I'm going to try a night without CPAP

[Carmen]

The one sleep study I had before starting CPAP featured me mostly not sleeping and afterwards they told me I didn't have apnea because my AHI was only about 6. Fortunately I had a doctor who noticed that almost all the incidents happened during REM and tried me out on CPAP. No adjustment problems for me--I took to my machine right away.

But now I'm 86 pounds lighter than when I started on CPAP a year and a half ago and wondering if I still need it. My doctor wants to do a sleep study before I quit the CPAP even though the study I had at the beginning of this adventure was pretty inconclusive. He says maybe in six months we'll do a study. But I figure I'll just try sleeping a night without the CPAP and see what happens. If I sleep badly and wake up with a dry mouth and a sore throat like I used to, I'll know I still have a problem.

[jdm2857]

You might try a test by lowering your min EPAP bit by bit. If you start having events
or your pressure(s) increase because of events, you'll know that you still need the
BiPAP.

[pikov22]

The one sleep study I had before starting CPAP featured me mostly not sleeping and afterwards they told me I didn't have apnea because my AHI was only about 6. Fortunately I had a doctor who noticed that almost all the incidents happened during REM and tried me out on CPAP. No adjustment problems for me--I took to my machine right away.

But now I'm 86 pounds lighter than when I started on CPAP a year and a half ago and wondering if I still need it. My doctor wants to do a sleep study before I quit the CPAP even though the study I had at the beginning of this adventure was pretty inconclusive. He says maybe in six months we'll do a study. But I figure I'll just try sleeping a night without the CPAP and see what happens. If I sleep badly and wake up with a dry mouth and a sore throat like I used to, I'll know I still have a problem.

What did the sleep study report about your oxygen levels???

[Dreamingofsleep]

What told the tale for me was the overnight oximetry. You can ask your DME about it. It is covered by insurance, but really pretty cheap for one night.

It would be very reassuring to see the your oxygen does not drop during the night. The oxygen deprivation is what harms your organs.

All the best,
Dreaming

[Julie]

One night w/o Cpap will tell you absolutely nothing. A week off, maybe, but only a sleep study can say for sure.

[Drowsy Dancer]

You might try a test by lowering your min EPAP bit by bit. If you start having events
or your pressure(s) increase because of events, you'll know that you still need the
BiPAP.

I really like this idea.

What does your data show?

You could also try setting your machine to APAP with a low mimimun pressure and see if you still have events.

[Todzo]

The one sleep study I had before starting CPAP featured me mostly not sleeping and afterwards they told me I didn't have apnea because my AHI was only about 6. Fortunately I had a doctor who noticed that almost all the incidents happened during REM and tried me out on CPAP. No adjustment problems for me--I took to my machine right away.

But now I'm 86 pounds lighter than when I started on CPAP a year and a half ago and wondering if I still need it. My doctor wants to do a sleep study before I quit the CPAP even though the study I had at the beginning of this adventure was pretty inconclusive. He says maybe in six months we'll do a study. But I figure I'll just try sleeping a night without the CPAP and see what happens. If I sleep badly and wake up with a dry mouth and a sore throat like I used to, I'll know I still have a problem.

I am going on a trip where I hope to avoid over night. I want to travel light.

I do have provent but have never tried them. If I do I will at least record the audio from the night. If I had the facilities, I would video tape myself.

If I found that this seemed to work well I would audio and video tape myself several nights.

Since I also have a recording pulse oximeter I would use that as well.

If I wondered if I did not have OSA I think I would audio and video tape myself several nights and use a pulse oximeter as well. I would do this regardless of what a sleep study says. Frankly doing the study in a lab is crazy - that is not where we sleep. Doing a test only one night is also crazy. We do not sleep the same any two nights, weeks, months, seasons, years.

Congratulations on the lost pounds - and thanks for the inspiration!

Todzo

[avi123]

Carmen, you have a machine that could also analyze your sleep with it's data reporting:

Encore Data Management and Reporting

On-board memory has been added to the BiPAP as well as storing information on a generic SD Memory card and reads through any SD card reader. Use EncoreViewer Software to monitor therapy effectiveness through a series of reports. A new Patient Flow and Event report enables users to view a weekly breakdown on per-breath basis. Patient data is used to identify particular conditions and events with specific colors.

Set your machine on low pressures between 5 to 6 cm and either take a nap or spend the night on it. Next, check the results. It will tell you if you have a Sleep Disorder and what kind. You don't need to repeat it for more than one time. Even spending one to two ours of SLEEP on it would give you a "yes" or "no" indication.

[Carmen]

Carmen, you have a machine that could also analyze your sleep with it's data reporting:

Encore Data Management and Reporting

On-board memory has been added to the BiPAP as well as storing information on a generic SD Memory card and reads through any SD card reader. Use EncoreViewer Software to monitor therapy effectiveness through a series of reports. A new Patient Flow and Event report enables users to view a weekly breakdown on per-breath basis. Patient data is used to identify particular conditions and events with specific colors.

Set your machine on low pressures between 5 to 6 cm and either take a nap or spend the night on it. Next, check the results. It will tell you if you have a Sleep Disorder and what kind. You don't need to repeat it for more than one time. Even spending one to two ours of SLEEP on it would give you a "yes" or "no" indication.

You mean set my machine on one pressure as a straight CPAP? Right now I think I have it set as an APAP ranging between 8 and 12 or 14--I'd have to check the settings. Every few weeks I pull the data from the SD card, which has me at an average AHI of around 1.

Sleeping without my machine last night didn't work out as I discovered that I can't go to sleep without it.

[pootsie]

Sleeping without my machine last night didn't work out as I discovered that I can't go to sleep without it.

I've been on CPAP for about a month now and already it's like having my teddy bear strapped to my face

[avi123]

You mean set my machine on one pressure as a straight CPAP? Right now I think I have it set as an APAP ranging between 8 and 12 or 14--I'd have to check the settings. Every few weeks I pull the data from the SD card, which has me at an average AHI of around 1.

Sleeping without my machine last night didn't work out as I discovered that I can't go to sleep without it.

Yes, set it either in CPAP or APAP but low pressures. If your regular pressures are 8 to 12 I would set it at 5 to 7 cm and no Flexes or EPRs. The idea is to skip the machine's treatment and then you would be able to see in the data the events that were NOT treated.

I would look for any left over, untreated:


•Periodic Breathing
•Clear airway apnea
•Obstructed airway apnea
•Hypopnea
•RERA
•Flow limitation
•Vibratory snore
•Large leak

[caffeinatedcfo]

I would bet he will not tolerate low pressures.