How does CPAP work? Doesn't make sense

[chunkyfrog]

Some of us respond to oddball remarks to prevent the poster from having the last word.
Some are confused, and need direction as well.
This forum has many lurkers, people who read and read some more for understanding.
(I was one for several months)
We try to think of these bystanders, who need all the understanding they can get from here,
and we try to refute and dilute the misinformation --to help dispel any confusion.

[ems]

This jerk is a TROLL! He keeps contradicting himself. You need to resist the urge to respond to his posts.

You have no idea if this person is a troll or not! If you think he is a troll, then by all means don't respond to his posts. I don't think he is a troll. I think he is a person who is over thinking this therapy, and in some denial. I doubt you would understand how I finally stopped denying that I have SA... and it took a long time. We are all different people and we handle our issues in different ways. He certainly isn't a "jerk".

[zoocrewphoto]

So you need to know how it works in order to accept it? But you haven't bothered to find out what your settings are? That makes no sense.

Are you using ramp? What are your settings. Your doctor hasn't used a cpap machine. She has no idea what you are feeling. You could be struggling due to pressure that is too low to be comfortable. Waking up could be caused by lots of things. Some apnea related. Some machine related. And some completely different reasons.

Work on solving these issues. If you need to understand the how's, then start checking your data and ask questions about that. You will learn more about breathing and sleeping well that way.

The principals are the same, no matter the pressures used. Kinda like a braking system on a car, it works, no matter the pressure, some are higher or lower, than others, so yes, it makes sense to go about it this way.

How would you know if my Dr has used a cpap machine or not?

I don't wakeup, unless I have the mask on, what else could it be?

Most doctors have never used a cpap machine. Add to the fact the response you said your doctor had to you waking up, and it is clear that your doctor has never used a cpap mask. She assumed you woke up because of an apnea. She never considered mask leak, low pressure, drool issues, tickling under the mask, etc. Lots of reasons why wearing a mask will cause somebody to wake up.

Why not check your data and post it? You seem determined to find reasons why you should not use the machine. Why not ask for real help in making it work?

Keep in mind. Sleep apnea is NOT about lack of sleep (waking up a lot). It is really about OXYGEN DEPRIVATION.

What is your untreated AHI? You know, how often you had breathing problems while sleeping. How low did your oxygen saturation go? You may feel like you are sleeping since you don't remember all the times your brain had to step in and force you to breathe (mini wake-ups that we rarely remember), but all those events are causing oxygen deprivation which hurts the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, etc. And the adrenaline used to start you breathing again causes stress and leads to higher risk of heart attack and stroke.

Sleep apnea is not so much about how you felt you slept, but what was either getting worse (sleep apnea) or healing (sleep apnea being prevented) while you sleep.

[robysue]

Keep in mind. Sleep apnea is NOT about lack of sleep (waking up a lot). It is really about OXYGEN DEPRIVATION.

For some of us, the problem IS the excessive number of arousals caused by the the obstructive events. We essentially wake ourselves up before the desat happens.

But the excessive arousals still leave the body unrested and the stress hormones that get pumped through the body every time we arouse also adds to the stress.

[zoocrewphoto]

Keep in mind. Sleep apnea is NOT about lack of sleep (waking up a lot). It is really about OXYGEN DEPRIVATION.

For some of us, the problem IS the excessive number of arousals caused by the the obstructive events. We essentially wake ourselves up before the desat happens.

But the excessive arousals still leave the body unrested and the stress hormones that get pumped through the body every time we arouse also adds to the stress.

True, but the OP thinks he isn't waking up at all without cpap. So, he doesn't realize that he has oxygen deprivation and a a bunch of mini-arousals. If he was diagnosed with sleep apnea without being aware of waking up, then he is probably having a lot of oxygen desats.

[robysue]

I don't wakeup, unless I have the mask on, what else could it be?

Humans typically do NOT remember any wake that lasts less than 5 minutes. The arousals that occur in untreated OSA can last as little as 3 seconds and the awakenings can last as little as 15 seconds. So it is highly likely that you simply do not remember any of the OSA-related arousals and wakes because they are too short and, because your body and mind have been dealing with them for years, they are NOT new or novel and hence they do not cause you to stay awake any longer than necessary for restarting the breathing.

As for why you are waking up long enough to remember the wakes when you wear the mask: It could be any number of thing: A mask leak, getting tangled in the hose, the novelty of the sensory stimuli coming from the mask, and even the stray apnea that gets through the defenses. It could even be that when you wake up now, the strangeness of the mask on your face brings you more fully to consciousness and so the wakes last long enough for you to remember.

[MRRPM]

The topic of this thread was, and still is, "How does CPaP work? Doesn't make sense". I came on to ask how this thing works, not even needing/wanting help with apnea. I could have been a parent with a child with a OSA problem, for all of you know, I'm not, but could have been. I ask questions, get called a troll, doesn't bother me, but it's still amazing how someone asking questions gets treated by people that actually don't have a clue about how things work. There are actually people, (more than one) that have posted that we inhale oxygen, and exhale Co2 for goodness sake! I think we learned different than that in my rural classroom, in the seventh grade, 40 something years ago!

Now, to stay on topic...
I've almost got it figured out how it works, thanks to some on here, but I still don't understand why we're given a machine that makes us rebreathe our our air. It might not be a very big deal, I think we're actually rebreathing more than some realize, but I don't see any reason to do that. I'm sure making one to eliminate rebreathing altogether would cost more, and add complexity, but it could be done. I know myself, I'd want the best, given a choice on my health, like we have choices on other things we buy.

I have the software needed to read my card, it was suggested in summa the very first posts. I've lookt at my info, don't quite know what it means, I'll post a skreenshot in a minute. It's off-topic, but since I was asked...

[MRRPM]

Here is a skreenshot, Hope it comes thru ok, preview was good.

[MRRPM]

Another. LMK what I need to post.

[DoriC]

Can you post the Daily graphs? Also, go into Preferences, Appearance, and uncheck Pixmap Caching.

[MRRPM]

Here is daily

[Wulfman...]

The topic of this thread was, and still is, "How does CPaP work? Doesn't make sense". I came on to ask how this thing works, not even needing/wanting help with apnea. I could have been a parent with a child with a OSA problem, for all of you know, I'm not, but could have been. I ask questions, get called a troll, doesn't bother me, but it's still amazing how someone asking questions gets treated by people that actually don't have a clue about how things work. There are actually people, (more than one) that have posted that we inhale oxygen, and exhale Co2 for goodness sake! I think we learned different than that in my rural classroom, in the seventh grade, 40 something years ago!

Now, to stay on topic...
I've almost got it figured out how it works, thanks to some on here, but I still don't understand why we're given a machine that makes us rebreathe our our air. It might not be a very big deal, I think we're actually rebreathing more than some realize, but I don't see any reason to do that. I'm sure making one to eliminate rebreathing altogether would cost more, and add complexity, but it could be done. I know myself, I'd want the best, given a choice on my health, like we have choices on other things we buy.

I have the software needed to read my card, it was suggested in summa the very first posts. I've lookt at my info, don't quite know what it means, I'll post a skreenshot in a minute. It's off-topic, but since I was asked...

You REALLY need to study physiology and anatomy more. CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the driving force for breathing.


Den

.

[MRRPM]

You REALLY need to study physiology and anatomy more. CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the driving force for breathing.


Den

Really? How so?

[Julie]

Maybe 40 yr old rural classrooms are overrated?

[jamiswolf]

You REALLY need to study physiology and anatomy more. CO2 (carbon dioxide) is the driving force for breathing.


Den

Really? How so?

The breath centers in the medulla respond to PH. as ph lowers, breathing increases.

CO2 dissociates into carbonic acid releasing H+ into the body...thus lowering ph. The lowered ph triggers breathing to "blow off" the CO2
___________________________________________________________

You're still back on the re-breathing issue?

This is becoming a waste of time. I think you're just looking for an intellectual reason to quit cpap...
J