VPAP Adapt question

[Newbie Woman]

I have mostly centrals.

I have held my breath to see what my machine will do and very quickly it blows hard enough that I can't hold my breath against it. I assume that's what it does when I'm asleep and I stop breathing.

A couple of times though, I have waken up, quietly lying there thinking for a minute before I noticed I wasn't breathing. I couldn't feel or hear the machine. I felt no urge to breathe, certainly no panic or struggle. I made myself inhale and the machine went to work as normal.

My question is, why would the machine be so still when I'm not breathing? Does it sometimes "wait and see" or did it perhaps do something that woke me up?

[cjc]

Just a guess but I think the Adapt essentially automatically figures out a backup rate of a certain number of breaths per minute based on data from the past 3 minutes of usage. I would assume that if the algorithm has detected that you have exceeded that number for the preceding 60 seconds then it would decide that an automated inhalation is not required ?

Was it indeed a full 60 seconds you held your breath or did it just feel like it given that it was the middle of the night ? Does the machine report a high AHI in the mornings ? Unfortunately as I have found out, the Adapt does not explicitly record central events and essentially just lumps all events into one number

[Newbie Woman]

No, it probably wasn't a full minute but I don't really know. It's just a weird experience when you become aware you've been peacefully thinking for a while but oops, not breathing. You're probably right about the machine though.

When I hold my breath and it makes me breathe, it doesn't score that as an event. Perhaps it knows a lie when it measures it. "She's faking. I won't score that."

[Grand-PAP]

When I hold my breath and it makes me breathe, it doesn't score that as an event. Perhaps it knows a lie when it measures it. "She's faking. I won't score that."

Hi Nebie Woman,

I'll leave the response to you primary question to those more qualified; however, I think your assumption regarding your "faking" is not correct.

I have the same machine as yours. The first day I got it, I also held my breath twice. According to SleepyHead, it scored two "Unspecified Apneas" -- 31 seconds and 41 seconds.

[JohnBFisher]

... A couple of times though, I have waken up, quietly lying there thinking for a minute before I noticed I wasn't breathing. I couldn't feel or hear the machine. I felt no urge to breathe, certainly no panic or struggle. I made myself inhale and the machine went to work as normal.

My question is, why would the machine be so still when I'm not breathing? Does it sometimes "wait and see" or did it perhaps do something that woke me up? ...

Greetings! Welcome to the forum.

I recommend that you register your equipment in your profile. See the following Wiki article for a pointer on how to do that:

wiki/index.php/Registering_Equipment_in_User_Profile

As to your question ... I do not think that the VPAP Adapt has an "Auto OFF" feature .. that is, it stops working if it does not sense that you are using it. You might want to ask your DME to enable the apnea alarm (and after you determine if that is going off at the same time, then disable it). You may need to have the DME pull the data and contact Resmed.

Sorry I can not help more on this.

[apnea2142]

does the adapt have a ramp feature? on CPAP mode it does have a ramp but I can't fall asleep or stay asleep for more than 2 hours because of the high pressure
I can't believe that it is so hard to use despite being a good machine??

[JohnBFisher]

does the adapt have a ramp feature? on CPAP mode it does have a ramp but I can't fall asleep or stay asleep for more than 2 hours because of the high pressure
I can't believe that it is so hard to use despite being a good machine??

No. In ASV mode it does not have a ramp. I continue to say (and mean it) that you should work with your doctor to find an effective therapy that works for you. Most of us adjust to the pressure of an ASV - even the very high pressure - by using it over a period of several months. Please work with your doctor on this.

[apnea2142]

my doctor just yelled at me and said he didn't think I needed bipap so I had to wait years for this machine
I've been trying for years to adjust to the high pressure so I don't know why you keep yelling at me?

[JohnBFisher]

my doctor just yelled at me and said he didn't think I needed bipap so I had to wait years for this machine
I've been trying for years to adjust to the high pressure so I don't know why you keep yelling at me?

I am NOT yelling at you. I am trying to point out what Night Monkey pointed out. If you have problems with your medical therapy you need to work with your doctor to tweak the therapy to be effective and tolerable for you. This is BEYOND the realm of this forum. We can offer our experience (and we have) to share with you approaches that worked for us. But if your only response is (a) "Woe is me", (b) "It doesn't work", and (c) "Woe is me".

There are folks here who have MUCH more serious issues than you. They face heart issues. They face serious problems with progressive illnesses. They have had strokes or other debilitating problems. Yet, they decide that they (a) "Can make this work", (b) "Hunt for experience from others who made it work", and (c) "Share their experience with others". They have decided to continue to dance - in spite of very serious issues. Their attitude makes it work.

You continue to say "It's not working". Fine. Talk with your doctor about it. You complain the pressure is too high. Good GRIEF! My pressure is a LOT higher than yours. Yet, I now can not go to sleep without my ASV unit. Why? Because I decided that I would make the effort to adjust to the pressure. We have offered thoughts on how to adjust - based on our own experiences. Have you tried them? It does not seem so.

I am not yelling at you. I am pleading with you to build a better outlook and attempt to make your therapy work. There are no magic pills. There are no instant solutions. Life is about struggling to do the best you can. That's all we ask.

Again, if your therapy is not effective you should talk with your doctor about it. We've offered our own experience. If it does not help, you need to be talking with your doctor.

[RandyJ]

Maybe you need a new doctor? Or at least a consultation for a second opinion ...