Just got Diagnosed need some advice

You're not alone - most of us thought we only slept a short time in the lab, but they would not have generated a report or diagnosed you with apnea if they hadn't had enough data. But I would now go back to your doctors and ask them for another cardiac check up... make sure they pay attention as not everything is always solved by getting a machine. Let us know how it goes.

The correlation "severity" and symptoms is very loose. Likewise for the correlation between severity and one's ideal pressure.

8.4 means that you had 8.4 episodes per hour; on average. So if you only slept half an hour, you had 4.2 episodes.

They will diagnose SA is it's over 5.

In my opinion your issue is mostly GERD.
I have both GERD and OSA. The drugs don't help me much with reducing my GERD symptoms. Lifestyle changes have made a big difference.
The most important ones for me are:
Reduce weight.
Don't eat anything within 4 hours of laying down.
Raise head of bed, or use a wedge.
Dr Kaufman, who runs the Voice Institute of New York, has written a couple of books that really helped me out. She also has a blog on her website.

voiceinstituteofnewyork.com

Ok, I just got the numbers in!

They said they mispoke and apologized when they first contacted me on the phone and I have mild SA not Moderate SA (relief)!

The nurse said that even if it is mild they want everyone to get on a CPAP before it gets worse (and they said it will).

A little background I put the take home test on at around midnight. I stayed up till 4am watching TV because whenever
I would lie down I got that tickle in the back of my throat and had to down water, then I would be back up again. I finally placed my bed down in the recline position at 4am to go to bed and I woke up at 8am. When I awoke the o2 sensor was still on my finger.

Here are the results below (which i really dont buy)

AHI: 8.5
Obstructive Apnea Index: 6.7
Central/Mixed Apnea Index: 1.2
Hypopnea Index: .6
Supine AHI: 8.1 /hr
Total analysis time:400 minutes
Time spent in supine position: 144 mins 33%
Time spent it non -supine position: 269 mins 63%
oxygen nadir: 81%
mean sp02: 93.8%
Duration of time with sp02 less than 88%: 4.2 mins

"Impressions: Mild OSA. the oximetry signal was lost for the last 3 hours of the study and the degree of sleep apnea is likely underestimated"

I really dont know what much of the numbers mean, only that my o2 level wen under 88% for 4.2 mins and my AHI is 8.5. Can anyone help me out with what they think...given the results

Thanks everyone again for their help and support!

Hi again... I think I asked about sleep position before and this test bears out that you do have more events on your back, though slept a shorter time that way. I still think that if you made it a priority to not do that, you'd have few obstructives at all (and at 6.7 they're really in the non-apneic scale as tests go), and 02 sats might be better - and 4 mins at a borderline rate is not terrible. You could try a stuffed pack of some kind for a while and see if it becomes a habit. I mean do you really want to use a machine and mask for years ? I'd give it a try for at least a few nights and then re-test. Follow up with the ENT doctor for your throat.

Hi Julie!

You and everyone her have been such a big help! I did go back to my ent doctor today, (thats how I got the results so fast) and he reffered me to a gi doc for a scope of my stomach and throat. It is just frusterating that I go in with cest pain under my right rib and around my heard and shortness of breath and they didnt even take my bp...
He was a little upset that the other doctor ent gave me prilosec and said that sometimes the side effects can be more harmful than what it helps. I talked to him about the sleep study but he was not too familiar with everything on it, he said if I lose 15 or more lbs it may go away. I really dont know if I can get another sleep study done since my previous one already said I was positive. I really dont want to go with the cpap machine. Is there anything the doctor will do if I just cancel the cpap "porcedure" and ignore it. Will he contact the DMV and put a medical restriction on my license because I don't want to go with the treatment?

Hi cpap626,
If you don't want to go with the CPAP the doctor is not going put a restriction on your license. Your sleep apnea is on the low end of mild.
You do need to investigate ways to control both the GERD and OSA. As they said, there is a very good chance they will continue to get worse if you don't actively try to improve them.

Thanks! I may even get a pregnancy pillow to make me lie on my side. I do have a adjustable bed and usually have it about 6-8" elevated but sleeping on my side makes it rather difficult if it is up too high. I may start to take the nexium as a previous poster advised. My main problem is my throat, the doctor said it was a little irritated but it could be a seasonal thing. The other problem I am having is, it feels like someone is constantly sitting on my chest. Making it difficult to breath. I was hoping to mythodicaly solve each problem but of course the doctor put in his report my throat may be sore by OSA.

Does anyone know of a cheap o2 sensor that I can buy that can record my 02 level all night? I think that would give me a better idea of what and when things are happening.

cpap626 wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 06, 2018 1:49 am

Thanks! I may even get a pregnancy pillow to make me lie on my side. I do have a adjustable bed and usually have it about 6-8" elevated but sleeping on my side makes it rather difficult if it is up too high. I may start to take the nexium as a previous poster advised. My main problem is my throat, the doctor said it was a little irritated but it could be a seasonal thing. The other problem I am having is, it feels like someone is constantly sitting on my chest. Making it difficult to breath. I was hoping to mythodicaly solve each problem but of course the doctor put in his report my throat may be sore by OSA.

Does anyone know of a cheap o2 sensor that I can buy that can record my 02 level all night? I think that would give me a better idea of what and when things are happening.

I think this is your current thread
the min is 4 and the max goes up to 8? I think is what you mean on the other thread
in asv setting you have
epap 4
min PS 3
max PS 5
you add epap and PS together, that will give you between 7 max and 9 max
The epap 4 will stay at effectively the same number all night, as you can see on your sleepyhead chart and the PS will move between 3 and 5.

cpap626, if you're smart, you'll put ajack(ass) on your foe list, and not let his superficial understanding of cpap issues derail you.

Thanks for the heads up! As stated before the lowest i can go on the max pressure was 8 on the machine and I was running it at 10 last night. I am new to this but having epap at 4 with min pressure at 3 and max pressure at 10 it ranges from 7-14ish cm all night. On my sleepyhead report during events it was pumping at around 14 for a bit.

cpap626 wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 08, 2018 3:46 pm

Thanks for the heads up! As stated before the lowest i can go on the max pressure was 8 on the machine and I was running it at 10 last night. I am new to this but having epap at 4 with min pressure at 3 and max pressure at 10 it ranges from 7-14ish cm all night. On my sleepyhead report during events it was pumping at around 14 for a bit.

You will work out who is full of it as you go along. I wouldn't use the pm system, you were told that your epap was variable and you couldn't use asv and needed cpap,. which at this stage you can't handle. long term, cpap may be the mode best suited to your apnea, but for now, you are having a hard time without a constant pressure without expiration lowering. With ASV mode you can do this. Even with the disputes, you are better in open forum. When you are able to sleep for 4 or more hours with the machine, then you can look at adjustment of the pressure to suit your apnea. For the time being if max PS 10 is okay, stay at that. or drop back to the lowest available, on your model you say that is 8.

when you are ready to adjust pressure for treatment, for cpap mode, you just raise the pressure till the OA and H are under control as per the guide. CPAP mode will treat most people with OSA.
for ASV initially you raise the max ps to 15 and raise the epap 1cm at a time till there are minimal UA and H. AS per the titration guide. When using an asv there are risks for those with a left ventricle low ejection, It is recommended for all users to have an echocardiogram. You should refer to your doctor for advice on this.

titration manual for info
cpap page 20-22
asv on page 29-31, default adjustment of ASV, and as shown, raise the epap for UA and H.
https://www.scribd.com/document/3676589 ... Amer-Eng-1

EPAP is indeed fixed on the 36007. IPAP varies obviously.
Right now the OP is working on simply learning to sleep with the machine.
From what little I have seen ....and it's minimal sleep at best...too early to tell much about anything in terms of pressure needs.
He's gotta get some sleep more than 20 minute blocks to learn much of anything about what the machine wants to do.
The bulk of the flagged events appear to be mainly SWJ.
Trying both cpap mode and asv mode....he's just having problems sleeping with the machine in general.

Regardless...my first recommendation...get a real in lab sleep study done when insurance permits which is probably going to be at least mid summer both with and without cpap if at all possible.
The O2 stuff bugs the hell out of me.

That's ok pug, everyone can make a mistake, You do a lot of good on the forum. I would use the open forum and not the PM system though. It's up to you.

I found you just have to keep the mask on, you don't take it off and go back to sleep. to me this is the first rule. I got use to pressure in a week as most people do. exhaustion helps. he will be waking up wondering if the machine is still on because he can't feel any pressure in no time.

if the sleep study showed there were no major CA issues, it may be enough to use cpap. the new doctor with the insurance will determine if another is needed. It's pretty obvious by the spo2 that he may have apneas. If he puts up his sleepyhead charts, he will get a broad range of opinions.