Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mary Z on March 14, 2012 at 7:21pm

Kevin, this is a little off topic, but AUTO machines are not "bad".  They can  work very well for those who understand how to use them.  Sometimes they are used for titration of a patient at home.   They are not for someone who does not have a good knowledge base and understanding of how to use them effectively ( if to self titrate).  But then no one should self titrate until they know and understand their prescription and the basics of how 'PAP works.

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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope www.hope2Sleep.co.uk on March 14, 2012 at 7:40pm

I agree Mary.  Whilst CPAP works better for me, I now 100's of people which APAP suits better.  What works for one doesn't always work for another - same with masks and everything.

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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on March 14, 2012 at 10:19pm

I actually had 2 machines before I purchased the Resmed S8 Autoset. The earlier machines were not autosets. The sleep doc gave the range of settings to the DME  to set before I received the Resmed S8 Autoset.

That is what one of my questions is about. They said my settings should be changed to 9-11. Well, that is what my settings currently are...so we have a communication problem.

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Permalink Reply by Terry Vella on March 14, 2012 at 11:23pm

BeeAsleep, I use the Resmed S9 Autoset and think it's great. I started out using it as straight continuous but found it I woke me up and at 10 seemed to much. The good thing is I can change backwards and forwards if I want too but my Sleep Dr has to change my settings. I don't know how to change them anyway but if I did change them he would kill me, lol. The read out tells when anything has been changed like pressure, ramp etc. Mine is set from 4-12 but 95% of the time I'm under 12. I find it a lot better starting at 4 in ramp than 10 in ramp.

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Permalink Reply by Diane on March 15, 2012 at 10:57pm

I'm thin, so when I went to Mount Sinai in NYC and told the sleep doctor I thought I had apnea she rolled her eyes.  As if the only variable was weight. If anyone should have known better it was her.  But anyway, she tested me and realized she was wrong. I don't know why I felt compelled to say that, but there it is... Skinny jeans ARE good, bee.  You go, grrl!

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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on March 15, 2012 at 11:12pm

Diane, You are right, it is good to know that sleep apnea can be a problem for anyone no matter how big, little or in between.  I do enjoy not having all the extra flesh to carry around with me each day, my knees and feet do as well. :>D

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Permalink Reply by Ginny Edmundson on March 16, 2012 at 10:56am

I know, people (eve doctors) have said to me that "you don't look like you should have apnea".  :)

Diane said:

I'm thin, so when I went to Mount Sinai in NYC and told the sleep doctor I thought I had apnea she rolled her eyes.  As if the only variable was weight. If anyone should have known better it was her.  But anyway, she tested me and realized she was wrong. I don't know why I felt compelled to say that, but there it is... Skinny jeans ARE good, bee.  You go, grrl!

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Permalink Reply by Bob Plugh on March 20, 2012 at 12:37am

During the day you are not typically LYING DOWN in a state of relaxation.  xPAP REALLY is just like a crutch that you can never wean yourself from.  For you to say that "in our sleep the muscles lose tone" just shows that you don't even understand what "tone" is!  Muscle tone is NOT something you "lose" in one night or gain back when you wake up!!!

Another thing the xPAP does is actually TRAIN your muscles and brain that it doesn't HAVE to work to keep your airway open when you are unconscious.  So, it not only hurts muscle tone, it is actually TRAINING your brain, after all, the brain learns and adapts to new situations and input...  Run this buy a REAL doctor - not some sleep doc that makes their living from this, try a research physiologist - an MD, preferably a neurologist with a PhD and some good research in the area!

Mary Z said:

Bob,  if it were true that CPAP made your muscles lose tone you would begin to need CPAP during the day.  You need CPAP at night because in our sleep the muscles lose tone.  We ordinarily are  not  able to stop CPAP because it doesn't give the muscles "tone", but splints open the airway.  If you take away the CPAP for a night of course the sleep apnea returns.

The tongue and throat muscles continue to function just fine during the day.

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Permalink Reply by 99 on March 20, 2012 at 5:37pm

 Run this buy a REAL doctor - not some sleep doc that makes their living from this, try a research physiologist - an MD, preferably a neurologist with a PhD and some good research in the area!

is this what you have done

please enlighten us as we all want to know

Bob Plugh said:

During the day you are not typically LYING DOWN in a state of relaxation.  xPAP REALLY is just like a crutch that you can never wean yourself from.  For you to say that "in our sleep the muscles lose tone" just shows that you don't even understand what "tone" is!  Muscle tone is NOT something you "lose" in one night or gain back when you wake up!!!

Another thing the xPAP does is actually TRAIN your muscles and brain that it doesn't HAVE to work to keep your airway open when you are unconscious.  So, it not only hurts muscle tone, it is actually TRAINING your brain, after all, the brain learns and adapts to new situations and input...  Run this buy a REAL doctor - not some sleep doc that makes their living from this, try a research physiologist - an MD, preferably a neurologist with a PhD and some good research in the area!

Mary Z said:

Bob,  if it were true that CPAP made your muscles lose tone you would begin to need CPAP during the day.  You need CPAP at night because in our sleep the muscles lose tone.  We ordinarily are  not  able to stop CPAP because it doesn't give the muscles "tone", but splints open the airway.  If you take away the CPAP for a night of course the sleep apnea returns.

The tongue and throat muscles continue to function just fine during the day.

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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on March 20, 2012 at 5:42pm

I have a doc appt on Friday. After my appointment I will let you all know. Thanks so much for all your feedback and help. It could just be that I have swollen tonsils...we will see. bee

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Permalink Reply by Clueless in Redwood Shores on March 21, 2012 at 12:22am

Hello Bee,

On my last visit. my doc noticed that I had almost a nil AI and an AHI that was consistently 4 or 5 points higher than the AI. To paraphrase his speculation, too high a pressure causes you to fight the machine in your sleep, an event that the Resmed machine (I use an S9 Auto) is recording as a central apnea.  He reduced the pressure a bit, on the next visit I'll suggest he drop it even more (the same pattern still persists in the data)  May have nothing to do with your situation but it was helpful to me to drop the pressure a bit, even though I still have more Central (phantom or not); the AHI is consistently five or lower so I don't lose sleep over that -- (pun intended; plenty of other reasons I do lose sleep).

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Permalink Reply by Terry Vella on March 21, 2012 at 12:38am

Clueless in Redwood Shores, can I ask what your pressure ranges are? I also use the Resmed Auto and get similar recordings, my AHI's are around 5 and 80% of those are central's with 20% obstructive. I was advised that the centrals probably arn't really centrals but moving or coughing etc. I seem to wake around 4.00am -5.00am each morning occassionally fighting the machine like you said. I'm on 4-12 pressure and have been using it for about 9 months. I was thinking about dropping to 11 and see if there is any difference. I love my CPAP and are just trying to get that final tweak. I'm getting between 6-7 hours quality sleep which is great compared to the 1-2 hours non quality sleep I used to get. Would love to get to around 7.5 per night or 5 sleep cycles, that my latest goal.

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