UARS related poll: How many times a night do you wake ?

[dsm]

In your future poll, could there be some sort of category where I would fall? I felt good for nearly three months after starting cpap, reverted to pre-cpap, switched to an APAP, felt good and still do.

This is a good line & deserves its own poll. Here are some suggested questions

Poll 1
What type of machine did you start with ...

> Started with CPAP
> Started with APAP
> Started with Bilevel (Bipap, Vpap, etc)
> Started with Auto Bilevel (Bipap Auto, Vpap Auto)
> Started with an ASV (Vpap Adapt SV, Autoset CS 2, Bipap AutoSV)

Poll 2
What type of machine have you switched to seeking better therapy (feel you get better results)
> I switched to a APAP from CPAP
> I switched to a APAP from nonAuto Bilevel (Bipap, Vpap) or Auto Bilevel (Bipap Auto, Vpap Auto)
> I switched to nonAuto Bilevel (Bipap, Vpap) from CPAP
> I switched to nonAuto Bilevel (Bipap, Vpap) from APAP
> I switched to nonAutoBilevel (Bipap, Vpap) from Auto Bilevel (Bipap Auto, Vpap Auto)
> I switched to ASV from CPAP
> I switched to ASV from APAP
> I switched to ASV from nonAuto Bilevel (Bipap Vpap)
> I switched to ASV from Auto Bilevel (Bipap Auto, Vpap Auto)

I think that covers just about all reasonable swaps

DSM

[Bassasasin]

Great Idea... I especially would like to see stats.. IM a newbie. 4 days.

[MurphysLaw]

Thanks, DSM. Those are two good polls and I would be interested in seeing the results.

[Kiralynx]

I used to be awakened by hip pain at least twice a night. The hip pain was the result of my apnea. Once I got the leak issues settled, I was sleeping through the night like the proverbial log.

Now I've started waking up at about the same times as I used to wake with pain... only I'm not hurting, and I can usually go back to sleep within a short while, but it's annoying, because I don't feel as rested.

[Pineapple]

Doug,

While I fall into the 1-5 category, those wakings are accompanied by bouts of insomnia - It will take at least an hour in most cases to fall back to sleep.

[jda1000]

I'm the first and the last - if I can fall asleep, I sleep like a brick until the alarm goes off. If I cannot fall asleep within 40-60 minutes, I get up, do something else for an hour, and try again.

I've had about four nights out of 9 weeks on CPAP where I was up all night long, wholly unable to sleep.

I use AmbienCR most nights and am looking into what that might mean - no side effects that I know of so far, but....nights when I try sleeping without it, I don't sleep. Haven't had the nerve yet to try sleeping without AmbienCR two nights in a row since starting CPAP - the sleeplessness really makes a wreck of life...as we all know!

I never used any sleeping aids before CPAP aside from occasional alcohol.

[cpapsue]

I'm curious too. What wakes us up? If, when you wake up, and it's not from a leak somewhere - why do we wake up?

[Debjax]

Thought I would add these links that may help clarify the nature of the questions I am asking ...

1st link is by Dr Stephen Y Park - UARS
http://web.mac.com/sypark/iWeb/West%20S ... /UARS.html

DSM

I want to know where this guy has been hiding all these years he has been observing my life:

The natural course of UARS is highly variable, with some patients remaining unchanged for years or decades, or others slowly progressing into OSA. Some older overweight women in their 50’s or 60’s with OSA tell me that they were very thin in their 20’s, and had cold hands, low blood pressure, chronic diarrhea, dizziness, etc., and now do not have any of these conditions, except that now she has normal or high blood pressure, snoring and severe fatigue (classic OSA).

Later in the article, his patient example described her treatment as "life changing experience" which is exactly what I've been saying since my first week. This would explain my high cortisol levels that could not be explained, since the suppression test did just that, it suppressed them (I was screened for cushing's). Maybe it will be possible to lose that weight that could not be lost for the last 10 years, no matter what.

[SharkBait]

1-5 is really broad. I figured you were going to end up with a phallic symbol instead of a bell curve.

I sometimes wake up once, and sometimes none. About 1/2 of each...

[Debjax]

My current wakeups are generally related to itchy nose syndrome....and I get right back to sleep.

[BigDaddy12t]

I wake up somewhere between 1 and 5 times in a night.

[Fitness Seeker]

I'll have to give my machine some time b/c i vote on your survey.
I'm a bit confused what i have. When i met the resident sleep MD @Stanford he says he's highly sure i have UARS, which will be corroborated w/ the sleep test. Then when the overnight w/ PES was completed the person who typed up the cover letter to me said i have "OSA". Then they had a 2nd resident (1 wk on the job) who seemed still transitioning and didn't say much and his attending physician come in. So is UARS under OSA.

Then last time i attended an AWAKE meeting in which they talked about sleep study and we went thru an actual sleep study done at a hospital. The presenter was very kind in looking over my 2 overnights, one of which was the titration. So when i asked him if i have UARS or OSA, he said i have "complex sleep apnea". Maybe this means combo? He says my AHI of 15.3 on the original overnight is high to be UARS (?) But when he sifted thru my overnight he noticed alot of airflow issues and says that corroborates UARS and that i am super sensitive and get aroused and awake at every little thing. He also mentioned that w/ my situation i shd be prescribed an avap, bipap, or sth w/ an 'auto servo ventiliator". could anyone provide any input on these machines? Has anyone w/ UARS or complex insomnia have to switch ? I am thinking of finding an sleep MD at this hospital where the AWAKE meeting is, b/c I am just too tired and fed up dealing w/ Stanford and not getting any physician to spend a few min to actually go over the test and be helpful. Being billed $2-3k out of pocket (my 20%) and not getting some help is just not right.