Seizure from a blocked CPAP mask?

Sparky621, this is more believable than clogged face mask:

http://www.epilepsy.com/connect/forums/ ... g-epilepsy

But the comments are gone.

avi123 wrote:Sparky621, this is more believable than clogged face mask:

http://www.epilepsy.com/connect/forums/ ... g-epilepsy

It makes sense ... if my son wasn't already being treated for sleep apnea with CPAP. He had almost a full year of CPAP therapy before suffering a seizure the other day.

Thanks for the link, however.

The faulty electrical outlet jumped out at me!
Your house wiring is worth investigating; also check with the power company.
A momentary outage may not always reset your clocks.
Not only could an interruption in therapy be significant, but bad wiring can start a fire.

just for everybodies information, here's the type of 'person' our newest member here is...

Sparky621 wrote:My nasty attitude? Blow me, pale douche.

Sparky, the following Epilepsy surgery is familiar to me.

http://www.epilepsy.com/connect/forums/ ... -resection

Sparky621 wrote:

Julie wrote:Oh don't bother... he knows it all, being a member for one day.

LoL ... wow. That's says volumes about you, Julie. I know nothing about CPAP technology which is why I took the time to post messages here. All the responsives have been helpful ... except for yours.

Last time I respond to you btw, so go nuts.

al

People who come to forums looking for help should show appreciation for ALL offers. This is NOT a professional medical forum where you pay to get specific answers. This is a user forum which has all sorts of people - many whom would be a of great help to you if you don't offend them. And you have. You were stupid enough to insult palerider, one of the better members. Listen to Avi - he has screwed up many people and doesn't generally know much.

If you want to be a troll fine, but go somewhere else and cut off your nose there instead.

I hope his son has a better attitude...

And in case he is still reading, I wrote up (as one part of my job) the entire procedures - from inside the OR - when people like Dr. Wilder Penfield (look him up) and Theo. Rasmussen (ditto) did the first surgeries ever done on patients with epilepsy (they were awake at the time so could respond to questions from the docs) in Montreal. And I worked across the hall from the researchers constructing the very first PET scanner (in the world).

FWIW, you need to re-read your first note because you really gave no reason for anyone to think you knew what a seizure was, let alone had any experience of it at all. And then you can apologize, but I won't hold my breath.

Just for piece of mind and safety, you could use bed rails on his be, also a good baby monitor would help you notice if and when he had a event. Jim

So my post was deleted.
Alienating some of the best people on the forum is a really stupid thing to do. It makes the OP sound like a troll. Just another variation of "Cpap broke my ribs!" and "I am going to sue because I ran out of water and it smelled!"

This is not a professional medical forum where you can get cheap advice fast. This is a forum of users of cpap technology who have many years of experience. And they don't have to be nice if you come on like a troll.

palerider wrote:just for everybodies information, here's the type of 'person' our newest member here is...

Sparky621 wrote:My nasty attitude? Blow me, pale douche.

Classy stuff there, Sparky.

Hi Sparky... if you come back I'd like to welcome you to the world of internet forums. Very unfortunately you immediately ran into several of the most nasty people on this forum! However, there are many others who are decent, knowledgeable people. Yup, Palerider quoted one of your posts. Not the most classy, but you caught on quickly, and I can't blame you for saying what you did.

If you continue to post I think you'll find out quickly who to take advice and suggestions from, and who to ignore. If you'd like some names of people who aren't obnoxious, feel free to PM me.

I hope the answer to your son's issues are found quickly and, um... welcome to the forum!

BlackSpinner wrote:

Sparky621 wrote:

Julie wrote:Oh don't bother... he knows it all, being a member for one day.

LoL ... wow. That's says volumes about you, Julie. I know nothing about CPAP technology which is why I took the time to post messages here. All the responsives have been helpful ... except for yours.

Last time I respond to you btw, so go nuts.

al

People who come to forums looking for help should show appreciation for ALL offers. This is NOT a professional medical forum where you pay to get specific answers. This is a user forum which has all sorts of people - many whom would be a of great help to you if you don't offend them. And you have. You were stupid enough to insult palerider, one of the better members. Listen to Avi - he has screwed up many people and doesn't generally know much.

If you want to be a troll fine, but go somewhere else and cut off your nose there instead.

BlackSpinner... Is this the deleted post you were speaking of?

Janknitz wrote:If the doctors suspected a blocked CPAP vent a simple blood gas test would have told them if this is true.

Only if they did the blood gas test when the vent was blocked. If you block the CPAP vent, and get low O2/high CO2 blood gas, they'll be back to normal within a minute or so of normal breathing after unblocking the vent or removing the mask. You could do the blood gas test while he's hooked up to CPAP and it would detect if there's a problem with the vent.

In this case, I'm assuming that the idea is that he blocked the vent with a pillow, an arm, etc. i.e. they didn't look at the mask and find the vent was clogged up, did they, Sparky?

Sparky621 wrote:Hi,

New to this forum - hope some of you can help. My son recently suffered a seizure that the docs stated could have resulted from a blocked vent on a Quattro CPAP mask. My question: is this even possible? Aren't there safety precautions built into a mask to prevent this from happening? When he was found the mask was still on his face and the CPAP machine was still running. He had fallen out of bed as a result of the seizure. Luckily he suffered no brain damage or other impairments. He is 23 and has never had any seizure or other neurological problems.

Now, I feel the CPAP is dangerous and he should no longer use it. Of course it's a catch-22: don't use the CPAP and risk the adverse affects of sleep apnea, or use the CPAP and risk triggering another seizure and possible brain damage. I'm hoping others can weigh in with some opinions and help us sort through this dilemma.

Thanks.

Welcome, sorry you needed to join us.

First, I think untreated apnea is much, MUCH more dangerous than the highly dubious idea that a blocked mask vent caused his seizure.

In theory, a blocked mask vent can even kill you, but it's really unlikely. With no exhaust vent on the mask, it's like breathing in and out into a paper bag. Fresh air/oxygen can't get in and stale air/carbon dioxide can't get out. You'd eventually suffocate, but it's really unlikely. Have you ever heard of someone rolling over in their sleep and accidentally suffocating themselves with their pillow? It can happen to someone who's on drugs (legal or otherwise) or has some sort of brain problem.

We have a strong reflex to breathe "fresh" air and get really uncomfortable if the exhaust vent is blocked. If his vent was blocked, he'd probably wake up, although that's not 100% certain. Look at the vent on his CPAP mask. It's the little holes in the elbow on the front of the mask. See how likely you think it is to block those accidentally during the night.

Experience shows that partial or complete suffocation from a blocked mask vent is very unlikely.

I think the doctor is just grasping at straws and doesn't understand CPAP very well. I'm an unknown, anonymous, non-doctor on the internet. You can trust me.

The risks of untreated apnea are probably much worse than the risk of harm from a blocked CPAP vent.

If you have a ResMed machine instead of one of the better fully data capable Philips Respironics CPAP machines, that's unfortunate. The Respironics machines record the total leak rate and you'd be able to look at the data and tell whether his mask vent was blocked. ResMed machines estimate an "unintentional leak" rate and throw away the total leak data, so you can't see if the vent is blocked. (Shame on you, ResMed.)

If you're still worried about a blocked vent, ask your doctor about a Respironics Whisper Swivel II Exhalation Port. $22 from cpap.com, our host. https://www.cpap.com/productpage/whispe ... eviews-tab

Install the whisper swivel between the mask and the hose. It gives you an extra exhaust vent, so if the mask vent was blocked, it would still vent the stale air and CO2 to keep his air fresh. It looks like it would be hard to block the Whisper Swivel in the first place, and you would only have problems if you block both the Quattro vent and the Whisper vent. I'm not 100% sure it will fit on the regular mask, though.

Make sure it fits right and won't fall off too easily, disconnecting the hose. That wouldn't be terribly dangerous, it shouldn't be any worse than if he fell asleep without the mask.

It will increase the "intentional" leak rate, but the CPAP machine should be able to compensate.

[quote Neuro doc stated that for many patients there is no explanation for a first-time seizure and often the patient never gets one again. I guess we'll see.[/quote]
This is definitely true. I work with 2 women who both just had a first seizure, age in 50's. I'm sure you are very worried, I would just listen to the docs and follow their advice. For peace of mind, I like the suggestion of a baby monitor to listen to your son, if he's agreeable with that. I process paperwork all day for people of all ages going from hospitals to nursing homes and frequently read about people who have just one seizure in their history...hopefully the same for your son!