ASV Titration Tonight

Good Morning,

I have my ASV titration tonight... any last minute advice?

Good luck!

You might have a great night's sleep or you might not. I had somewhat expected that it would be really easy, but it wasn't for me. Fortunately, they didn't need much sleep time to get useful data.

If you have sleeping pills, take them with you.

It feels a little weird when it tries to remind you to breathe. It tends to be pretty in tune with you once you relax and start breathing rhythmically, but when you wake up your breathing rate might confuse it a bit. Of course, it's when you're awake that you'll notice the issue. But don't panic, breathe normally, and it'll settle back down.

The one thing I couldn't really make it do in lab was leave me alone when I tried to do meditative breathing to fall back asleep. The breaths were too slow compared to the 3-minute average, so it wanted me to breathe faster. At home I could power-cycle the machine to reset its notion of my current breathing pattern.

I'll just add more of the same...just try to get to your normal breathing as quickly as possible so you don't confuse the machine.

Those first few puffs are a bit startling but in the end it's still mostly CPAP/Bi-PAP.

Let us know how you make out.

if you are used to a regular cpap machine, it probably won't seem too different. At least it wasn't in my case

Nope. Just don't be in a panic. Like with any other sleep study, the calmer you are the more data they can collect and the more effective the sleep study will be for you and your doctor.

Best wishes!

I did very well on my ASV titration study. Went to sleep very quickly. I brought my own mask from home. I remember thinking as I went to sleep 'how incredibly comfortable' the pillow I was using was.

Just relax, try not to pay attention to your breathing or machine.

Glad the titration went well. Keep us posted on your progress.

So had the ASV titration last night.i slept maybe four hours, but that was more than enough for them to get the data. While I was given the standard "results within 10 business days" spiel, the tech did say they got me to the point of no centrals, which is a big win in my book. And best of all they did it without using high pressures. Again they did not say what pressures, but I commented that I knew the ASV machines could easily reach 20 - 25 pressure, and she said I was not anywhere near there at the highest pressure. The pressure when I was awake actually seemed lighter than my current BiLevel, and it was a more natural and comfortable pattern. All in all I consider it great titration night and wished I would have done it a year ago when they first wanted me to. I look forward to getting the results and my shiny new machine!

Which ASV machine did they titrate you with?

Hi,

I don't know what kind it was. By the time they got it out and set up my glasses were off and I am blind as a bat without them. The tech said it was a older one as it had a humidifier, but not a heated humidifier.

The hospital sent the results to my Dr. yesterday, and I guess they warranted the ASV, as they ordered one from my DME yesterday afternoon. The DME then called me to schedule delivery, so next Wednesday I'll find out what kind of ASV machine I get. They also confirmed that I currently use a FFM as they say that ASV only works with FFM? Not a problem for me since I use one anyways, but I was surprised by that.

It's a common myth, even among professionals. The pressure changes mean you need a well-fitting mask, and high pressures mean nasal masks tend to leak out the mouth for many people. Or that's my view.

There's also old myths like "nasal pillows only work to 15cm" which even pros repeat which is ridiculous.

Mask2sleep wrote:... They also confirmed that I currently use a FFM as they say that ASV only works with FFM? Not a problem for me since I use one anyways, but I was surprised by that. ...

Though it does work with nasal pillows and even a nasal mask, if you require the full pressure of 25cm H2O to help sustain breathing, it's quite likely that most nasal interfaces (pillows and masks) simply will push that amount of pressure out through your mouth. It can work, but with the high variability of ASV therapy, it works more consistently with a full face mask than with a nasal mask or nasal pillows. While not quite an old wives tale, the dynamics of the pressure does tend to warrant the full face mask.

Thanks for the comments. I wish I knew what the pressures were, but they didn't send me the report and didn't tell me on the phone either. I guess i'll find out Wednesday. I know it certainly wasn't 25. I have been as high as 16 before and it wasn't even that high. At least while I was awake, it actually seemed lower than my previous prescribed pressure of 11 / 7, so it will be interesting to see what it is! ASV was certainly more comfortable than BiPAP.