So I went on vacation..

without my ASV machine!!!
I went 4 nights without it and I actually felt better than I have in a long time...

I stayed at home my first week of vacation and slept maybe an average of 5-7 hrs with my mask, waking up at least 1-2 times a night to go to the bathroom or because a increase in pressure/mask noise woke me up. Every day I was home I took at least a two hour nap in the afternoon.
I decided to experiment, because it doesn't seem like I sleep all that well with the machine.

The first night on vacation in an uncomfortable bed I slept 7-8 hrs, only woke up once. I actually felt pretty good.
My girlfriend (MD who works in a shared office with a sleep MD) was up at least an hour after I fell asleep and at least an hour before I woke up was reading next to me and said she paying attention to me and did not notice any changes in breathing and I was actually snoring a little with no noticable gaps in sound.
The second night I was pretty tired and I actually slept 10-11 hrs straight and felt great waking up. No nap needed.

The next couple I slept at least 8-9 hrs straight, and that was with leaving my pillow I had for 2 years at the previous hotel. Felt really good all day.

Came home and used mask - woke up at least 2 times and prob only got 5 hours sleep.

My theory is that maybe I had/have drug induced sleep apnea?? I started drinking when I was 15 yrs old (36 now), drank really heavily in my 20's and early 30's, treated for dysthymia/depression since I was 24 with Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Prozac, etc. The latest combo was Wellbutrin + Cymbalta, which I started in late 2010. Cymbalta seemed to exacerbate all symptoms, falling asleep at work/driving, poor memory, poor sleep, always tired, etc. which is why I went to the Dr and subsequently diagnosed with complex apnea in mid 2011. I started feeling better after a couple months, more energy, better mood.

So I stopped the Wellbutrin awhile ago and tapered off the Cymbalta, so it's probably been 3-4 months off all drugs.
I have also started exercising pretty regularly, taking boxing/kickboxing/brazilian jiu jitsu classes and I rarely ever drink anymore.
Maybe 6-10 per month, never more than 3 in one night.

So, with all the changes - no drugs, very little alcohol - maybe those were the major cause of the apnea? My girlfriend agrees with my theory.

My pulmonologist said I couldn't get another sleep study for awhile since I just had one last year.
I don't think it's a good idea to quit using the ASV, the "experiment" was only 4 days. I still owe $$ on it, plus insurance payments, so I don't really want to fall in the non compliant area.

Do you think it's a valid theory? Just don't know how to test i

Do you have the software and card reader for your machine?

Pugsy wrote:Do you have the software and card reader for your machine?

yes, I have the Encore viewer, data since Nov.
my average AHI for the last 6 months is 2.8

pharm30 wrote:yes, I have the Encore viewer, data since Nov.
my average AHI for the last 6 months is 2.8

Not suggesting anything but if it were me and I thought maybe the removal of those drugs may have made a difference in need for the machine then I might be tempted to dumb down the machine and see what happens if I couldn't get a sleep study done to see.

I never travel without my faithful old Respironics BiPap Plus with humidifier. I am convinced that it is vital to my well being. I have used it in USA,Canada, Europe, New Zealand, on cruise ships.... I was initially diagnosed in 1988, and have always been grateful to the doctor who first started me with the old Healthdyne CPAP.

TheDuke

Very interesting theory. I have been on Cymbalta for years! I cannot imagine not taking it because a few days and I am a bundle of tears. Guess I'll take my CPAP over crying all the time.