Anomaly- Stopped Using my CPAP

I have a Fisher & Paykel SleepStyle 200. I've never been told about tracking anything on it.

Sloop- I'm 5'10" and weight between 150-155lbs. That's been my weight all my adult life.

Guess my AHI is moderate; between 17-19 per hour i.e., if I understand your question and the acronym AHI.

Helmer, The best 2 things I did when I started, was finding this forum, and getting copies of the full report and condensed graphs for both my sleep study and titration.
Your Sleep lab, DME and maybe your sleep doctor all have them. Get copies!
I have spent more time with the information in them than any of the above.
They will tell you in what sleep stage and what position your apneas, arousals, and oxygen desaturations occurred.
Having mine and seeing that my O2 dropped to 80% and I had over 40 arousals per hour sold me on using the machine.
My AHI was only 11, but they all happened in REM sleep, so I wasn't getting any!
Note, none of the "professionals" discussed any of this with me.

Another thing that happens is that your DME sets the "comfort features" full blast so you are more likely to achieve compliance. That's how they get paid.
Comfort Features are exhale relief(EPR or Flex), Ramp (time to full pressure), and humidity. These are very individual preferences and it takes some time to find what works for you.

Your pressure was determined during a snapshot of one night. The report will tell you how well you were titrated. Many people here find they need to adjust their pressure.
There should have been a sensor on your finger to monitor you O2 in both studies.

7. About my sleeping habits prior to CPAP, I would jerk, stop breathing, gasp, etc.
My wife has been telling me for the last 3-4 years that I needed to go to a sleep clinic

I had guessed that you were one who had to be dragged to a study. If you didn't think you needed one then, it's no suprise that you feel you slept well without it.
Please go to the user control panel and list you equipment in TEXT format so it show up in your signature.
Then, please post the settings on your machine for Ramp Time, Exhale Relief, and Humidity.
Maybe we can give you some help before you start to "jerk, stop breathing, and gasp" again!

http://www.fphcare.com/osa/cpap-solutions/cpap.html
Some of the SleepStyle 200 series models offer more than compliance hours of use but you have to figure out exactly which model you have.
If it will work with Performance Maximizer software it offers full data.
If it only works with Compliance Maximizer the all it offers is how many hours you have used the machines.

Full data machines explained here.
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/

Another thing I think might be confusing is that however 'severe' your diagnosis (how many or few events you had during testing) it has NO relation to where your prescription pressure number(s) are set... in other words you may have had 75 events/hour on testing, but only need e.g. 8 (or 7-12) setting on your machine to keep YOUR airway open for the cpap air to work... others may have only 20 events per hour, but need a setting of 15 to keep their airway open.

Helmer, I'm interested in your statement that a neurologist said you had scars on your brain from head injuries. Did he suggest or are you extrapolating that these scars are responsible for your apnea?

Suz

4. My sleep apnea seems to be more from head traumas then anything else. I’ve had four rather serious accidents (head injuries) during my 69 years of life. The neurologists said I have scar tissue in my brain, prior to my head injuries I did not have a major problem sleeping, at least my wife did not comment.


Comment,

Helmer, it's possible that your brain injuries were reversible and you don't need CPAP anymore. Good Luck!

Also check this:

http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/24/6/980.full.pdf

At what ages did you have those injuries?

Thank you everyone for your observations, I plan to methodically check them out.

Thank you avi123 for your observations, the article although it had medical terminology which I did not fully understand nevertheless, the principle concepts are worthy of further study. In fact I want to share this with my neurologist.
As for when I had my head injuries, of the following list I do not know about the first two i.e., if I had significant or noticeable injuries from them:
1. Around the age of 8; I hit a tree with my sleigh; head first
2. Age 8 or 9 I ran into a two inch pipe (hit my forehead) at a full run knocking me down to the ground
3. Age 37 motorcycle accident (had helmet on) my head bounced off the pavement.
4. Age 52 flew over a car (bicycling) landed on my head. I don't remember: getting on my bike, accident, police, ambulance, hospital or even when I went home. Lost short term memory.
5. Age 54 crashed on my bicycle coming down a mountain (paved road, I'm a roadie) took out my clavicle & fractured my hip, tumble hard
6. Age 64 fell backward from a tree landed on metal and rocks, I lost more short term memory.
7. Age 66 fell backward unto a trazel floor; three stitches and eighteen stables later I went home.
8. Age 69 second bike accident (I had the right of way but lost) a car pulled out in front of me, I hit my head on the fender/quarter panel).

Perhaps I've given more information then you needed to know but hopefully this has been fun/painful reading.

I don't consider myself to be a klutz but active. In fact I'm very active in my exercise program and life in general still working full time.

WOW Helmer! I hope you didn't play football!
I've only had 4, but then I'm only 52, so guess I won't take up bicycling!
This topic interests me because I think I have identified cognitive changes from each of mine.
Hopefully more research will be done in this area beyond diagnosis and cpap, now that we have an unfortunately large study pool.

Reuters Health) -New research shows high rates of sleep disorders among veterans of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or head injuries.
"....We found that sleep disorders appear to break down by presence or absence of injury and by the type of injury," he noted.
In soldiers with traumatic brain injury, he said, "blast injuries appeared to be associated with insomnia and anxiety," and blunt head trauma was more closely linked to sleep apnea.... "

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/ ... 5S20111028

When I wrote my first 'posting' I hadn't even considered head trauma as a possible cause for my sleep apnea issue. Thank you for bringing that up as a possible reason and perhaps if it is, I may have to do some more testing to find out what is taking place in my case.

Thanks Lizistired for additional information about head trauma among soldiers- good article.

By the way although I've had my share of bike accidents don't quit or think of not starting. The exercise I've gotten over the past 40+ years of committed and hard riding has been worth it all. My doctor (primary care doc.) said; I don't know if I should get you a psychiatrist or what (he was joking about my continued bike riding in spite of accidents). He also said, if all my patients were like you I'd be out of business.

Are you still experimenting with sleeping without the hose?

SleepingUgly wrote:I can't even learn to keep my mouth shut, let alone my airway open.

I was tempted to take a cheap shot... But I won't!

Yes, Lizistired; I'm on my third night of not using it. It's like I have a new lease on life. My over all feeling is very good, no more groggy feeling in the morning, no headache, etc. What I don't know is how long the better feeling will last. I don't plan to through away my CPAP...

Helmer wrote:My over all feeling is very good, no more groggy feeling in the morning, no headache, etc. What I don't know is how long the better feeling will last. I don't plan to through away my CPAP...

Happy to know you are doing so well. However, I agree... hang on to your CPAP.

In the 3+ months I've been using APAP. I had to skip one night about two weeks ago to undergo a home sleep study test. Woke up the next morning with a pounding headache which I rarely get and have had none of those while on the blower. Also had a terrible sore throat that luckily eased up on it's own during the day. Another ironic thing is I haven't recalled dreaming ever since this night without the xPAP to data. Not sure what is up with that.