Sudden burst of CA's because left arm was out of bed!

I wonder if anyone can explain this brief weird set of occurrences.

2 nights ago I was woken at 6:04am by an arousal, and felt the need to switch from my right side to my left side. I confirmed this for my records with 5 quick sniffs followed by 4 more (easily seen on a Flow Rate chart).

Just 70 seconds later I was awoken (not from real sleep, I suspect) by an oximeter vibration because my SpO2 had dropped to 89%. I was on my left side with my left wrist (the one with the oximeter on) hanging slightly off the bed and my right arm was across it. I lifted my right arm off it and then lifted my left wrist in the air, and the vibration stopped and SpO2 immediately jumped to 98%!

I thought this odd so, after about 3 minutes, I deliberately put my left wrist back hanging off the bed. That didn't seem to cause a vibration (though it looks like O2 did drop a lot). After mulling that over for another few minutes, I put my left wrist back hanging off the bed and laid my right arm across it. In less than a minute, the oximeter vibrated again!

I repeated this again and got the same result - and decided it was time to get up.

When I got all the data from the CPAP and the oximeter and SomnoPose into Oscar (see attached chart showing the most relevant clips), I realised the situation was even more complex than I thought. During this 20 minute episode, the ResMed 10 said I had NINE CA's (something I don't often get actually). I suspect none of these were real, especially as I was mostly awake during this time.

So is the oximeter really telling the truth about my body being short of oxygen, or is it just responding erroneously to a slightly cut-off blood supply to that hand?



Here is an expanded view of the first CA.

Why do people worry about such one-offs as this?

CAs while you are awake are meaningless.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 29, 2024 2:09 pm

Why do people worry about such one-offs as this?

Yup, why didn't Dr Alexander Fleming simply ignore the mould growing on the Petri dish? It was only a one-off observation.

CAs while you are awake are meaningless.

BigWing wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 29, 2024 4:13 pm

It was only a one-off observation.

It certainly wasn't a one-off. The mold and its curative properties had been observed for centuries. Fleming was the first to identify which substance in the mold had the bacteria-fighting characteristics. It was a decade later that a team of scientists that did not involve Fleming developed methods for cultivating this substance and making it available for use.

Please update this thread when your arm-hanging-off-mattress research results in a major step forward in medical history.

(This comment is meant in a lighthearted way. )

(This comment is meant in a lighthearted way. )

As was mine....to help me resist the urge to ask if it was normal on this forum for long-term residents to shoot newbies down in flames by criticising one of their first pleas for help!

Yes, I've had my O2Ring go off from having the limb go to sleep.

Yes, I've had the machine register CA's from holding my breath while moving around. I've had to train myself to breathe during my toss-n-turns if it's taking a while. The Movement graph is my hillbilly EEG... see Movement? It was an arousal period.

If you're on the edge of CA's anyway then an exertion can cause a cycle of them. Say you're running high EPR (we don't know your pressures) and medium pressures... if you have an exertion (rolling over or re-positioning yourself) you'll breathe more... then less... then more... etc. EPR 3 tends to make this oscillation go longer. This can happen when you're awake... your body follows its blood pH whether you're asleep or not. Curious to know your pressures.

BigWing wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 30, 2024 12:43 am

if it was normal on this forum for long-term residents to shoot newbies down in flames by criticising one of their first pleas for help!

The bottom quartile.

Switch the oximeter to a finger on the other hand.

Or put the thing in a drawer, where mine is.

vandownbytheriver wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:26 am

Yes, I've had my O2Ring go off from having the limb go to sleep.

I wondered at first if it could have been that simple, but the 'CA' issue (and little change in Pulse Rate) surely suggests it wasn't a localised problem?

Yes, I've had the machine register CA's from holding my breath while moving around. I've had to train myself to breathe during my toss-n-turns if it's taking a while.

I too have tried to learn to keep breathing when moving around, though I know I sometimes fail.

The Movement graph is my hillbilly EEG... see Movement? It was an arousal period.

I'm not sure which of the many movements you are referring to, but I did say it all started with an arousal.

If you're on the edge of CA's anyway then an exertion can cause a cycle of them. Say you're running high EPR (we don't know your pressures) and medium pressures... if you have an exertion (rolling over or re-positioning yourself) you'll breathe more... then less... then more... etc. EPR 3 tends to make this oscillation go longer. This can happen when you're awake... your body follows its blood pH whether you're asleep or not. Curious to know your pressures.

I wasn't aware of this oscillation issue. Here's a standard Oscar screenshot for that whole night. Sadly, EPR gets cutoff, but it was 3.

BigWing wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 30, 2024 3:27 pm

I'm not sure which of the many movements you are referring to, but I did say it all started with an arousal.

Strictly referring to your zoom in.

I wasn't aware of this oscillation issue. Here's a standard Oscar screenshot for that whole night. Sadly, EPR gets cutoff, but it was 3.

That was my guess... low pressure, max EPR. Exertion, resulting in some extra breathing, resulting in a cycle of CA's.

SleepHQ is free, and allows a hi-res sharing of data. I use Oscar for at home and SHQ for link sharing. Here's a night from December, before I went bi-level:

https://sleephq.com/public/1f8e789b-83f ... 2c35847870

Note you can click and drag and zoom in like Oscar. 'r' resets the graphs.

SleepHQ is free, and allows a hi-res sharing of data.

Sadly, the free version doesn't let me include my oximeter data or my SomnoPose data....and, for what you get, the Pro version's $15/month seems a lot to a pensioner.