I'd just like to add my voice to this point. I agree with rested gal and John, and I like John's analogy to a wind sock - shows direction and some kind of relationship to strength, but not really a measurement. I can tell by looking at my Waveform Reports that most of my Clear Airway Apneas (CA's) occur when I am still awake, on the verge of falling asleep. The machine gives out a puff of air at that point, to determine if the airway is open, and the damn puff wakens me much of the time, so there tend to be a series of these, until I finally fall asleep.rested gal wrote:I don't think I'd put a lot of faith in the "clearairway apnea" data from the new Philips Respironics System One machines as showing probable "central apneas." Not yet, anyway.
...
Likewise, I'm pretty skeptical about the PR1's supposed ability to identify "RERAs" (Respiratory Effort Related Arousals) accurately. Without EEG leads (again, like in a sleep lab PSG) to see brain wave wake/sleep data, I don't see that the PR1's so-called RERA data would mean much. I feel the same way about Fisher and Paykel's touting their newest machines as being able to identify when a person is "awake."
I think both those companies (Philips Respironics and Fisher & Paykel) may be overly market-hyping what their machines can identify. But that's just my layperson's opinion. I could be wrong.
I can also usually tell when I am awake and when I am asleep, by looking at the breathing waveform. When I am awake, I take deeper breaths, and not as regularly and not as often. I think what happens is that I take deep breaths as I am falling asleep, and then I don't breathe for ten seconds, as my oxygen level catches up, and the machine sends out a puff of air, wakens me, and reports it as a CA. Now, maybe the fact that I don't beathe for ten seconds means I suffered a Central Apnea, but I am very skeptical of that. And, maybe it is the lack of breathing (which is rarely for any longer than ten seconds) that wakes me, not the puff of air, but I am am conscious of the puff of air, and it sure seems like that is what wakened me, just as I was drifting off.
I have also looked very closely at the RERA's that it reports (not very many), and I can't see a thing to indicate any problem. Respironics says they report the RERA based on the shape of the waveform, so maybe they know what they are talking about, but I don't buy it, at this point.
All that being said, I do like to see the data, and I am finding it very useful and helpful. I wish I could turn off that damn puff of air as I am just drifting off to sleep, though. I would be happy to have the machine report it as an Obstructive Apnea, if it would just let me fall asleep in peace. I'd like to see a setting, like there is for a ramp, that disabled that puff of air for a set period of time, so I could get to sleep.
Barry