Can an Oximeter replace CPAP?

[Too tall]

Given: Had pre and post cpap sleep test. sleep quality declined from 89% to 78% with CPAP.
I have Atrial Fibrillation and presently had an ablation to correct it.
The cardio doc says sleep apanea will decrease success rate from 70 to 80% down to 30% if you have untreated sleep apenea. My AHI was 8. Very mild.

So my concern is not my sleep quality but the amount of O2 I'm getting. When I'm on my sides, I had 0 events. All my apnea is in surpine position.

So,I can't figure out how to upload a picture but I wanted to show you what this thing is doing to my face.

My plan, buy a nonin 2500A recording Oximeter with alarm. Set alarm to a relative high value like 92 or so. Sleep with nothing but the Oximeter connected to my finger. If the alarm goes off, change positions or do whatever I have to do to get the O2 back above 88%.

What do you think of this. I tried the belt and I can't sleep on just my sides, I have to lay on my back a little although most of my sleep is on my sides.

Your thoughts appreciated.

[Stormynights]

You should reread your post to see how silly it sounds. Just get a mask and machine and get you heath back on track.

[greatunclebill]

the ahi number and words like severe and mild can be misleading. 8 means you have 8 episodes per hour. this says nothing about the severity of the individual episodes. your 8 episodes per hour could be much longer and worse than somebody labeled severe with 20 per hour. by the time the alarm goes off, you've already stopped breathing. i'd stay with the cpap. everybody has a hard time adjusting to it.

[kteague]

By your own statement, you cannot stay exclusively on your side. If your sleep apnea actually is entirely positional, exclusively side sleeping could make the option of not using CPAP seem more viable. But that's not the case. Besides, one night does not necessarily mean all your nights will yield the same results. Did your test show that you had REM sleep on your side? Were there hyponeas during that time?

You said your sleep quality was decreased on CPAP and by those numbers you quoted, I'm guessing you're referring to sleep efficiency. Don't let that be a deciding factor for you. The first time with all those new sensations with the treatment and equipment and the many pressure changes during titration make sleep challenging. This doesn't mean you wouldn't adapt to treatment.

With an AHI of 8, just maybe you'd be a candidate for a dental device to treat your sleep apnea. But please do treat your sleep apnea. Preventing low oxygen is a major piece of this, but chronic fractured sleep will have its own health consequences. For instance, even after successfully treating my sleep apnea, I had an issue with limb movements during sleep. They did not affect my oxygen, just chronically disrupted my sleep. My health and well being continued to decline. With your history of afib and your doctor's admonition about treating your sleep apnea, please do follow your doctor's advice. Your stakes are too high.

[Julie]

Google Positional Apnea and see what you think.

[BlackSpinner]

Basically how much good quality sleep do you think you will get with something buzzing in your ear 8 times every hour or every 7 minutes all night long?

[chunkyfrog]

An oximeter is a diagnostic tool.
It may be able to tell the coroner how long your apneas were, and how low your O2 got before you died.
It can't actually help.

[SleepyToo2]

Basically how much good quality sleep do you think you will get with something buzzing in your ear 8 times every hour or every 7 minutes all night long?

And that's on a good night! I would have got the buzzing 31 times every hour! Not to mention the nagging from my wife who tolerates my CPAP very well when I use it (which is every night)! An oximeter only measures the oxygen level, does nothing to replace it unless you wake up. In the severest cases, apnea can cause you to stop breathing for long enough that your heart just gives up (the patient passed quietly in his/her sleep). The CPAP makes as sure as possible that the airway is maintained enough to keep you well above the minimum level of oxygen required for life to continue, without waking you up. Sure, it was challenging to get used to the machine and find the right mask. Now, I use the TapPap, which doesn't leave marks on my face. There are many other options out there that with the correct adjustments would work just as well. The suggestion of exploring a dental appliance is also a good one, but keep in mind that you would need to have another sleep study after fitting the appliance to make sure that your AHI is indeed below zero. With my CPAP I know that my AHI is consistently below 5 (the standard set) and over the last year or so has been fairly consistently below 2.

Spend some time reading the posts on this forum and you will see that many people do indeed struggle at first (sometimes with worse problems than you state) but eventually find success that brings all sorts of health/life benefits. Post back with specific questions that we can help you with. Read what Chunkyfrog said, and think about that; also discuss it with your loved ones before you go down that road.

[SleepyToo2]

Too Tall, you posted a response to a previous post, but it disappeared when I tried to quote it. If you read what you posted you asked for thoughts/opinions. You got several opinions. Sorry if they don't agree with yours. However, the husband of a former colleague of mine died while trying to get used to cpap. I hit my head and needed multiple stitches after collapsing in the bathroom one night - the only answer the docs could come up with was that maybe it was related to sleep apnea. Sleep apnea should not be taken lightly, which is why you get the comments you got from people who would love to be able to use just an oximeter. The reality of these devices is that they will only be one diagnostic tool among several that are needed for sleep apnea. They will never treat any kind of apnea.

[Too tall]

You should reread your post to see how silly it sounds. Just get a mask and machine and get you heath back on track.

You are very rude and you don't know what I'm dealing with. Take a look at a picture I took of myself one morning just waking up. Yea, it's ugly but you say just get a mask and move on. I've been fighting this a month and have worn the mask every single night, look at my face lady. I'm not giving up, that's why I'm on this forum looking for advise. Still think I"m silly? Maybe ignorant, but not silly, I'm just looking for a solution.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?pid= ... 8685784160

[zoocrewphoto]

I think we have to sign in to google to see the photo.

What kind of masks have you tried? Do you breathe through your nose, your mouth, or both? There are some options available that may work better for you.

For example, there are hybrid masks that allow you to breathe through your mouth but don't cover your whole nose.

There is an oral only mask that barely has anything over the mouth and doesn't even need head gear.

There are some cloth masks too.

[49er]

I think we have to sign in to google to see the photo.

What kind of masks have you tried? Do you breathe through your nose, your mouth, or both? There are some options available that may work better for you.

For example, there are hybrid masks that allow you to breathe through your mouth but don't cover your whole nose.

There is an oral only mask that barely has anything over the mouth and doesn't even need head gear.

There are some cloth masks too.

Too Tall,

Zoo Crew has given you some good advice.

Hang in there.

49er

[Too tall]

I"m going to try this one more time at the risk of being slammed again by the nurse. I know you all know more than I do about this subject which is why I'm seeking some discussion on this. I"m not arguing just asking. I know I'm an idiot, that's a given.

Ok, so let's say that I don't care if the alarm wakes me up 8 times an hour or whatever. Just accept that I want to put up with the frequent interruptions in sleep. Call me crazy. I was sleeping fine before I did the sleep test. The sleep test was mandated by the surgeon prior to my heart procedure for AFIB. So my only goal is to make sure I don't drop below 88% O2 level which seems to be the accepted lower limit of O2. My AHI I believe it's called was 8. I tried different mask and to no avail. Maybe I'm allergic to the latex, I don't know but my face is blistered.

On a side note,What's funny is during the sleep test, my AHI was 0 on my sides. So I bought the Zzoma belt for $190, used it one night, while being monitored with an oximeter and I had worst results than with nothing at all. Go figure. (anybody need a new Zzoma belt, I"ll make you a deal you can't refuse). By the way, this is all under the supervision from the sleep MD. This is not something I dreamed up to try.

My sleep efficiency went down 10% with the CPAP but that's not my concern. I have AFIB which it is suspected that Apnea can cause. So I think my situation is a little different than most of you who are not sleeping well and the CPAP is the best thing since sliced bread. This thing is tearing up my face otherwise I wouldn't be such a pussy about it. I"m waking up with each pore a pimple where the latex was touching my skin. (see my picture, it doesn't really show the sores but it gives you an idea of the problem I have).

So with this added information above, can I pose the question again, is the concept of having an oximeter with an alarm set at a high level aid replace the need for the CPAP.

[Stormynights]

You should reread your post to see how silly it sounds. Just get a mask and machine and get you heath back on track.

You are very rude and you don't know what I'm dealing with. Take a look at a picture I took of myself one morning just waking up. Yea, it's ugly but you say just get a mask and move on. I've been fighting this a month and have worn the mask every single night, look at my face lady. I'm not giving up, that's why I'm on this forum looking for advise. Still think I"m silly? Maybe ignorant, but not silly, I'm just looking for a solution.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos?pid= ... 8685784160

I do apologize for sounding rude. I meant no harm but I am now always good at expressing myself. I know what it is like to struggle trying to find the right mask. Pad A Cheek helps a lot of us. You need and deserve a good night's sleep. I wish you sweet dreams.

[BlackSpinner]

Ok, so let's say that I don't care if the alarm wakes me up 8 times an hour or whatever. Just accept that I want to put up with the frequent interruptions in sleep. Call me crazy. I was sleeping fine before I did the sleep test. The sleep test was mandated by the surgeon prior to my heart procedure for AFIB. So my only goal is to make sure I don't drop below 88% O2 level which seems to be the accepted lower limit of O2. My AHI I believe it's called was 8. I tried different mask and to no avail. Maybe I'm allergic to the latex, I don't know but my face is blistered.
.

Yes it is silly to think that getting woken up 8 times an our will give you any kind of sleep or help your afib.

Stop being in denial and get your act together or make sure you have good insurance and a will to take care of your dependents. This is not rocket science, kids of 4 can do it successfully. Teenagers manage it ok and even have sleep overs.

It took me all of 5 minutes, after the first time I wore my mask and got the same results as you, to do a search and find the solution, a mask liner.