"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."
- Mark Twain (American Author - 1835-1910)
One of the key Secrets to Success using a sleep apnea machine was to change from using
a CPAP machine to using a Bilevel auto adjusting pressure machine. On this Blog
Page, I will compare my results in an actual CPAP Vs Bilevel or BiPAP Settings Example and
SleepyHead reports.
From my personal experience, it is much easier to breathe using a
Bilevel or BiPAP Auto Adjusting machine than using a CPAP fixed or Auto Adjusting CPAP
machine. The Bilevel machine is very smooth and it is a natural feeling when
breathing. Your breathing can be in sync with the machine. From my experience,
the Bilevel or BiPAP Auto Adjusting machine offers better comfort, compliance, therapy
and sleep quality.
The
improvement using Bilevel as compared to CPAP is shown using SleepyHead reports
and my actual sleep results. These reports will show a large reduction of 22.1%
in median/ average IPAP/ EPAP pressure (inhale/ exhale pressure) and 13.1% in median
Minute Ventilation achieved by using a Bilevel Auto Adjusting machine when
compared to a CPAP machine. Minute Ventilation is the total volume of air entering
the lungs in a minute. Its two components are your breathing/ respiratory rate
(RR) and volume of air/ tidal volume (TV) that you are breathing in.
Note that the
AHI is 1.24 and the AHI is the same on both the Bilevel Auto and CPAP machines.
Other people may achieve much higher reductions.
By having an
AHI of 1.5 or lower and reducing the median/ average IPAP/EPAP pressure and
median Minute Ventilation, I was able to overcome an extensive list of side effects and issues caused by the sleep apnea machine. These side effects and issues included insomnia, weight gain and central sleep apnea. By overcoming all these side
effects and issues, I was able to achieve success by having a great night’s
sleep every night!
The SleepyHead
reports are half a page below the Example.
Since originally writing this
blog post, in early 2021 I began using a very high starting IPAP of 18.2 cmH2O
and EPAP of 13.0 cmH2O (inhale and exhale pressure). Ideal Body Weight (IBW) or Predicted Body Weight (PBW) was used in setting the median Tidal Volume and
Minute Ventilation. This was essential to stop hypoxia (oxygen desaturation)
and sleep disordered breathing causing the symptoms of Dementia. More details
are on the blog post:
Due to long COVID and bad flu from the second half of 2022 to 2023, I had to increase the starting IPAP to 21.8 cmH2O and EPAP to 16.6 cmH2O. Pressure support (fixed) of 5.2 cmH2O is being used. Top inhale pressure goes to nearly 23.0 cmH2O. These illnesses lead to the symptoms of dementia previously overcome to reoccur due to hypoxia (oxygen desaturation) and sleep disordered breathing. ZERO Minute Ventilation, Respiratory/ Breathing rate and Tidal Volume occurred during what I believe is the critical REM sleep period of 4 to 5 hours of sleep.
More details are at:
Stop Insomnia, Hypoxia, REM sleep issues causing Alzheimer's: Use BiPAP
In addition, I have what seem to be the early symptoms of bulbar onset ALS or motor neuron disease (MND) including faint speech, difficulty in swallowing and mucus or phlegm in the upper airway. I am still using a ResMed Bilevel or BiPAP auto adjusting pressure machine which is doing a great job in keeping me refreshed and energized each day!
Note that a CPAP machine will not be able to use the settings above as the maximum inhale pressure is limited to 20.0 cmH2O and the maximum pressure support is 3.0 cmH2O. This is clearly a limitation of using a CPAP machine when it comes to treating a neurodegenerative disorder including Alzheimer's Dementia, Parkinson's disease and ALS or motor neuron disease.
Should you be
having side effects and issues with your sleep apnea therapy; CHANGE what you are doing so that you can wake up feeling refreshed
and energized each day.
“Have courage. Be adventurous
and Go for it! Overcome your fear.”
- Mrhelpful
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