increasing incidents of periodic breathing

[sierragail]

I read through some recent posts on periodic breathing but couldn't find what I was looking for so I'll post this as a new topic. I've been using my machine faithfully since October 2009. My results are between 3.5 and 1.0 apneas/hypopneas each night, which I'm very pleased with of course. However, I have noticed an increase in reports of periodic breathing and this is baffling for me. It now happens around once or twice a week, from 1% to 3%. I generally have balance issues when I wake up each morning, and usually all day long as well. Some days are better and some days are worse. I've had the inner ear workup (spinning chair type tests) and the results were within normal ranges, so no issues with the ear regarding balance. I previously thought the balance problems were due to my living at 8000 ft and being hypoxic, but since last July we've been living at sea level. So now I'm left wondering what could be going on. I am not taking any new medications. In the past I've reported the balance issue to doctors, but none seem interested in pursuing the cause. Wobbling around from balance issues is one thing when I'm at home, but it's another thing altogether when I'm out and about in public because most people tend to assume it's from something else. I have an appointment with a family doctor next week for an annual checkup, but in the meantime if any of you have feedback or thoughts to share, it would be much appreciated.