Tidal Volume- normal readings?

Okay, I've seen that for my height/weight my tidal volume should be somewhere around 400 or something. Several hundred whatevers per however longs, at any rate. My low is constistently in the 13 range, median is roughly 300, and max is 1500-1700. Is that normal? The spikes on the graph, I assume, are due to taking a deep breath, like a heavy sigh?

del

Because I'm a truck driver who is shut down til morning and it's more entertaining to try and figure out my graphs than it is to try and measure how much butt cleavage the truckers are showing from 50 paces? At least this won't cause hysterical blindness.

del

If I posted a pic of what I see on a daily basis, I'd be banned from this site.

Tatooed Lady wrote:Okay, I've seen that for my height/weight my tidal volume should be somewhere around 400 or something. Several hundred whatevers per however longs, at any rate. My low is constistently in the 13 range, median is roughly 300, and max is 1500-1700. Is that normal? The spikes on the graph, I assume, are due to taking a deep breath, like a heavy sigh?

Back to your questions:

Tidal volume is indeed highly variable. And things like a very deep inhalation (in preparation to sigh) will increase it. Proper breathing needed to sustain physical activity will also increase the tidal volume. Relaxation and sleep usually decrease it.

During sleep, the tidal volume usually goes down: Normal sleep breathing is not as deep as normal wake breathing. Sometimes the spikes in TV on a SleepyHead graph are "recovery" breaths following an apnea, a hypopnea, or a RERA. Sometimes they're caused by spontaneous arousals or wakes that are NOT related to sleep disordered breathing events. Sometimes they're caused by turning over in bed.

My guess is that your lowest TV numbers are associated with hypopnea breathing: After all, when very little air is getting into the lungs (due to the hypopnea or apnea), the tidal volume---the amount of air inhaled in one breath----is going to go way, way down.

My guess is that your median is probably just normal sleep TV for you. Is your 95% TV very close to your median TV? That would be more evidence that the readings are normal for you.

My guess is that your very elevated spikes are either recovery breaths from the events that sneak through the PAP defenses OR related to sighing OR arousals and or wakes that are not related to events.