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New Pressure? Hypopnea? Saturation levels??
I went for a re-evaluation and the pressure is being changed from 6 to 14 !!! Granted, it has been almost 5 years since I was last evaluated. I wonder if it is normal to have such a jump in pressure. Anyone ever get an increase that big? Also guess I should have asked, but I did not, what exactly is oxygen deprivation and saturation levels? And does anyone know what a good level is and what a bad or low level is? Can anyone tell me what hypopnea is?
Follow-up 1
Has your weight changed much up or down since your last titration? Perhaps the original titration was way off...That is a major jump in pressure; a couple of cm. either way seems more common. Regarding Hypopneas, they seem to be shallow or incomplete breath attempts whereas an apnea is a non or failed breath attempt.
Follow-up 2
A laserlight shown through a finger,toe,ear etc will detect the amount of hemoglobin that is carrying oxygen with the amount that is NOT. Young, healthy people migth go as low as 98percent, but most measurements are simply 90 or above, or else below 90. IF below 90, this is considered medically significant. Even at a routine screening if sometested at less than 90 a paramedic would probably be called. Below 70, the sensors are a bit less accurate. But then below 70 is a rather severe condition. Hemoglobin exists to carry oxygen from lungs to cells throughout the body. If a patient inhales carbon monoxide, the hemoglobin will be VERY much more likely to latch on to the CO rather than the oxygen and VERY reluctant to let go of it. Therefore saturation levels would be low. Same with apnea, levels would be low because there is no air getting into the lungs and therefore no oxygen is getting into the bloodstream. A series of brief 'no breathing' usually due to tongue occluding the airway will send blood pressure soaring, if prolonged, it will awaken the patient, the 'damage' is caused by not only the high blood pressure making eventual strokes possible, but also by the poor quality of the sleep, the sleep interruptions, and particularly the LOW OXYGEN levels. Cells need oxygen, there are even 'cerebral oxygen monitors' in hospitals to detect low brain oxygen promplty. Young men suffer a greater damage than do older men.
Follow-up 3
I really feel the Polysomnography Report I received after my first sleep study was difficut to interpret so I can relate to your questions. I asked for explanations but so much information was flying back and forth that I had difficulty keeping it all straight. My report says I have severe sleep apnea in excess of 1 event per minute with events longer than 50 seconds. Oxygen desaturations into the severe range reaching a low of 63%. Persistent hypoventilation with SA O2 lows in the 80% to 85% range. THEN it says my sleep was characterized as being of "average depth and quality." Elsewhere in the report it noted that "sleep was characterized subjectively as deep and of good refreshing quality." Go figure!! After reading Don Bradley's post, I'm wondering if I was sleepin' deeply or almost "daid"....ROFL!! Sheesh...I guess my point is that perhaps it's a good idea to ask for copies of all reports - they can come in handy after the fact. It's also helpful to be able to compare reports if you have additional studies. My sister began CPAP therapy, almost ten years ago, at 7 cm...she had her second sleep study a few months ago and her pressure was boosted to 11...not as dramatic as your jump but she's yo-yo'd weightwise for years and in menopause (oops...if she reads this I'm in BIG trouble!!)...the combination could account for the jump. Someone along the way told me that post-menopausal women are being diagnosed in greater numbers regardless of their weight. Given the fact that *The Change* (do I hear The Twilight Zone theme playing in the background??) results in loss of muscle tone - which could affect the throat, tongue, etc. - I can certainly see a correlation. Food for thought. :)
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