Breathing difficulties lately..

Lately it seems as though I have a hard time taking in a full breath, I feel as though each breath is incomplete. Exhaling has also become more laboring, breathing in and out takes longer? What do you think? Could it be a pressure thing? I may try adjusting the pressure but I am not sure by how much and up or down.

Is the problem only occurring when you are using the machine? Or does the same thing happen during the daytime? If the problem occurs even when you are NOT using the machine, it's time to consult your PCP about the issue in my opinion.

If the problem is confined to when you are using the machine, then rather than just adjusting the pressure, I think you should look at the data. Any changes in AHI? Any changes in the flow limitation graph? Any changes in snoring? And what do those data indicate about the efficacy of your therapy?

If the data all look ok, then I'd suggest you might want to to look at is your EPR setting rather than simply increasing the pressure.

If your EPR is not high enough, then exhaling can be difficult and you might well feel as though the machine is trying to encourage you to breath in before you're done with the exhale. (There's a very small increase in pressure near the end of the exhalation as the machine begins its transition from "exhale relief" back to "therapy pressure" that most folks don't notice at all.)

If your EPR is too high, then you may feel like its taking too long for the pressure to come back up to therapy level once you really are inhaling. And that might lead to feeling like you are inhaling longer or that each breath is somehow incomplete.

Finally, it may just be that your night time breathing is finally settling down and beginning to look more normal in terms of respiratory rate. Many people today chronically breathe a bit too fast----with respiration rates in the 15-20 range, but "normal" respiration rates are often talked about as being more like 12-15 breaths per minute. So some of the "it takes longer to breathe in and out" sensation may be your body adjusting to the pressure and starting to breathe in a more natural pattern.

trytryagain wrote:Lately it seems as though I have a hard time taking in a full breath, I feel as though each breath is incomplete. Exhaling has also become more laboring, breathing in and out takes longer? What do you think? Could it be a pressure thing? I may try adjusting the pressure but I am not sure by how much and up or down.

Sounds like you should consult your doctor ASAP. Obviously you're awake for this, hence it can't be sleep apnea. Do you notice this when you're up, or only in bed?

The latest version of SleepyHead shows inspiration and exhalation time, so you could verify that symptom with the software and some old and new data. But either way, you need someone with a stethoscope to check you out before whatever this has a chance to get worse.

It could be that you're having trouble exhaling against the pressure. If you don't empty your lungs, then when you inhale again, you'll get less than a lungful of fresh air. (This is, btw, what happens during a asthma attack). Less pressure or more exhalation relief ought to help with that. But if your diaphragm is suddenly that much weaker, you need to find out why.

There's an outside chance that your machine has run amok and is delivering higher pressure than it used to, but these things usually fail in less subtle ways.

Trying to figure out how to post pics. Hope this works. What do you think?

[img]http://i176.photobucket.com/albums ... .jpg[/img][/img]

How do I get my photobucket images to show up bigger and clearer?

I think you've got some really serious leaks starting at about 4:45AM, does this correspond at all with the sensations you described? Other than that, I don't see anything very remarkable at that time scale.

I'll repeat RobySue's question, when do you feel you can't exhale? Is it all day, now and then, whenever you've got your mask on, only when your mask is leaking a storm, or what?

The problem with the image is the resolution. Last I checked, photobucket doesn't automatically reduce image size, hence it may be that whatever you used to take the screen shot is doing that, or perhaps you're looking at SH on a very small screen or in a small window. Wish I could be more help, but that's a problem I've never had.

Please show us your "Insp. Time" and "Exp. Time" traces. Also please post some shots of your flow rate with the timescale expanded so that we can see the shape of the curve for each breath.

My breathing issues are only while on the machine. The night starts out easily but seems to get difficult later during night. I'm beginning to think it may be my nose getting stuffy and swollen inside, making it harder to inhale and exhale. He is another graph that includes the inhale and exhale time, I don't really understand it.

FWIW, your insp and exp times are about the same as mine. Have you tried saline nasal spray, rinsing with a neti pot, or increasing humidity? Changing your filter might help too, and if you don't have the "ultra fine" filters, get them.

Thanks for your help Otter. I was using the netti pot for a while and just kind of fizzled out. I'll try that again, and fiddle with the humidity.

Hmmm, if this has cropped up within a month or two of stopping the rinses, maybe you just need to wash your nose out.