High Altitude CPAP experiences and treatment

[froggie66]

Hi, folks!

I have a couple questions about using CPAP at higher altitudes. I recently moved from sea level (FL) to a little over 5,000 above sea level (CO Front Range) and I am wondering if there should be changes made to my titration to accomodate for this change in altitude. Higher altitudes mean less atmospheric air pressure. What does this do to my CPAP treatment and should I get with a pulmonologist ASAP to get this addressed??? What is your opinion.

I am going to see a pulmonologist within the next 3 months, or so, but I wonder if I should try to get in sooner to get this addressed??

I am on Auto Bi-PAP set at 16 and 11. I was as high as 19 and 15, but titrated myself down because of issues with the mask leaking terribly and gas pains from aerophagia. The 16/11 setting seems to work just fine with no apnea events and far less gas issues.

Here is another weird think I noticed...since I have moved to high altitude a month and a half ago, if I have made it an entire night on the machine, I wake up feeling very strange!!! Like I am "high"! You know...like how it feels when you take a little too much Sudafed? A strange kind of light-headedness. It resolves itself within about 15 minutes, and then I go back to feeling "normal" again. And it only happens if I wake up at my usual wake-up time and still am wearing the mask.

Some nights (about 1/4th of the time) I pull the mask off in the middle of the night (usually around 4:00am) because I feel an overwhelming need to roll onto my stomach, or I have been roused awake because hubby is making a trip to the bathroom and his shifting in bed wakes me. If I get roused awake and still have the mask on, I CANNOT fall back to sleep with it on. For some reason I start swallowing air if I get roused with it on and am trying to fall back to sleep, and also the sound keeps me from falling asleep.

Sooooo...what do you think about my two issues???

1. Possible need for retitration to accomodate the higher altitude.
2. The strange "high" feeling after a full night on the mask.

Thanks for your help!
Kathleen

[Pineapple]

Kathleen,

This may be a "Duh, well of course I did" question, but I'll ask anyway. Did you reset the altitude setting on your machine when you moved?

[froggie66]

Not such a "duh" questions as you think, Pineapple!!! I had no idea there was an "altitude" setting on my machine!!!

OK...so I'll go pull my trusty manual out and see what I need to do.

After further perusing the CPAPtalk boards, I am wondering if it is because I am getting a FULL night of sleep on the machine and getting all the oxygen I need in my sleep-state, which then lowers my resting heart rate and blood pressure, that I am waking up light-headed???

I should note that I naturally have normal-to-low blood pressure and do not take ANY meds for heart or blood pressure regulation. I do not get light-headed at all during the day....just on initially waking up and getting out of bed and it lasts about 15 minutes. This never happened at sea-level when I stayed on the machine all night until normal wake-up time.

I'll go pull my manual right now and see what I need to do about the high altitude.

Thanks, Pineapple! I look forward to info from anyone on the light-headed issue, too!

Kathleen

[plr66]

Kathleen,

This may be a "Duh, well of course I did" question, but I'll ask anyway. Did you reset the altitude setting on your machine when you moved?

I may be mistaken, but I believe this machine sets altitude automatically.

[tillymarigold]

I also live at a bit over 5000'. Most newer machines accommodate altitude, the only question is whether it's an automatic or manual setting, and what the max elevation is. My current machine is only good up to 7000' but the new one I'm waiting for is good up to 9000' (which is good, because I do sometimes have to spend the night in Santa Fe, which is at 7500-8000').

It looks like you have the M series, which will accommodate the change in altitude automatically.

You didn't say how long you've been on CPAP but when I'd been on mine about 4 months, I suddenly started having the same experience of waking up light-headed. It was because my blood pressure suddenly plummeted (from normal-to-high to borderline low) as I had finished repaying my sleep debt. After a couple months my body adjusted and I was okay.

You're a bit outside the normal time frame for adjusting to a higher altitude, but not much, so that may also be playing a factor.