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Cpap vs. Oxygen

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:44 pm
by Guest
Full of Questions today!

Question: What is the difference between using just straight oxygen alone & using a Cpap?? Can one get by on just oxygen for a period of time (3 or 4 months??) Is there real danger in this and what would be some of the dangers?? (He tested in the severe range but thay are not "central".)

Dr. has started cerical C1,C2 & the movement of cranial plates which are so messed up you can look at him & see it. Very well could be the root of the apnea problem, also closed head injury & physical disabilities which are degerating rapidly. In the 3 appointments that he has had he's increased 2 1/2" in ht., nightly violent nightmares have stopped & he hasn't gotten dizzy or passed out once. I know this is a good thing but there's a catch, a serious gap that needs to be bridged. They say the mask straps are wrapping the area they are working on and are going to be counter productive to the movements they do on the neck & plates. He may need to make a choice

The Cpap has done nothing for his tiredness & confusion even at perfect or near perfect readings for one solid year now. I just did a post on a mask issue and a possible softer mask and Cap gear to see what people thought of those products.

We know there are not solid answers but we want to go into this decision considering all possibilities.
Thanks, Julie


Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:04 pm
by SleepGuy
Julie, there are two kinds of apnea, obstructive and "central."

in obstructive apnea the airway collapses and the patient stops breathing. No amount of oxygen is going to cure that. All the CPAP does is provide a bit of back pressure to keep the airway open (kind of like blowing up a balloon). Oxygen is helpful for people whose lungs don't absorb enough oxygen from the air. That's quite a bit different from the airway collapsing altogether so the patient literally stops breathing.

In central sleep apnea, the cessation of breath is not caused by the collapse of the airway but by a problem with the individual's neurology (the brain signals to initiate breathe don't work for whatever reason). I am not all that familiar with treatment of central apnea but I don't think that oxygen would help unless the patient also has something else going on (like a lung condition).

Other opinions?


Re: Cpap vs. Oxygen

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:23 pm
by Snoredog
[quote="Anonymous"]Full of Questions today!

Question: What is the difference between using just straight oxygen alone & using a Cpap?? Can one get by on just oxygen for a period of time (3 or 4 months??) Is there real danger in this and what would be some of the dangers?? (He tested in the severe range but thay are not "central".)

Dr. has started cerical C1,C2 & the movement of cranial plates which are so messed up you can look at him & see it. Very well could be the root of the apnea problem, also closed head injury & physical disabilities which are degerating rapidly. In the 3 appointments that he has had he's increased 2 1/2" in ht., nightly violent nightmares have stopped & he hasn't gotten dizzy or passed out once. I know this is a good thing but there's a catch, a serious gap that needs to be bridged. They say the mask straps are wrapping the area they are working on and are going to be counter productive to the movements they do on the neck & plates. He may need to make a choice

The Cpap has done nothing for his tiredness & confusion even at perfect or near perfect readings for one solid year now. I just did a post on a mask issue and a possible softer mask and Cap gear to see what people thought of those products.

We know there are not solid answers but we want to go into this decision considering all possibilities.
Thanks, Julie


Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:10 pm
by Guest
Thanks to you both,
It is "obstuctive". Are there ways besides the sleep test (which only tells you you have an obstruction) like an MRI etc. to tell exactly what that obstruction is? We strongly think it coincides with his accident/brain injury
13 yrs. ago. (That is when severe snoring suddenly started.) He was diagnosed 1 1/2 yrs ago. Hope maybe someone has "been there done that" cause we sure not looking at good odds.
He was on 3 liters of oxgen for 6 weeks prior to actually going on Cpap which brought his oxygen from 65% avg. up to 85%. The Cpap brought it all the way up to 92% so I guess it completed it. Not sure I'm clear..Is it the lack of oxygen that causes the strokes and heart attacks or does something happen during the actual apnea itself that can be deadly? Sorry I'm being a little thick getting this.
Julie


Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:15 pm
by SleepGuy
Just the lack of oxygen--there's no stronger signal to the brain than that because it means you're going to die in a few minutes unless something changes. So the panic hormones kick in, the body is oxygen starved so it can't really do its thing, etc. The lack of clinical sleep is only a side effect in my mind. It shouldn't be called sleep apnea; it should be more like Nighttime Suffocation.

Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:30 pm
by Snoredog
[quote="Anonymous"]Thanks to you both,
It is "obstuctive". Are there ways besides the sleep test (which only tells you you have an obstruction) like an MRI etc. to tell exactly what that obstruction is? We strongly think it coincides with his accident/brain injury
13 yrs. ago. (That is when severe snoring suddenly started.) He was diagnosed 1 1/2 yrs ago. Hope maybe someone has "been there done that" cause we sure not looking at good odds.
He was on 3 liters of oxgen for 6 weeks prior to actually going on Cpap which brought his oxygen from 65% avg. up to 85%. The Cpap brought it all the way up to 92% so I guess it completed it. Not sure I'm clear..Is it the lack of oxygen that causes the strokes and heart attacks or does something happen during the actual apnea itself that can be deadly? Sorry I'm being a little thick getting this.
Julie


Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 3:41 pm
by Guest
Sleep guy, think I've got it now. I e-mailed your web site.
Thanks, Julie