Does my APAP settings need adjusting?

[Headintheclouds]

I’m using a Philips Respironics System One APAP with a nose pillow. Recently I’ve lost some weight and been experiencing these strange convulsions before falling asleep. They are like single sleep starts but they happen while I’m aware I’m not asleep.

I did an experiment to see if these convulsions happen without the APAP, and sure enough they are gone. Could the machine pressure be causing this strange reaction? I thought APAPs automatically adjust the inhalation pressure so it shouldn’t be too high or low? And if something does need adjusting, do I need my sleep clinic to do it or is it safe to DIY it myself?

[Miss Emerita]

This sounds like you're having hypnic jerks, which commonly occur during the process of falling asleep. There's good information here:

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasom ... pnic-jerks

I think it's unlikely they're related to your weight loss or to your PAP settings. But if you'd like people here to advise you about your settings, you'll need to provide more information. Do you use the Oscar software? If not, that would be a first step. The second would be to provide a daily chart from a night when you had hypnic jerks.

[clownbell]

Sounds like your machine is ancient. Design life is 5 yrs. Tme for a new one?

[zonker]

This sounds like you're having hypnic jerks, which commonly occur during the process of falling asleep.

thanks for the link. i rarely have these jerks happen. i remember them going on for a couple of weeks, back when i was in my 30's. and now, they seem to be paying an unwelcome return visit. it's not constant by any means.

i'll try to remember to include them in my sleep journal as i'm curious to see if it's stress or caffeine related.

[ChicagoGranny]

strange convulsions

Please describe these in detail.

The medical definition of convulsions is a condition in which muscles contract and relax quickly and cause uncontrolled shaking of the body.

[Headintheclouds]

Thanks all for replying. I’ve been struggling with hypnic jerks for a while and on medication. But lately I find that swapping out the leaky pipe and loosening the mask helped symptoms a bit and then they return again. I thought I should do a process of elimination and find out if it’s the respironics machine playing up before messing around with medication. My machines (I have two of them) are both 10 years old. One is use much more often than the other. I’ve swapped machines and both giving me much the same results.

Another question- when I press the RAMP button, is the triangle icon meant to stay ON the screen to Indicate it’s working? I’m on A-Flex mode. It flashes up and disappears immediately after I press the button. On both machines.

[Headintheclouds]

BTW my setting is on Auto. 4cmH2O min and 20cm max.
The shudder i get is just as describe: a single shudder that shakes the body but enough to disturb sleep. As an experiment I took off the mask and see if that happens and sure enough the shudders don't happen. Which is why I think it's a reaction to something the Respironics machine is doing. So weird: I've been using it for so long and not have had any problems.

[ChicagoGranny]

BTW my setting is on Auto. 4cmH2O min and 20cm max.

That is the factory default setting. I'm guessing you have never optimized your CPAP settings. Try using OSCAR to optimize your CPAP process.

[Julie]

I wonder if the mask presses on a specific nerve in your face like the trigeminal one that usually gives bad facial pain to some people (never heard of it being related to Cpap, but who knows).

[Headintheclouds]

@ChicagoGranny now that’s interesting. I got my machines from the hospital I did my sleep study 10 years ago. I’ve been using them all along and only recently have I encountered problems. Or at least potential problems because I can’t say for sure the sleep jerks are linked to the apnea and the machine.

What is OSCAR and do you have a link for me to find out more? I don’t want to go back to the hospital to ask for another sleep study. Public hospitals (NHS - I’m in the UK) are overstretched and I just won’t get seen. private is too expensive. I need to figure things out on my own…

[Iamstumped]

Read the Sticky posts at the top of the forum board.
Or click on the links at the bottom of my signature

[ChicagoGranny]

Please read the first two announcements at the top of the index page.

As you begin to work on using OSCAR, please stick to this one thread for all questions and help needed. Lots of people here are happy to give you help.

Does your machine have an SD card in the slot? You will need one.

[Headintheclouds]

Thank you for the tip. I’ll investigate
Yes there is a SD card slot

[Iamstumped]

Thank you for the tip. I’ll investigate
Yes there is a SD card slot

Any S D Card from 2 GB to 32 GB will work.
S D Card must be in the machine while you are using the machine, in order for the machine to write data to the card.
remove card from cpap machine, insert it into the card reader for your computer, and import data to OSCAR or to SleepHQ.