Centrals: They They Really Be Caused By High Pressure CPAP?

[DavidCarolina]

Im at 13, but my physician said going above that could cause centrals. Now, I distrust physicians intensely but does anyone have any answers?

Im still snoring (my wife can attest) with the mask on, on my stomach at 13).

The AHI is relatively good, but I want to try up to pressure 16 and see if I can sleep on my back again.

Any advice?

Thanks as always.

[Pugsy]

Centrals can be caused by lower pressures too..not just high pressures and just because someone uses a high pressure doesn't mean they automatically will have centrals pop up.

I often saw 18 cm when I was using APAP and I had no more centrals than normal and some nights none.

I have a friend that used straight cpap 16.5 cm and she only gets a rare central.
I know someone else using 9 cm and she gets more centrals than we want to see.

So there are no absolutes.

[JohnBFisher]

To add to what Pugsy stated, some folks have centrals start to appear with the application of ANY pressure.

The real question for you is how YOU will react. During your sleep studies did YOU have problems with centrals starting to appear? If so, at what pressure did they start to appear. If YOU had that problem, then going above your current pressure might be a problem. If YOU had no problem during your sleep studies then you might not have problems. I stress *might*. You might start to have problems. They might not have tested a higher pressure for you during your sleep study.

If you are still unable to sleep on your back, you should insist that you be able to sleep on your back with your therapy. Your doctor should help you attain that. The reason is that you might NEED to be on your back at some point. If you doctor is unwilling to help, then find another doctor.

Hope that helps.

[bbbmmmlll]

Yes. In my case my pressure needs to be around 7 or in the 4-5 range. Any other pressures cause centrals. This was noted in my sleep study and I've seen it myself when I tried to run my machine in auto mode.

[avi123]

Im at 13, but my physician said going above that could cause centrals. Now, I distrust physicians intensely but does anyone have any answers?

Im still snoring (my wife can attest) with the mask on, on my stomach at 13).

The AHI is relatively good, but I want to try up to pressure 16 and see if I can sleep on my back again.

Any advice?

Thanks as always.

Is your physician's first name starts with J ?

[DavidCarolina]

lol, no its not "J". Obviously im not here to crack on anyone, and he is probably doing the best he can, but he has a bad bedside manner, and I feel like a number not a person there who he wants out of his office asap. We all know these conditions are potentially dangerous and we dont exactly want to be rushed. It takes a lot of contemplation figuring it all out exactly. Trial and error too.

Ive been doing this 1.5 years. But th eproblem is im somewhat overweight, elongated thick neck, and very narrow airway. Bad genetics.

Plus im a natural backsleeper. Changing that has beeen much much harder than i thought. Even from a physical perspective, the "apparatus" out there doesnt really work. You can still get on your back if its "programmed" into your thinking.

Then,......you can have the problems of blocked mask and c02. Conundrum.

Thanks for advice. I"ll try to see if sleep studies tested for centrals at certain pressures or not.


At this point im thinking bipap at pressure 15 to see what that does. This isnt working, but its "helping" which is better than not having it.

BUt like all here I want to solve it. If youre in the 30 percent club who have corrected your problems without incident, be very very thankful.

[avi123]

Fisher & Paykel Size Medium Full Face Mask (but RESMED ULTRA MIRAGE ON ORDER


I got lousy results when I used F&P Full Face masks. I used #431 and #432 for 6 months and had lots of leaks. Recently I have switched to a nasal mask with a chinstrap and I see alot of improvement.

Why do you think that the Ultra Mirage would be better than the F&P?

I usually sleep on my back. So what if I have a few Centrals while I use the nasal mask?

[Slartybartfast]

Your doc is right. Google: Hering-Breuer Reflex. It can be triggered anytime the lungs are fully inflated.