I am a long time lurker on this forum but have never had a reason to actually post myself, before now. First, let me start off by giving a little bit of background on my sleep journey thus far. I am 30 year old male, 5' 8" and weigh 145 lbs. Since I was a teenager, I have suffered from severe insomnia. I used to routinely go to bed at 4 am (as you'll see, I still do), wake up at 7 for school and STILL not be tired the next night. This went on for so long that my primary care prescribed me Ambien for 5 years, until I finally stopped around 21 years old when I switched PCP's. My new PCP was aghast at the thought of a teenager with a developing brain being prescribed such a strong medication for so many years. Needless to say, I got my first sleep study when I was about 23 years old. Like any person in their early 20's, I couldn't be bothered to go to a follow up appointment at the time to discuss my results
A couple of years later, I finally decided to call up the sleep center and request a copy of my results. The first one was uneventful, other than the fact that I had 150 arousals (Index = 28.2), 53 RERA's (Index = 10), and 1 OSA event, but I never fell below 93% oxygen saturation. Nonetheless, they still diagnosed me with obstructive sleep apnea. Fast forward to 2017, when I move out of state and my NEW primary care sends me for a second sleep study with CPAP titration. I took a single Benadryl to help sleep that night but still only got 2 hours and 20 minutes of sleep (the sleep center was wild). In that short time, at a pressure of 7 cm H2O, I had an AHI of 71.8 with O2 as low as 78%!! Overall, they determined that I was intolerant to CPAP for whatever reason and recommended a follow up with BiPAP titration. Two months later, I go for another sleep study using BiPAP with a FFM. I end that study, having had an AHI of 0 and only two RERA's at a final pressure of 12 IPAP/7 EPAP. The comments also said "since the patient has some remaining snoring events, BPAP pressure of 13/9 cm of water may be more optimal."
After I started treatment, I was still noticing fatigue the next day even after sleeping 7-8 hours. I will admit, that I was VERY inconsistent with my treatment, partially due to my perceived lack of benefits. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and take the mask off, or not wear it at all. I am now at a point in my life where I have taken my health much more seriously the last few years and feel as though quality sleep is the missing link. Since my early 20's, I've been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (which causes me substantial pain at night) as well as a torn labrum of the shoulder (which causes me to toss and turn A LOT). I'm not sure if either of these conditions have anything to do with my terrible sleep or not. Anyway, I finally decided to download and upload my 3 years worth of data into OSCAR and was concerned with what I saw. From the day I took the machine home until now, my AHI's seem out of control. I typically have an AHI of between 20-30, sometimes 40 and I've NEVER seen a pretty AHI # <1 like many users on here. In addition, the type of apnea's OSCAR is showing are predominately Clear Airway apnea's that scarily resemble Cheyne-Stokes respirations. After doing some major reading on the forums over the last week, I decided to make some changes in the clinical menu of my machine and set it to VAuto. I don't necessarily feel comfortable having done this without the recommendation of those who are more knowledgeable but I also don't have a Dr. to consult right now unfortunately. Since I've tweaked the settings, I've noticed a drop in my overall AHI score but am still having the CA apneas with the Cheyne-Stokes respirations. OSCAR is not labeling them as such but I'm concerned at the thought nonetheless. Here is an example from last week when the machine was set for (12 IPAP/7 EPAP) and another from this week set on VAuto (5-15, PS = 4). What do you guys think? ANY input would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry for the long drawn out post. I just don't want to miss any important pieces!
TL;DR
I am concerned that I'm having central apnea's and Cheyne-Stokes Respirations.
Go with what Pugsy said.