Could I ask for someone's help reading Sleepyhead data?

[mrshickadance9]

I have a lot of clear airway events, and I'm waking up quite a bit at night. With that said, my overall AHI is generally below 5. Could someone take a look to see if you have any suggestions? Thanks so much. I'm posting a few different nights of data

[Pugsy]

Looks like you inadvertently posted one night several times.

Any idea what is causing the wake ups?
Leaks?
Mask fit or comfort?
Just for no reason you know of?
Do you take any medications? If so, what?

The Centrals/CAs could just be secondary to arousals or wake ups.
Do you have much trouble going right back to sleep after the wake ups?

[D.H.]

In general, a "Clear Airway Apnea" means a cessation of breathing was detected, but no obstruction was detected. One would expect that this means a Central Apnea. However, a CPAP machine is not approved to make such a determination.

Since your AHI is very low, call the doctor who prescribed CPAP to discuss a lower pressure setting (don't try this yourself).

[LSAT]

In general, a "Clear Airway Apnea" means a cessation of breathing was detected, but no obstruction was detected. One would expect that this means a Central Apnea. However, a CPAP machine is not approved to make such a determination.

Since your AHI is very low, call the doctor who prescribed CPAP to discuss a lower pressure setting (don't try this yourself).

Here we go again ...............

[mrshickadance9]

Looks like you inadvertently posted one night several times.

Any idea what is causing the wake ups?
Leaks?
Mask fit or comfort?
Just for no reason you know of?
Do you take any medications? If so, what?

The Centrals/CAs could just be secondary to arousals or wake ups.
Do you have much trouble going right back to sleep after the wake ups?

Really odd... there are three separate imgur links when i go to edit, and I followed the directions exactly.

Anyway, I don't really wake up for any specific reason. Sometimes I get a bit of a leak that wakes me up, but I've always woken up several times during the night, usually to go to the bathroom. I've always peed a lot during the day and at night, since i was a little kid, but seems worse lately. I'm only 30 and my doctor has confirmed I'm not diabetic and it's very likely not a prostate issue. I take an SSRI in the morning, but that's it.

[Pugsy]

However, a CPAP machine is not approved to make such a determination.

Where did you come up with that little tidbit of information?
I am thinking that ResMed might be thinking differently and that's why they call them "centrals".
https://www.resmed.de/fileadmin/templat ... -paper.pdf
They are most definitely "approved" to make such a determination.

[Pugsy]

Really odd... there are three separate imgur links when i go to edit, and I followed the directions exactly.

I see the 3 separate addresses but when the final end result shows up I see 3 reports with AHI 2.67 that all look the same to me.

What SSRI do you take and for how long?
Most of the SSRI meds are notorious for messing with sleep architecture which might account for some of the wake ups.

Otherwise I don't see anything of great excitement on the one report we do see.
Trouble staying asleep is called sleep maintenance insomnia. While sleep apnea is a known cause...it isn't the only cause. The cpap machine can only fix problems related to sleep apnea and it can't fix something that is caused by something other than sleep apnea.

The only thing I might think of that could be a possible culprit in the wake ups shown on the report might be the auto adjusting pressures. Some people are sensitive to the least little change in pressures and you might be one of those people. Maybe consider a really tight apap range a change to fixed pressure to see if it helps or not with the wake ups.

Leaks of course can wake us up...sometimes it doesn't have to be a big leak.

The centrals flagged...even if they were all the real deal I don't think there are enough of them for a doctor to go worrying about and since you already know that you have a lot of wake ups going on it wouldn't be impossible for the centrals to be awake breathing irregularities getting flagged by mistake or it's even possible that you are awake and simple pause your own breathing and that earns a flag.

Google "sleep maintenance insomnia" and start reading to see if you can maybe figure out something that is going on or that you are doing which might make it worse.

Also Google the side effects for whatever SSRI you are taking (look at multiple sources) and see if insomnia is a known side effect.
Also Google "SSRI medication and sleep architecture" and read up on what is known about those meds and how they impact sleep quality.

[palerider]

In general, a "Clear Airway Apnea" means a cessation of breathing was detected, but no obstruction was detected. One would expect that this means a Central Apnea. However, a CPAP machine is not approved to make such a determination.

Since your AHI is very low, call the doctor who prescribed CPAP to discuss a lower pressure setting (don't try this yourself).

do shut up, every thing you post is either wrong, or completely unnecessary. and this is a perfect example of the latter.

[palerider]

However, a CPAP machine is not approved to make such a determination.

Where did you come up with that little tidbit of information?
I am thinking that ResMed might be thinking differently and that's why they call them "centrals".
https://www.resmed.de/fileadmin/templat ... -paper.pdf
They are most definitely "approved" to make such a determination.

he fished it out of the toilet, like he does with all his "information".

[palerider]

Really odd... there are three separate imgur links when i go to edit, and I followed the directions exactly.

looks like you uploaded to imgur the same pic twice and another screenshot of the same day.

[Jay Aitchsee]

Waking up in the night, fragmented sleep, and arousals are characterized by irregular breathing which the machine scores as a "CA". Think of them as holding your breath while you move or roll over. In and of themselves, in the low numbers you are experiencing, they are not a cause for concern. However, they are representative of less than optimal sleep that is being disturbed by something. If you are new to the therapy, this is not uncommon and these CA and disturbances often resolve by themselves over time as one becomes used to the gear and breathing with it.

Your leaks are a little high and could be the culprit as noted above. Additionally, your pressure seems like it may be higher than necessary (a minimum of 9) to curtail any obstructive events, of which you are showing very few. Generally, the lowest pressure possible to control obstructive events, OA and Hypopneas, will yield the most comfortable and least disturbing therapy.

I'd consider lowering the pressure a little, which will be more comfortable and help with the leaks. I'd go with something like 7 min and 9 or 12 max and see what happens. If hypopneas and Flow Limitations start to develop, you could always raise it again - that is if you are comfortable adjusting your own pressures. If not, you could ask your doctor, or wait and see if the CA/disturbances resolve on their own.

[nobody]

Since your AHI is very low, call the doctor who prescribed CPAP to discuss a lower pressure setting (don't try this yourself).

You don't need to call your doctor to change the pressure, just change it yourself!!

Damn why are people so afraid of changing the pressure on their own machine!