose for it. Feel free to ask for any more info that could help.

The puzzle is waking up feeling that way? Any ideas/suggestions appreciated. Doug

bburk64 wrote:Have a puzzle here I am looking for input on. I have tried on and off for years to use a bi-pap machine. What has always stopped me is the noise of the air movement at my face. I have absurdly good hearing and am a light sleeper to begin with. Well I finally found a mask that is quiet enough I can get to sleep (wearing earplugs as always), an AirFit N20. I have tinkered endlessly with the settings and 12 IPAP and 9 EPAP seems as good as it gets. I still don't stay asleep for long (an hour or two) and when I wake up I feel like I have been exercising (not sure how else to describe it). My pulse rate is up and I am a bit out of breath as if I had been walking fast or some sort of gentle but non-stop exercise for a long while. I have been giving up the 2nd time I wake each night. I am not even slightly claustrophobic or anything else that would cause me to have an emotional reaction to this, at worst I am bored with it taking me longer getting to sleep with something unfamiliar on my face. Some other details that may or may not matter. I have MS, had it 30 years now. I was getting migraines with a CPAP machine, my Dr. switched me to the bi-pap as he had seen that in others with neurological conditions. I am somewhat overweight (6' tall, 250 lbs.) and definitely out of shape with the sedentary life MS fatigue forces on me. I am a side sleeper. I have a res-med machine with an attached humidifier. I have a heated hose for it. Feel free to ask for any more info that could help.

The puzzle is waking up feeling that way? Any ideas/suggestions appreciated. Doug

Get the Free software to monitor your Sleep Apnea (SleepyHead), then you will have the missing steering wheel to drive your treatment. You will probably find out due to poor treatment you are having apneas at that time. Jim

Get the SleepyHead like Jim says. What you described reminds me of what I felt before I was dx'd and treated for OSA with sweating etc.

What were your setting when using the cpap? Do you have a hose cover? Think that would deaden the sound enuff? Run the hose up under your covers? Or lay a towel or blanket on the hose?

How about the bipap where is that located? Would putting it down on the floor help with the noise? Maybe put it in a Sterilite plastic box to help deaden the sound there.

I say sleep with it just as long as you can then give more feedback here.

Stop talking to strangers on the internet! Go to Emerg, or at least your own MD and get tested for any possible cardiac problems. Don't mess with Cpap this or that, just go and get looked at... there's always time to speculate and talk about Cpap later, but you don't want to miss something serious... which may just not give you the warning you assume you'll get.

I do have OSA, the sleep study test have already shown that, not to a dangerous degree, but my Dr. hopes I would sleep better if I could use this machine. I will run this newest symptom of my heart rate by him to see what he thinks tomorrow & not use the machine in the mean time, it only happens when I do. I am followed pretty closely by my Drs. (GP and way too many specialist) already, so I doubt they missed any sort of heart condition, but I will let them decide that.

I will see what that software says about the couple of nights I did try to use it.

The machine is already on the floor, I was getting water in the tube and gurgling noises otherwise. I put it on the floor & lowered the humidity setting, that took care of that.

It was never the noise from the machine or hose keeping me awake, it is the noise of the air blowing on my face and in my nose. Like I said, my hearing is crazy sensitive. We had an exchange student here once that could not believe that at 53 I could hear better than a 17 yr old girl. We did some testing. She could hear higher frequencies than me, but I could hear quieter things than she could. Also I have near zero separation ability with my hearing, I hear everything full blast all at once. If 2 people are talking near me I don't understand either one, it all blurs together. I can't focus on one and screen out the other like most people can. (I've read about others with MS having similar problems)

thank you for all the advice!

I wonder if you are not exhaling enuff to blow off your CO? Ask your doc about having an overnite O2 test to see what he thinks.

Guest wrote:I wonder if you are not exhaling enuff to blow off your CO? Ask your doc about having an overnite O2 test to see what he thinks.

this is nonsensical, for several reasons.

If the noise of Bi-Pap bothers you, you can try ordinary CPAP (or just set your Bi-Pap inhale and exhale to the same number). I found even exhalation "relief" to be bothersome.

For noise, buy a cheap fan or air purifier and run it at night by your bed when you lay down. You could probably even use a white-noise/fan app on your phone if you don't want to spend any money.

I use a bi-level device at pretty high pressures and it can get pretty loud. Once I lay down and turn my air purifier on a medium fan setting, I can barely hear anything. It makes a huge difference.

Regarding waking up often and with a racing heart, let's see your sleep data and see if we can point out any red flags, if any. Sub-optimal settings, especially when someone has other ailments in combination with sleep apnea, can cause a lot of problems.

I would also recommend visiting your Doc and letting them know what's going on as well. I doubt you will find many people here that could/should be giving you advice related to MS.

I called my doc, they will be calling back tomorrow to set up an appointment for me. He's a sleep specialist, so this sort of thing is exactly what he works with.

Normal CPAP gives me migraines.

I've tried white noise, that just keeps me awake too. (I swear I am some aliens attempt at making a human being some days. I can hear things quieter than any human should, I can see in near complete darkness, I had 5 wisdom teeth, and the tips of my thumbs are double jointed...)

It is not the noise of the machine bothering me, this machine is pretty quiet, it is the noise of the air pushed in to my nose under pressure that keeps me awake. This new mask diffuses that more than any other had, so I have some hope. (been trying to get this to work for a few years now)

thanks again for all the input.

fan noise is different than your typical white static noise. my airpurifier gives off a nice gentle breeze sound. and if you can't handle any noise, buy some earplugs from the pharmacy.