Others are doing a good job with most of the rest of your post, so I thought I would tackle this one sentence.JIMCHI wrote:... Central apnea was observed, which is why I am on this particular machine, but the software is showing only about 1 per night now. ...
As you may know, I suffer from severe central sleep apnea. So, please understand that I am not a medical professional. I am just another person trying to struggle to find effective therapy.
Though you now only see one or two central apneas now, if you did not have this machine the number would probably be quite a bit higher. Why? The Auto SV unit is an adaptive servo-ventilator (ASV). This type of therapy, initially pioneered by Resmed, helps break the cycle that causes central apneas. Essentially, for whatever reason, your body does not always breathe as it should. You might either occassionally hyperventilate - just enough to blow of excess CO2 - or you might hypoventilate - slow down your breathing to the point excess CO2 builds up. The problem with other is that the precipitates a repeating cycle. When the body fails to properly ventilate to purge the CO2, an excess amount builds up. This is the undershoot side of the cycle. Eventually your body kicks in and triggers a slight hyperventilation. This tends to blow off too much CO2. This is the overshoot side of the cycle. The drive to breathe decreases. A central apnea occurs. The CO2 builds up. The body kicks in and triggers hyperventilation. Round and round and round you go.
If you were prescribed an ASV machine - and your insurance paid for it - I can guarantee you had severe enough central sleep apnea during your sleep study. These units a VERY expensive. You probably had over 5 central apneas per hour for the insurance company to approve the purchase. The good news is that you clearly are getting effective therapy with your ASV unit for the central sleep apnea.
So, now the doctor needs to work with you and your machine to get the obstructive side of the equation under control.