How long after starting therapy should one expect result

[Beeckbeck]

Hello All,

I am new to the forum and new to CPAP use. Thanks to you all for supporting each other and providing reassurance and comfort to newbies like me. At first the thought of sleeping with a machine was frightening and depressing but after being in this forum i'm reassured.

I started experiencing awakenings with heart racing; up to 190 bpm. This mostly happen when i am dreaming, and of course normal dreams, not scary. This started getting frequent and happens between 1 1/2 to two hours after falling asleep. When this happens it is difficult to fall back to sleep. Sometimes I experience dry mouth.

I saw my GP who sent me to a sleep specialist who gave me a take home instrument which I used for one night. The test yields results with AHI = 11.8 and RI = 16.8. Actually I was diagnosed with UARS and not Sleep Apnea.

I was prescribed and have been using Resmed Autosense CPAP for two months now but I am yet to see the change that is expected.
The tachycardia continues, I'm now experiencing lightheadedness and of course the usual feeling of lethargy.

My concern is that in my readings I have not seen anywhere where it is indicated that UARS and Sleep Apnea cause awakenings with fast heart rate as one of the symptoms. Can you address this concern and the caption please.

[Julie]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

We can definitely try to sort out what's happening, but... we need some info please, like the full name of your machine, not just e.g. 'Resmed', plus whatever mask(s) you use and what pressures your machine is set at (if it's an Auto - if plain Cpap, what pressure).

After that we can help you with terrific and comprehensive (free) software that will give lots of info on what's going on overnight, just please stay in this thread so we can keep history together.

You may have UARS, but also other issues, and sorry about the tachycardia, which hopefully will be helped once your therapy gets straightened out - doctors know lots about 'apnea', but definitely too rarely about the equipment or software - most just won't admit it!

[zonker]

Hello All,

welcome to the zoo! julie has the right of it. please give more info and you'll be better helped.

each of us is different. we don't use the same machine or mask. so we need to know what yours is before we can even start. if you go to your user profile and fill in your equipment, it will show up in every post you make, as mine does below.

to answer your question directly, we don't all get used to it and start seeing improvement at the same pace. but once we get some idea of what your situation is, advice can be given to help you optimize your settings and thus get you on the road to improvement.

you can do this. we can help.

good luck!

[Miss Emerita]

Welcome, Beeckbeck. Do you have a copy of your sleep report? If you do, can you scan it, blank out personal information, and post it? I ask because it seems odd to me that with an AHI of 11.8 you wouldn't have a diagnosis of apnea. There may be reasons, but it would be good to know what they are.

Julie is referring to the Oscar software, which is terrific. The link to it is here:

https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

You would need a computer (laptop or desktop), an SD card in the little slot on the left side of your machine (they're cheap if there isn't one in there), and an SD card reader, either built into you computer or a plug in you can buy (very inexpensive). Do you think this is something you could do? We'd be happy to help you with any snags you might encounter.

The racing heart waking up from dreams may well be related to apnea. Here's how. Some people have more obstructive apnea events during REM sleep, when vivid dreaming occurs, and when your airway is obstructed, it can startle you awake as you gasp to breathe. This set of stressors can make your heart race.

Does your heart rate settle down quickly? If by chance it doesn't, you should probably discuss this with your doctor.

It can take a while before you feel the benefits of CPAP, but if your settings aren't optimized, you won't get where you want to go no matter how long you stick with it. That's why it'd be very helpful to see your Oscar charts (plus your sleep study if possible).

[Pugsy]

You had a home sleep study it sounds like. That's fine but there are some that are more comprehensive than others.
Did you wear a chest belt of some sort...or any little sticky things on the face and head...or was it mainly something on your finger and a little cannula thing up your nostrils?

[Beeckbeck]

Hello,

Thanks all for the responses. Happy that you are willing to work with me through this difficult time.

Hi Julie, my machine is the Resmed Airsense 10 CPAP with heated humidifier. I use the Airfit P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP mask with headgear. I entered same so Zonker I hope they show up in my post .

Miss Emerita sometimes the tachycardia is so bad it lasts for hours and I do not go back to sleep. Other times its mild at which time it is in the 90s or a little over 100. I don't experience the choking or gasping for air upon waking, as seen as one of the symptoms. I am concerned that the frequent tachycardia can cause a cardiac emergency.

Actually I downloaded OSCAR but I am not making much of the data. I just observed that the AHI remained below 4, which is below the allowable 5.

You are correct Pugsy, my home sleep study machine had the chest strap, the oximeter finger clip and that nustril thing but nothing stuck to the head or face.

I love to upload my sleep report but I cannot figure out to upload pdf files or how to convert it to the appropriate file format.

I am not sure what to upload from OSCAR but I randomly selected two reports for review.

Thank you.

[Julie]

Actually your machine's an Auto, not 'just' Cpap... which I'm sure you actually know, but it matters to the "Profile'.

[TheDuke]

My personal experience with starting CPAP back in the "dark ages" of treatment in 1987 was an immediate improvement-and that was with a rather primitive Healthdyne CPAP with absolutely no data output whatever, not even a runtime meter. But I realize that people are all different, and perhaps my condition was more readily treatable-but my pre treatment AHI was about 63 per hour.

TheDuke

[Beeckbeck]

TheDuke I am impressed by your story. Immediate success, That was years ago rightly put the 'primitive' days. I don't understand but I am still struggling.