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Diagnosed with Central Sleep Apnea (CSA)? How's therapy going?
Sleep Health | Last Active: Mar 18, 2023 | Replies (22)Comment receiving replies
Hello @cyrusmanz, Welcome to Connect. It's good to hear your Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) treatment with an ASV BiPAP machine is working well for you. I have obstructive sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine so I can definitely relate to being woke up when the pressure would get too high due to issue with my breathing and my CPAP mask. I haven't had that trouble for a long time but I am still on the lookout for a better type of mask to help with my sleep apnea.
@gramps, @gamesjr, @tiss, @mstara, @peetiepie and @jeepguy2012 have discussed central sleep apnea in other discussions and may be able to share their treatment experience with you. Mayo Clinic has some information on diagnosis and treatment of Central Sleep Apnea here - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/central-sleep-apnea/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352114.
The Mayo Clinic site mentions that some people with CSA have underlying condtions that may be partly causing the CSA. Treating the underlying conditions can help reduce the CSA symptoms. Are you able to share any more about your diagnosis or why the ASV was chosen over the CPAP device?
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Thank you.
Yes, well, I think I fall under the so called "idiopathic" classification where no definitive cause for my CSA has been established as of yet, anyway.
That said my understanding is that CSA is still under study and although some links have been established by observation, no definitive causes have been established as of yet, in scientific terms anyway.
For example a link between the use of opiates and CSA has been observed but not yet established in a scientific study (some people can use opiates regularly and not develop CSA, for example).
Another observation is a link between long term use of CPAP for the treatment of OSA which in a large group of patients has led to the development of CSA but again not a definitive conclusion.
In my case I was having a rough time getting uninterrupted sleep for a long time and eventually this led to bursts of anxiety and at that point I decided that enough was enough and sought treatment through my physician who in turn referred me to a sleep specialist.
I was subsequently diagnosed with severe CSA last year after 2 polysomnography studies which showed an average AHI of >56, with => 90% CSA events.
I however believe that I have had CSA for far longer, dating back to my childhood when my slow breathing used to scare Summer Camp staff who would nudge me up from sleep just to make sure I was still alive:-). Those were the days that sleep apnea itself wasn't even a thing yet, let alone CSA.
At a median of only 9 b/min, my breathing rate is naturally far slower than the average 12-15 b/min, sometimes fluctuating between as low as 7 b/min to as high as 13 b/min , according to my sleep data which I use OSCAR CPAP software to examine ( Open Source Clinical Application Resource for CPAP use) .
My Oxygen Sat levels (SpO2) can drop as low as 82% without a machine (according to both my polysomnography studies and my own experiements with an oximeter) and at 61 if I had gone on without diagnosis, I would have definitely developed cardiac issues as side-effects of CSA, most likely leading to early morbidity.
I am currently waiting for an Angiogram to find the extent of damage (if any) that my undiagnosed CSA has caused over the years. So keeping my fingers crossed.
Anyway, that's my story in a nutshell .
Many thanks for your response which I'll be sure to follow up.
C.M.