CPAP & ASV Apnea machine Questions Regarding Accuracy

Posted by inquirer2 @inquirer2, Jun 14 9:16pm

I have complex sleep apnea with both central & obstructive features. There is also Cheyne-Stokes respiration. I have used both CPAP & ASV apnea machines.

One night while using my CPAP apnea machine I couldn’t fall asleep & lay awake for about 6 hours. During that time I didn’t notice any changes in my breathing. No pauses, no slowing down or stopping of my breathing yet the reading on my apnea machine indicated that I had 29.6 apneas per hour. I know for sure I didn’t sleep so how can this be?

There are other nights when I had between 40 and 50 apneas per hour, yet upon awakening, I felt I had a good sleep.

I am wondering if these apnea machines are really giving an accurate reading. Has anyone else had this experience?

The reason I am asking this question is because my doctor has recommended that I buy an ASV apnea machine which costs $5,765.00. A lot of money for me. I hate to spend this amount of money if I don’t really need it.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.

My machine, well two now, both RESMED, have been exceptional. They routinely show that I have anywhere from 0.0-1.5 AHI. That's a fair range considering my month-over-month average for seven years going has been 0.5 events/hr. But it's not like 2-15 events which would suggest non-treatment to me.

I fear you may have one of two things going on...that I can think of: you are actually drifting into light sleep more than you realize, and you are not being treated well at your current settings. This from the high numbers. Or, your machine is on the fritz and may need servicing.

Lastly, if you are not already there, please consider joining an superior forum and resource site, apneaboard.com. There is no cost, and they provide an excellent freeware that you can download to a PC and then use your machine's SIM to download data into that program after you have established a profile. At the top of the site's main forum page, in the black marquee, toward the center-right, see OSCAR. That's it. Also, post with a description of your circumstances. There's a good chance you'll soon get several highly educated replies.

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I recently had another sleep study at an overnight sleep center. I was comfortable but would swear I DID NOT fall asleep. I tossed and turned as much as as possible while being hooked up. When the tech came in at 6 AM to "wake" me up I said I felt like I barely slept and she said "oh you did - you had a good night's sleep." I was shocked. This is in contrast to my very first sleep study 10years ago at a sleep center when they sent me home at 3 AM stating I wasn't sleeping so I might as well go home and I had to do it all over again with a sleeping pill of some sort on another night.

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That's very interesting. Are you presently using a CPAP or any other type of apnea machine? If so, what type are you using, and do you feel it is helping you sleep better than when you were not using one?

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Has anyone been using Ativan for anxiety and sleep? Has it worked for you

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What do you do when you can’t sleep all night

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@inquirer2

That's very interesting. Are you presently using a CPAP or any other type of apnea machine? If so, what type are you using, and do you feel it is helping you sleep better than when you were not using one?

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I use a CPAP and find that I do sleep much better using it. It works great and it brings me comfort.

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I was having 20-30 events per hour.
Used CPAP for a few months. Still 20-30 per hour plus now Cheyes Stokes breathing erupted.
Finally was titrated at a sleep clinic for an ASV machine on my 4th sleep clinic.
1st night events were under 5. The asv machine is amazing but it goes crazy trying to predict things and causes the upper pressure to change quickly. My pressure settings were high (15 and up to 24), so it tended to lead to a lot leaking and noises that woke my wife.'
The biggest problem is that the they (the sleep tech and drs) rely on software to analyze the result they get. On complex cases, like you might be, I think they get bad results.
I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with myself. Movements and motion can sometimes give bad results if not analysed correctly.
I've had 4 complete sleep studies in a clinic and doubt I slept much.
My usual sleep time is from about 2am to about 8 or 9 next morning.
The clinics run from 10 pm and stop at 5 am. So, what are they really measuring?
Before they give or tell you to get a machine they should Titrate you and KNOW whether it will work. They had to do my last sleep study to prove to the insurance that the ASV machine would work for me. So far, the ASV machine does get the Events per hour down to a reasonable number, but I'm not sure it really keeps my Oxygen level as high as it should be.
Don't buy a machine with your own money unless they can prove it works for your particular problem.

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@drwass2

I was having 20-30 events per hour.
Used CPAP for a few months. Still 20-30 per hour plus now Cheyes Stokes breathing erupted.
Finally was titrated at a sleep clinic for an ASV machine on my 4th sleep clinic.
1st night events were under 5. The asv machine is amazing but it goes crazy trying to predict things and causes the upper pressure to change quickly. My pressure settings were high (15 and up to 24), so it tended to lead to a lot leaking and noises that woke my wife.'
The biggest problem is that the they (the sleep tech and drs) rely on software to analyze the result they get. On complex cases, like you might be, I think they get bad results.
I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with myself. Movements and motion can sometimes give bad results if not analysed correctly.
I've had 4 complete sleep studies in a clinic and doubt I slept much.
My usual sleep time is from about 2am to about 8 or 9 next morning.
The clinics run from 10 pm and stop at 5 am. So, what are they really measuring?
Before they give or tell you to get a machine they should Titrate you and KNOW whether it will work. They had to do my last sleep study to prove to the insurance that the ASV machine would work for me. So far, the ASV machine does get the Events per hour down to a reasonable number, but I'm not sure it really keeps my Oxygen level as high as it should be.
Don't buy a machine with your own money unless they can prove it works for your particular problem.

Jump to this post

The stages of sleep cycle in roughly 90 minutes (1 hr and 30 min), at which another cycle commences. If you slept 3 hours, which you seem to suggest, then you had up to two REM cycles. That's long enough to establish the extent and type of OSA/CSA/Complex, and then to titrate you. The insurance and medical communities have agreed that an AHI of < 5.0 is deemed to be 'treated.'

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