Rera

How does the cpap know I wake up to get the Rera informatio0n?

It doesn't. It bases its decision off of a sudden increase of flow at the end of a gradual decrease that doesn't qualify as its definition of a hypopnea.

Ah, I wondered if it was something like that. Just couldn't figure what it was sensing. I knew it couldn't know I was awake unless the machine is psychic.

tetragon wrote:It doesn't. It bases its decision off of a sudden increase of flow at the end of a gradual decrease that doesn't qualify as its definition of a hypopnea.

I guess it feels your body language (breathing pattern).

This is why I don't get too excited about RERA numbers unless they point to a whole bunch of them for some reason and the person is complaining of fragmented sleep and feeling lousy. It is a decent estimate considering the data that the machine has at its disposal but as with anything...there is always a catch. Better to be overly cautious than overly lenient and maybe miss something which might impact how a person might feel. Useful when used in correlation with other data and how a person feels and possible fragmented sleep which is of course unwanted. Anything that messes with sleep architecture is unwanted.

I am feeling fine. So much better than before the last sleep eval. Amazing what a little sleep will do. I was just curious how rera's were figured in when the machine doesn't know you are awake or asleep.

One thing though, I've found the more consistent I am with my sleep, the more those unusual days knock me out. Tuesday nite, I was up 3 times to go to the bathroom (drank a lot of water that day and take bp pill at night with dieretic. Decided to now take that in the mornings). Then Wednesday night, I had a bout with insomnia (too bad cpaps can't fix that). Thursday, I was so tired and sleepy I thought I'd not make it through the day. At one point, while waiting for some students, I laid my head on my therapy table. If they hadn't showed up when they did, I'd have been asleep (and snoring ) It astonishes me to know that I lived like that all the time for quite a period of time. Last nite, I went to bed an hour earlier than usual and slept like a log. Hah, even my cpap machine said I slept like a log. Always good to know your machine agrees with you!

Pugsy wrote:This is why I don't get too excited about RERA numbers unless they point to a whole bunch of them for some reason and the person is complaining of fragmented sleep and feeling lousy. It is a decent estimate considering the data that the machine has at its disposal but as with anything...there is always a catch. Better to be overly cautious than overly lenient and maybe miss something which might impact how a person might feel. Useful when used in correlation with other data and how a person feels and possible fragmented sleep which is of course unwanted. Anything that messes with sleep architecture is unwanted.

Don't forget that a lot of the event recording done by the CPAP machine is a best guess using airflow data for things that require more invasive equipment for a definitive determination. I think to be 100% sure on a RERA, you need a tube down your throat.

Some experts don't consider it an apnea or hypopnea unless there is an O2 desat or EEG arousal.

The events scored from flowrate data from the CPAP is still very good information, but it's an approximation.

I'll pass on that tube down my throat.

archangle wrote:Don't forget that a lot of the event recording done by the CPAP machine is a best guess using airflow data for things that require more invasive equipment for a definitive determination. I think to be 100% sure on a RERA, you need a tube down your throat.

Some experts don't consider it an apnea or hypopnea unless there is an O2 desat or EEG arousal.

The events scored from flowrate data from the CPAP is still very good information, but it's an approximation.