Does it get worse?

[aManicCookie]

Does sleep apnea get worse over time? Stay the same or does it get better?

For instance if I am able to tract down my medical records from 2005 when I had a sleep study would I still be able to use the same setting? Or could it be completely different? Worse or better?

[Pugsy]

It is unlikely that it would have improved unless something significantly changed with the body.
It can stay the same or it can get worse over time. No hard fast rule.

[chunkyfrog]

Insurance (when it covers xpap) generally allows for re-titration every 5 years, give or take.
Your needs may, or may not change.
A machine sitting in a closet could be a bit dusty, and soft plastic of hose or mask may have deteriorated.
It would not hurt to take it in if you can, and check it out.
If you have insurance, you may qualify for a new sleep study and new machine/mask.
If no insurance, you can hook up your old machine and see how it goes--better than nothing.
If you let us know about your equipment, we can help you better.

[aManicCookie]

I have no insurance. I just got a machine given to me because my neighbor's medicare got her a new one and this one is only a year old. She also gave me tons of new tubing and masks etc... It's a REMstar Auto : M Series.

I am trying to get ahold of my medical records. I called one place and they said no but gave me the number to another so I'm going to call them tomorrow to see what my results were.

[archangle]

A lot of us here manage our own CPAP. However, there are a lot of good reasons to get a sleep study and work with a doctor. Mostly because you may end up not fixing your apnea if you don't get the sleep study and monitoring.

I got my first CPAP in 2004 and used it religiously. The doctor's office girl ticked me off nagging me about going back for an appointment and I quit going to see him.

I'm a bit of a geek (you think?) and was pretty knowledgeable about CPAP. I still managed to set my machine wrong in 2010 and had some health problems from it. I ended up spending a few miserable months and getting some expensive tests for other things before I figured out the CPAP connection and fixed it.

Since then, I still manage my own treatment, but I check my results with the software.

As some people have said, "it's just air blowing in your nose, what harm can it do?" One thing it CAN do is cause what are called "Central" apneas. When you get too much pressure, some people stop breathing even though their airway is not blocked like it is in normal "obstructive" apneas.

Central apneas can have the same negative health effects as "obstructive" apneas.

There are a lot of other possible side effects, most of them merely annoying, not life threatening.

Another risk would be if you treat yourself with CPAP and miss getting treatment for a more serious problem such as heart disease.

You can do CPAP on your own. There are some risks.

[DaveLP]

I've noticed on my graphs that there's a high limit where hypopneas and NRI's increase with pressure. Everyone should have a sleep study to determine the initial pressure and prescribed range.

A sleep study is something that you might dread if you have never had one, but mine turned out to be a rather pleasant experience. You probably won't sleep any better than you would in a hotel room, but it's worth it. My lab room looked like a hotel bedroom, complete with a bathroom and shower.

I agree that central apneas can be caused by excessive pressure. An auto machine with software is crucial for optimum therapy, IMO.

[Sheriff Buford]

I'm a bit of a geek (you think?) and was pretty knowledgeable about CPAP. I still managed to set my machine wrong in 2010 and had some health problems from it. I ended up spending a few miserable months and getting some expensive tests for other things before I figured out the CPAP connection and fixed it.

Arch: Out of curiosity, how did you set your machine "wrong"? What were the health issues you had because of it? Not tryin' to pry, just tryin' to educate myself.

Sheriff

[jabman]

I think that if you can get your old sleep study records to see what you were tirated that that would be a good starting point. I beleave the machine you have is data capable which plays a important role in knowing how your therpy is going. You could use the machine at your old pressure until you could get another sleep study which I think you need to do.

[archangle]

I'm a bit of a geek (you think?) and was pretty knowledgeable about CPAP. I still managed to set my machine wrong in 2010 and had some health problems from it. I ended up spending a few miserable months and getting some expensive tests for other things before I figured out the CPAP connection and fixed it.

Arch: Out of curiosity, how did you set your machine "wrong"? What were the health issues you had because of it? Not tryin' to pry, just tryin' to educate myself.

Sheriff

I inherited a REMstar legacy auto machine. I meant to set it for auto with a minimum pressure of 8. I actually set it to a fixed pressure of 8. I had been doing manual CPAP on a legacy plus with pressure of 10 or 12, I forget which. I didn't check my AHI and such on the new machine. Since my old one didn't record this, I wasn't in the habit of checking AHI, much less checking the data card data.

I was suffering from the standard apnea tiredness and other problems. I had poor sleep, woke up a lot, etc. I dreaded going to sleep. My biggest problem was a lot of heartburn and nausea. I think it was some form of GERD. I started getting some heart tests and such before I double checked my CPAP machine, changed the pressure and saw the nausea and heartburn go away almost overnight.

[soundersfootballclub]

My sleep doc told me something interesting. He said your AHI is higher at home than in the sleep lab. I didn't get it I thought it was the other way around but he explained you are more relaxed in your own bed which leads to more breathing pauses. You are also being interrupted throughout the night which prevents you from getting deep sleep which might cause more pauses. So if that is the case, the sleep test itself might be inaccurate and underdiagnosing the severity of one's condition.

[archangle]

My sleep doc told me something interesting. He said your AHI is higher at home than in the sleep lab. I didn't get it I thought it was the other way around but he explained you are more relaxed in your own bed which leads to more breathing pauses. You are also being interrupted throughout the night which prevents you from getting deep sleep which might cause more pauses. So if that is the case, the sleep test itself might be inaccurate and underdiagnosing the severity of one's condition.

In the sleep lab, they will ignore any events when you're awake. They'll also probably ignore events where you don't have an O2 saturation drop or EEG arousal. Your CPAP machine will count all these false events. Your home CPAP machine may overdiagnose you.

[MidnightOwl]

Get your records and use that as a starting point. Unless you've lost a huge amount of weight or had surgery your apnea probably hasn't gotten better. It may have gotten worse and you might need a higher pressure now than you did then but, even if that's true, it won't hurt you to use the old pressure. It just might not help as much but it would almost certainly help some. If you continue to feel lousy after doing that then you can look at your options again. A new sleep study would be ideal but it's not the end of the world if you can't do that.