CPAPtalk.com

tiredandscared wrote:what's the drug called? It's possible to look up if it has any muscle relaxing effects. In which case it can aggravate sleep apnea, or push over a borderline case into sleep apnea. If you already have compromised soft palate muscles, adding a muscle relexant will make it worse. Add sleeping supine, and you definitely have the conditions to aggravate it.

Go read the thread. It's all there. You are coming in late and failing to get informed before you spout opinions.

joeljjk11 wrote: My EPR is on 1. Could this affect anything? Should I turn this off?

No, don't turn EPR off. I am kinda glad that you aren't using it at 3 because with 1 there is some room to increase EPR to maybe help with the aerophagia issues.
Actually I think maybe increasing it to 3...maybe...if the aerophagia issues become too annoying. Increasing it to 3 will cause the machine to function like a bilevel machine with pressure support of 3 and often bilevel machines are what people with aerophagia need for the belly issues.
Increasing EPR may cause a need for a little more pressure but I think the chance of more comfort and less aerophagia is worth the risk. Not everyone who uses EPR sees a need for a big pressure change.

It is certainly worth trying.

FYI last night I had EPR of 3 with minimum of 16 and max of 19. AHI was 8. I drank a few beers last night and stayed up late so this could have worsened my AHI. I bet if I went to bed at a normal time and did not drink then my AHI would have been lower.

I slept very well and did not wake up gassy at all this morning though. I think I will leave these settings on my machine.

I'm working overtime right now but I will try to post some Sleepyhead stats when I get home.

I wonder if the tongue being numb, it's difficult to keep it locked behind your teeth to help with the air going down your throat instead of into your mouth. Can you position it at all, or do you not have any control at all?

I think it is worsening my OSA. See below for statistics from the last three nights. The past two nights I have had 16 min with 19 max and 3 EPR. The third one is 14 min/16 max with 1 EPR.

I would say up the min and max pressure to 17-21 for a few days 5-6 to see if the AHI is trending down and if the machine still go to max pressure when you have those osbtructives apneas.

That machine only goes to 20, but he could try a pressure range of 17 - 20.

But ultimately, he needs to do something about this:

This medication (Saphris) causes my throat and tongue to almost go numb at night after I take it.

I would be looking to find a replacement for Saphris. http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/g ... r-disorder

His damn doctors need to work together to help him. SMH

ChicagoGranny wrote:That machine only goes to 20, but he could try a pressure range of 17 - 20.

But ultimately, he needs to do something about this:

This medication (Saphris) causes my throat and tongue to almost go numb at night after I take it.

I would be looking to find a replacement for Saphris. http://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/g ... r-disorder

His damn doctors need to work together to help him. SMH

Oops, my bad! :/ Never had to set EPAP that high... If Saphris is the cause and he need to take it, he can also try to see a sleep doc to try a bi-level, I think they can go higher than 20, right? And if Saphris is not the cause, bi-level route might still worth investigate.

But I would still try 17-20 in the mean time to see if the machine still go to 20 to try fixing those apnea.

OSAHell wrote: Oops, my bad! :/ Never had to set EPAP that high... If Saphris is the cause and he need to take it, he can also try to see a sleep doc to try a bi-level, I think they can go higher than 20, right? And if Saphris is not the cause, bi-level route might still worth investigate.

non vpaps max out at 20, most vpaps max out at 25, and the vpap st-a (ivaps) maxes out at 30.

I think I do need more pressure and my machine isn't cutting it. I am going to call my sleep doctor this week. She had mentioned that I may have to use a different machine the last time I saw her. The only thing is that I have been messing with the pressures and settings on my current machine quite a bit so I hope she won't be upset or mad about that.

So bi-level machines are for those who need more pressure? I don't know anything about them. I also don't think I would want to switch from Saphris because it works very well for me. I would rather honestly deal with the apnea then have to switch the Saphris. It is a nightmare switching these types of meds, trust me on this. The last time I did was about five years ago and I had to miss a month of work.

joeljjk11 wrote:The last time I did was about five years ago

Is that when you started using Saphris? Looking back, does it seem the symptoms of sleep apnea started when you started Saphris?

ChicagoGranny wrote:

joeljjk11 wrote:The last time I did was about five years ago

Is that when you started using Saphris? Looking back, does it seem the symptoms of sleep apnea started when you started Saphris?

Yes the apnea started when I began taking the Saphris. Even years ago when I was about 200 lbs I was still having the apnea according to my wife. I have gained weight and weigh about 240 now but I don't think it would matter much if I lost weight.

Hi joeljjk11,

Have you been able to talk with your sleep doc since June 28? If yes, did he/she say anything of interest?

Also, did the EPAP max to 20 help a bit in your AHI since you changed it?

OSAHell wrote:Hi joeljjk11,

Have you been able to talk with your sleep doc since June 28? If yes, did he/she say anything of interest?

Also, did the EPAP max to 20 help a bit in your AHI since you changed it?

I actually have an appointment with my sleep doctor on Tuesday.

It seems like it is always something with my CPAP treatment. I switched my pressure to 20/20 and was using my F10 full face mask but was getting high leakage and the mask was very uncomfortable in the middle of the night. I had to constantly readjust it and it was making annoying noises that would wake me up. My AHI numbers were very low after I adjusted the pressure.

So I switched back to my Nuance Pro nasal pillows and have been getting no leakage at all but my AHI has been higher. I am going to stick with them though and see if my AHI improves.

joeljjk11 wrote:I actually have an appointment with my sleep doctor on Tuesday.

Have you made your sleep doc aware of your belief that Saphris is causing your sleep apnea?