I was having issues a few months ago, stopping breathing. I'm on BIPAP. But I was also having some weird very strange anxiety at night, trying to get to sleep. I would fall asleep, and a minute later wake up. I looked at my BIPAP logs using a free software called SleepyHead. It showed I was having Central Apneas when trying to get to sleep. My sleep doctor said that if it is just a few at the beginning of sleep, that is normal. Because your body is transitioning to sleep and has to switch to autonomic breathing.

I bought a Contec SpO2 watch sensor, to record my heart rate and oxygen levels. It was showing my oxygen levels dropping to low 80's, and I would have a central apnea episodes for 10-20seconds each. Several in a row. I had my watch alarm me to wake me up if my oxygen dropped. This drove me insane and induced anxiety in me. I had extreme anxiety trying to get to sleep.

I eventually found that I had blood clots in my lungs. DVT/PE which was one reason for oxygen dropping. When in the hospital they started me on blood thinners. After recovering from that and being on blood thinners, it has helped to resolve a lot of my issues.

If you have a lot of Central Apnea's that continue to happen, you may need another sleep test or a different BIPAP machine that has a backup rate, that will help force you to breathe and take a breath. The basic BIPAP machines do not have this feature. If you quit breathing, they will do nothing to help you breathe.

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