2 months in and have some more questions - UPDATED WITH A NEW QUESTION

[Berks]

OK - Hopefully I did this right... Here are the last 4 nights for me.

3_6_18


3_5_18


3_4_18


3_3_18

[Pugsy]

You are using the for Her mode...and it scores the Flow Limitations a little more aggressively. Yours aren't bad at all even with being scored aggressively.

Why the wake ups? Any idea?

[Berks]

well thats good to hear.

I'm not sure. I know I wake up for the day earlier than I would if I didn't have a toddler and once in a while when my kid doesn't sleep through the night he wakes me up but I'm not worried about those obviously because that's just a reality of the stage of life I'm in. And will only get worse before it gets better when I have another. It's the wakes up I experience when both my husband and son are sleeping soundly that I'm at a loss. If you don't think it's related at all to APAP then I'll start to pay more attention to other factors.

Do you see anything in my data that I should be paying more attention to?

[Pugsy]

I don't see anything on your reports just standing up screaming "fix me". You look good on paper anyway.
Your range of pressures is actually fairly small..it's not like it going to 16 cm and 16 cm causes you to wake up.
Your Leak line is to die for near perfectly flat line at 0....so unless small leaks not big enough to show up much on the leak graph are waking you up then I don't see leaks being a problem.

Maybe start looking at other factors ...meds...pets...pain...and of course the child. Sometimes mom's tend to sleep "light" and the least little thing wakes us up and we can't really put a finger on it. Especially with small children I think.

Overall your reports look pretty darn good. I wouldn't change anything in terms of the settings because I don't see the need to.

If you are having much nasal congestion...maybe try to deal with that side of things. I know that when I am congested I don't sleep well at all. I need my nose to breathe.

[Berks]

the mom light sleeper thing is definitely true and something I can't ignore. I'll try to be more congizant of other factors and continue to monitor my data to make sure there isn't anything that comes up that's abnormal. And I definitely need to work on my daytime dryness and inflamation. Just ordered some saline spray....

Thank you so so so much for all of your help today!!

[Berks]

Another question because waking once or twice every hour with no obvious cause is bugging me...

The respiratory rate. Is that breaths per minute? Cause looks like I'm consistently 20-40. Isn't normal 12-20??

[Berks]

Here's the overview of my Respiratory Rate...

Over the last 53 days it seems I have a min: 0, med: 20.4, 95%: 23.80, and Max:50

Does that seem unusually high? I've noticed that when I am having wake ups I feel like I'm breathing fast. And I've notice quicker and more shallow breaths during the day lately as well. What could be causing that? What would a high respiration rate mean?

[Berks]

So an updated question....

I saw my ENT today to check on a few things. There's nothing physically going on in my nasal passages or airway to cause my breathing problems. (and my chest x-ray was clear).

The ENT said (admitting he's not a sleep specialist) that perhaps there's a chance that my brain and body are getting so used to the pressure at night that during the day I'm getting the sensation of not getting enough air in even if I am. Like the air is there and I am actually breathing enough oxygen but I'm getting the sensation it's not enough air without the APAP.

I that a thing?? Does that happen to people? Or does he not know what he's talking about?

[palerider]

So an updated question....

I saw my ENT today to check on a few things. There's nothing physically going on in my nasal passages or airway to cause my breathing problems. (and my chest x-ray was clear).

The ENT said (admitting he's not a sleep specialist) that perhaps there's a chance that my brain and body are getting so used to the pressure at night that during the day I'm getting the sensation of not getting enough air in even if I am. Like the air is there and I am actually breathing enough oxygen but I'm getting the sensation it's not enough air without the APAP.

I that a thing?? Does that happen to people? Or does he not know what he's talking about?

I don't know what YOU'RE talking about...

[Berks]

Sorry... Hope this helps.

Since starting APAP I've been having trouble breathing during the day. Feeling like I'm not getting enough air, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, etc. Chest x-ray is clear and nasal passages and airway seem fine. No other obvious indication of a physical problem. Could be anxiety but it's presenting in a way I've never experienced in the past with regard to anxiety.

Could my therapy be causing that somehow? Could my body/mind think it's not getting enough air with normal breathing because it's now used to the help of the my APAP Machine? Is that a thing that has been known to happen to people?

[palerider]

Sorry... Hope this helps.

Since starting APAP I've been having trouble breathing during the day. Feeling like I'm not getting enough air, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, etc. Chest x-ray is clear and nasal passages and airway seem fine. No other obvious indication of a physical problem. Could be anxiety but it's presenting in a way I've never experienced in the past with regard to anxiety.

Could my therapy be causing that somehow? Could my body/mind think it's not getting enough air with normal breathing because it's now used to the help of the my APAP Machine? Is that a thing that has been known to happen to people?

I've never heard of anything like that.

[Mikebear]

Sorry... Hope this helps.

Since starting APAP I've been having trouble breathing during the day. Feeling like I'm not getting enough air, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, etc. Chest x-ray is clear and nasal passages and airway seem fine. No other obvious indication of a physical problem. Could be anxiety but it's presenting in a way I've never experienced in the past with regard to anxiety.

Could my therapy be causing that somehow? Could my body/mind think it's not getting enough air with normal breathing because it's now used to the help of the my APAP Machine? Is that a thing that has been known to happen to people?

Yep, I have that issue at times during the day. It's called "Exertional Dyspnea", and is usually caused in people that have asthma, but CAN be caused by anxiety. In my case, I have both asthma and the chronic bronchitis form of COPD. Usually when this issue affects me, it's due to my not realizing that I have been breathing WAY too shallowly during a short time period. It can go into a full-blown panic attack, and it's NOT something I like happening. When it happens, you need to consciously slow your breathing down, and take much deeper breaths.

I haven't looked at your charts, but perhaps your cpap pressure is a bit high, and your lungs are overworking at night against a slightly too high pressure.

[Berks]

I've never heard of anything like that.

Good to hear Thanks for responding!

Yep, I have that issue at times during the day. It's called "Exertional Dyspnea", and is usually caused in people that have asthma, but CAN be caused by anxiety. In my case, I have both asthma and the chronic bronchitis form of COPD. Usually when this issue affects me, it's due to my not realizing that I have been breathing WAY too shallowly during a short time period. It can go into a full-blown panic attack, and it's NOT something I like happening. When it happens, you need to consciously slow your breathing down, and take much deeper breaths.

I haven't looked at your charts, but perhaps your cpap pressure is a bit high, and your lungs are overworking at night against a slightly too high pressure.

My PCP prescribed me an inhaler to see if that helps at all. I'm guessing I've either developed some asthma like symptoms or it's anxiety. There doesn't appear to be another explanation. So I'm also going to work on the mental health / mindful breathing side of things as well.

My pressure settings are 5-15 but my SH data shows I never go above 10. I spend the majority of my nights in the 7s and 8s. From what I understand that isn't high enough of a pressure to be causing what you're suggesting but what do I know? I'm totally new to this so maybe I'm wrong. I'll also give a call to the sleep clinic and check in with them to see if they have any insight.