Indeed, but when I was younger I had no significant health issues other than the middle of the night stuff. The prolonged occurrence of apneas has, I believe, caused or contributed to the other current issues.Anonymous=LC wrote:This would indicate you have many other health issues contributing to disturbed sleep, independent of possible OSA.
Not severe at all, judging from what others have posted in this forum. The lowest I've recorded over the two months I've used an oximeter has been 86%, I believe. Normally, it runs 98% to 100%. Most of that time has been while on xPAP, however, and I didn't experience any particularly significant episodes in the time prior to starting xPAP, so I can't say how this might have been different at earlier times.Anonymous=LC wrote:How severe are your oxygen desats?
Interestingly enough, I only recall one that was diagnosed that way. The very first time, they pondered over the EEG, said it wasn't right, but they didn't really know what to make of it. Another was GERD. The rest ended up being referrals for one thing or another, depending upon whatever the ER physician dreamed up at the time. One diagnosis made was MVP, which has been disputed over the years, and which, in any case, the guidelines for that were tightened and I no longer fall in that category.Anonymous=LC wrote:You said your "heart was always just fine." Were your emergency room visits diagnosed as panic attacks?
No. I haven't taken anything except thyroid for years.Anonymous=LC wrote:Is it possible medications you are taking could be effecting your sleep?
No.Anonymous=LC wrote:Do you have the sleep architecture graph from your sleep study?
That would be true, but not for the reason you suggest. I'll explain momentarily.Anonymous=LC wrote:Perhaps you aren't getting the REM sleep you need.
My problem was not that I felt a lack of sleep, LC, it was that bad things happened while I slept. I compensated using various mechanisms from setting the alarm clock and getting up for 30 minutes every two hours to leaving the radio or TV on all night. (If you don't believe me, just ask my wife. It's driven her crazy for years.) I didn't realize exactly why these worked, I just knew that it made sleep somewhat bearable. Now, with the benefit of Encore Pro data, it's obvious why they worked - my apneas occur during later sleep periods when REM sleep time is longer, and these techniques minimized that to some extent. I believe the apnea pattern is visible from the charts I've posted previously and that you have obviously reviewed.Anonymous=LC wrote:By Respironics' definition, variable breathing occurs during wakefulness, distress and REM sleep. The percentage of variable breathing you see could be an indication of distressed sleep (which would be in keeping with your above detailed medical problems) and not necessarily an indication of REM sleep. Perhaps this is an issue you might want to investigate further.
I will, however, add two more charts that I believe illustrate what I mean about light sleeping. The following MyEncore chart shows the pattern of variable breathing from the very first day I started xPAP until now. Note that the first few days had very low variable breathing. My interpretation is that is an indicator of the very light sleeping I was used to. Despite the "light" sleep, I knew after that first night that xPAP was working unlike anything else I'd tried over the past 27 years. As I regained confidence in my ability to sleep, notice that the variable breathing increased significantly, with the exception of the past few days when I've been adjusting to increased pressures.
And in the final chart you can see the effect that increasing pressure for the past three days has had on time in apnea. There are many anomalies in the chart which would take way too much time to explain, except to say that last night was abnormally high due to a dental device I was trying out. I abandoned the device partway through the night which turned out to be a good thing because most of the apneas last night were during the first part of the night when I was using it, a pattern quite at odds with every other night I have recorded data for. It is obvious in the chart that I have spent very little time in apnea since increasing pressure. (I'll also add that the other minimum apnea times in the chart also occurred during those few nights when I attempted to increase pressure, albeit unsuccessfully at those times.)
Thank you, LC. It has been therapeutic for me to write about this and I appreciate the fact that you looked through my prior posts to garner background information. I am sleeping so much better now that I am on xPAP than I have for many years. There have been a number of issues to work through with xPAP, but nothing compared to the ordeal I endured for years with untreated sleep apnea, for which I have already paid a heavy price.Anonymous=LC wrote:Good luck to you.
Regards,
Bill