New ResMed ASV User - Central Apnea sufferer

I have suffered from sleep apnea for years but, since trying to treat my apnea with a CPAP machine two years ago, I have largely ignored the problem since I could not tolerate the CPAP machine. Recently, I began waking up in the middle of the night with severe tremors and I had tingles in my arms and was very dizzy. I am in my mid-30's and am completely aware that this is not normal so I decided to go back to my sleep doctor, who advised me to go through another sleep study and potetially use a BiPAP machine. Long story short...I received my ASV machine yesterday. I have primarily central apneas and the sleep sturdy technician claimed that I tolerated the ASV well during the sleep study. Using the machine for the first time last night, my wife told me that I was started shaking several times upon falling asleep. Then she heard the machine rev up in the middle of the night, when I was clearly having another episode. I woke up a lot throughout the night and just wondered whether anyone has had a similar type of reaction to the ASV. How long does it take to adapt to the machine? Are you supposed to sleep throughout the night on the first attempt? If so, this machine is clearly not for me. If your body needs to adjust to it, that might be more my case. Thanks or any and all comments.

dif,

The description you have provided almost sounds like the machine type & use is immaterial. Is your doctor sure you really need an advanced xPAP machine ?.

Good luck

DSM

can you give us some more details? what mask are you using? why were you unable to tolerate CPAP? what were your CPAP settings, and what are your current ASV settings?

it could something as simple as mouth breathing, so all your therapy is going out your mouth and not letting the machine do its job.

and yes, it can definitely take time to get used to xPAP, regardless of the machine type.

dif, you have my empathy. My sincere empathy.

I also have *serious* problems with central sleep apnea. I did use BiPAP for a long time. However, I've been complaining about what appear to be central apnea events and it was not taken seriously by the doctors. Well, my current sleep doctor did take it seriously and we tested the ResMed Adapt SV (the same ASV unit). It made a world of difference for me.

So, let me tackle several things in your post.

First, it sounds as if the shaking is either a reaction due to low O2 levels (and/or high CO2 levels) in your blood. Sometimes our body discovers that when an apnea event occurs if it does something that causes us to rouse to a lighter level of sleep, it can clears the condition. In essense we awaken enough to restart breathing. It may take several weeks to even a few months for your body to learn that it no longer needs to do this.

Second, if you have not already done so, I *highly* recommend you also have a full physical. It is quite possible the central apnea is causing hypertension and/or Type 2 Diabetes. If so, you need to have those addressed. If not, then you had this addressed early enough to avoid damage to your body. Uncontrolled (or poorly controlled) hypertension can lead to heart failure, strokes and even kidney damage! Ditto with the Type 2 Diabetes. So, leaving central apnea untreated is a poor option at best.

Additionally, central apnea can be linked to significant heart issues. You should eliminate those as a possible factor. If there are heart problems treating those will help reduce the Central Sleep Apnea. If there is no heart problems, then you will be reassured that is not contributing to the issue.

Third, getting used to the ASV unit is quite a "trip". It takes a while before you learn to completely trust the machine. I no longer notice when it starts to ramp up pressure as my breathing stops. But it DOES make a huge difference. But it can be a bit disruptive to your sleep for a while. But as I noted, within a few weeks (upto about 3 months) you may find it soemtimes frustrating. PLEASE hang in there.

Fourth, you might want to read more about Central Sleep Apnea. Several of us have gathered information about Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) (or just CA).

Rested Gal's Links to Central Apnea:
viewtopic.php?p=457566

Finally, please consider joining the forum. You can register your equipment online. This helps us better answer questions you might have. As you can see, several of us try to help others who also suffer from Central Apnea.

Hope that helps.