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ASV Sleep Study
I had a sleep study on Wednesday, the 8th. It was a trial of ASV for me. I haven't been able to achieve an AHI even close to normal range and I have lingering, drug resistant depression, plus I'm on a laundry list of meds, some quite sedating so my doc ordered a trial of ASV. We started out with straight CPAP and at some point switched over to ASV. It was one of those nights I just did not, or at least felt like I didn't sleep. Part of that was once the ASV kicked in the pressure was all over the place and I was having lots of trouble with mask leaks at the higher pressures. I understand now how people wonder "did I sleep enough for the study?".
I have had the same tech for 4 sleep studies so I know him very well so I asked him the night before that if (in hindsight this makes no sense because of the nature of ASV) he thought I would be better off at another pressure than my CPAP 9.4 would he think about telling me. He said that if he did my doc could never know. But the next morning he said the ASV was all over the place so there was no one pressure he could recommend.
Even though I didn't sleep well that night I had the greatest sense of well being the next day that I have ever had on the machine. For the first time since starting CPAP I actually felt like a normal, non depressed person. Life was good. This was on one night's sleep, not even good sleep, with proper breathing.
I'll see the doc as soon as I can get an appointment to go over the results, but I sure hope I can at least do a longer trial of the ASV. It was very difficult to get used to- I never did in one night. I've been having insomnia and the changing pressure was distracting because of the mask leaks it caused. But, I felt so good the next day!
I'll post the results of the test when I see the doc.
Views: 2500
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ginny Edmundson on
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Looking forward to hearing more.....
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Permalink Reply by Terry Vella on
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Well done Mary, remember we are all in this for the long haul, so 3-6 months is no time compared to what you have been through. My depression has lifted as well and I should be off my antidepressant mid year which is about six months earlier than I expected. It's great that you are also off the Provigil, next thing you will be out training for a marathon lol.
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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope www.hope2Sleep.co.uk on
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That's great news for you too Terry, and more evidence that sleep deprivation is a major cause of depression, but most people don't realize they're sleep deprived when undiagnosed with OSA. Talking about marathon's one of my UK customers just contacted me to say she's running a marathon to raise funds for the British Lung Foundation's OSA Campaign.
Terry Vella said:Well done Mary, remember we are all in this for the long haul, so 3-6 months is no time compared to what you have been through. My depression has lifted as well and I should be off my antidepressant mid year which is about six months earlier than I expected. It's great that you are also off the Provigil, next thing you will be out training for a marathon lol.
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Thanks Kath, I could never come to terms with the fact that I had depression (not a male thing) I always had that foggy feeling which I call the 'fog of depression' but never felt sad, I'd always feel bad or sick but not sad. I don't know now whether I had depression or not but it doesn't really matter because I know I have SA and have a treatment for both. Depression like A talks on so many different forms and the are so many different symptoms, who knows? Mary and I have discussed before that you have to do a lot of this yourself and go with what your body and brain tell you. I worries me that some Dr's just want to prescribe meds to treat the symptoms but not the cure. I may now be very cynical but think alot is about money Sorry to highjack Mary's discussion.
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Permalink Reply by Mary Z on
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Terry, I think your post is relevant to the discussion. Depression is an insidious thing and we don't all have the classic feelings that indicate depression. I have had depression since I was a child and have never been able to completely get rid of it inspite of using the newest (most expensive, LOL.) and different combinations of drugs (I am actually bipolar, mostly depression). That's why I tried the ASV, to see if I could achieve truly restful sleep and see if that helped.
Discussions evolve into something that's helpful and pertinent to us.
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I knew Mary wouldn't mind you bringing this up Terry on this post and it's brave of you to tell people as so many men feel it's a sign of weakness, which it is not as depression can affect any person - male or female- and in so many different ways. I was like you...... not so much depressed, but I got very anxious and was plagued by panic attacks, which at one time ruled my life. I used to say to my GP, "why do I need anti-depressants when it's not depression?" I did have times of feeling 'down' but I knew it wasn't true depression, as I'd experienced that with my own mother - who incidentally never got diagnosed for sleep apnoea (even though she definitely had it, but we didn't know about it then).
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Kath and Mary, I'm on another website and in the Depression and Insomnia forums, I'm always suggesting sleep studies and sleep specialists as possible things to look at. I'm not sure how many take my advice but that's up to them, most don't want to go down the prescription meds track but do really know what the alternatives are. I was also like that until I found 'Dr Google' and did my own diagnosing.
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That's great to hear Terry, and hopefully you'll sow the seeds in peoples minds with your posts.
Sleep should be one of the first things to be asked when people complain of depression/anxiety. It's not easy though, as my own GP used to always ask how I was sleeping, and I used to tell him that I 'slept like a log' which is what I thought I did. I used to joke and say that I'm convinced if the alarm clock didn't wake me, I would sleep forever.
Dr Google's fantastic, as I found my husband's rare Swallow Syncope on there and he was rushed straight in for a pacemaker. He'd been to heart and other consultants for years and they could never find anything wrong. Now he can eat or drink anything without passing out or having a fit. We're a right pair we are - him having his heart stopping when eating or drinking and me stopping breathing 30 times an hour LOL.
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My wife and everyone told me to stop looking on the net but I was obsessed until I found out what was wrong with me and I'm glad I listened to myself. Will let you go now Kath, you should be going to sleep as it's 12.30am, I'm back at work after a weeks holiday and it's 9.30am here, have a good sleep.
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On my way now Terry. Good Night......
Terry Vella said:My wife and everyone told me to stop looking on the net but I was obsessed until I found out what was wrong with me and I'm glad I listened to myself. Will let you go now Kath, you should be going to sleep as it's 12.30am, I'm back at work after a weeks holiday and it's 9.30am here, have a good sleep.
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I know Terry, if you can separate the wheat from the chaf- and most of us are able to recognize reputable web sites and information- you can learn a lot from the web. It's good you are sowing the seeds of sleep apnea as a possible cause for depression and insomnia. So many people don't understand the critical need for a refreshing nights sleep or the importance of sleep hygiene in dealing with insomnia. I think part of the reason for this is that it requires a lot of work and if you're depressed and not getting good sleep it can seem overwhelming.
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