Any one heard about nasopharyngeal tube to treat OSA?

sylvie wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:If I fall asleep for as little as ten minutes without the mask, I feel like the reason dog walkers carry plastic bags.

Me too. I don't get that at all.

Same for me. A short nap without CPAP and my head is spinning. And my head does not have many spins left.

SethW wrote:I'm a certified EMT also. Just wondering about this myself. I have no idea how uncomfortable the nasopharyngeal airways are. I imagine they're rather unpleasant. Anyway, if I had a convenient source, I might try it just to see what it was like. I don't see myself traveling with my CPAP machine when I have to fly.

Here's the link to the old study:

http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/conte ... 2.full.pdf

As another EMT, I have applied these 2 times to a semi-conscious patient. Given their reaction to it, I certainly would NOT even consider one. Both of them reacted as though it was very uncomfortable. Incidentally, the NP airway only keeps the airway open if the tongue is blocking the airway - it will not help if the blockage is narrowing/loss of rigidity down lower in the airway.

emt_271 wrote:As another EMT, I have applied these 2 times to a semi-conscious patient. Given their reaction to it, I certainly would NOT even consider one. Both of them reacted as though it was very uncomfortable. Incidentally, the NP airway only keeps the airway open if the tongue is blocking the airway - it will not help if the blockage is narrowing/loss of rigidity down lower in the airway.

You did lube them up first, right?

That's a good point. It does seem to me that the nasopharyngeal airway should be at least as effective as an oral appliance in keeping the airway open. The study I cited here earlier did claim some success. One of the things the abstract said was that the failures were "heavier" than the successes, something that seems consistent with the point you raise here about the narrowing of the airway.

ChicagoGranny wrote:

sylvie wrote:

chunkyfrog wrote:If I fall asleep for as little as ten minutes without the mask, I feel like the reason dog walkers carry plastic bags.

Me too. I don't get that at all.

Same for me. A short nap without CPAP and my head is spinning. And my head does not have many spins left.

I know there are some people here who really have trouble without the machine. My apnea is not severe, but that does not mean that left untreated for years it would not cause problems or I would not have worse symptoms. Who knows, maybe 10 years from now I will have a lot of trouble without the machine. Right now that's not the case. I have a friend who nearly wrecked his truck because he fell asleep on his way home from work, was falling asleep at work, and who ultimately had a tracheostomy. I know there are people who have a really rough time with sleep apnea!

If it's not enough that I think can get by without the machine for a week, I will also blow your minds by saying this: what lead me to go have a sleep study was, in part, trouble falling asleep!

MidnightOwl wrote:

ughwhatname wrote:I was really sick yesterday afternoon, in bed with chills and a fever of 103.2. I wore my mask, just in case I fell asleep. If you asked me, I would have said I didn't sleep, but Sleepyhead says differently. I had two apnea events during that time.

Sleepyhead has no way of knowing whether you slept.

Can you have an apnea event when you are awake?

Chikorita wrote:Can you have an apnea event when you are awake?

Your "normal" breathing while awake may look like an apnea in terms of airflow. Since airflow is all the CPAP machine can see, it has no choice but to "score" it as an apnea. Maybe future machines will be "smart" enough to tell if you're asleep or not.

In lab PSG tests screen your EEG to only score "sleep apnea" while you're asleep. If you're not asleep, it's not "sleep" apnea.

There are some breathing problems that can happen while you're awake. I think those aren't usually called "apnea."

Whether it's really an "apnea" is a question of terminology. Most of the time, "pseudo apneas" while awake aren't long or deep enough to be harmful, even if it meets the x% reduction for y minutes criteria CPAP machines use.

I'm a nurse and emt. Nasal airways are considered to be somewhat tolerable in a semiconscious person, however an oral airway adjunct is not due to an ibtact gag reflex. I looked for comments here because I have osa,and was hoping to hear that someone has had success with a nasopharyngeal airway or npa or nasal trumpet . Anyone?

SethW wrote:Who knows, maybe 10 years from now I will have a lot of trouble without the machine.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a progressive condition whether or not you use CPAP. The airway muscles become more flaccid as we age.

(Now wait for the regulars to tell me I replied to an old post. giggle)

I know people who've tried the airway and couldn't get to first base with it - hated it.

It has been discussed here before:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=102217&p=956829&hil ... nt#p956829

Kind of sounds like inserting a catheter to go to the bathroom every time. No thanks.

rjezuit wrote:Kind of sounds like inserting a catheter to go to the bathroom every time. No thanks.

yeah, just leave it in, much simpler.

The fact that a nurse has zombified this old, bizarre (to me) idea, makes my head hurt.
How can anyone think this would be a good idea?