What's your pressure?

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Permalink Reply by Jackie on April 2, 2011 at 23:46

Thanks to everyone for the information - this is the 3rd time I have written this reply so please bear with me ... it just doesn't want to send and now I am so tired I cannot remember what on earth I was saying ...

perhaps in the morning ... perhaps ...

 

nite all

hugs Jacks xxx

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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on April 2, 2011 at 23:55

Aw poor you Jackie.  Hopefully, your tiredness will be a thing of the past once you get your treatment going properly :)

Jackie said:

Thanks to everyone for the information - this is the 3rd time I have written this reply so please bear with me ... it just doesn't want to send and now I am so tired I cannot remember what on earth I was saying ...

perhaps in the morning ... perhaps ...

 

nite all

hugs Jacks xxx

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Permalink Reply by Jackie on April 3, 2011 at 0:07

a  brain storm - some of it came into head  - Kath get to bed lol ! too late now ! me going in a feew minutes

 - once again thank you to everyone - I  will try to digest and try it.

A neighbour at the caravan site has given me a loan for one night an oxy meter. Plan is to take it to bed with a pen and paper and try it at intervals during the night and in the morning before I struggle out of bed.

reading at the moment is 95. ????



I will try to have a play with the machine to see the pressure, but am I getting the info right re the hosptial cannot tell if I am having episodes still????? How the heck do they know how the treatment is benefiting me?

I was having 69 episodes an hour prior to treatment and I know I feel better than I did, so it must be much less, but how much?

gonna scratch a worry spot at this rate lol !

The only info hospital give me is how many average hours I am using the machine.

will let you know tomorrow what readings I get.

hugs Jacks xxx

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 3, 2011 at 2:53

I can't believe you all aren't even allowed to know your AHIs. That's rough!

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Permalink Reply by Caveman on April 3, 2011 at 10:44

I'm googling the CMS-50F as I type (yea, sure) and thanks for the information.

 

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Permalink Reply by Jackie on April 3, 2011 at 10:52

good morning everyone

 

well, I was 97 getting into bed on the oxy and I do wake quite frequently so when lying there I remembered

some of the time to put it on ... I was awake for a while each time before doing it, so I don't know if this makes a difference or not

but readings were 95-97 each time.

So I guess this is good???

does this mean I am not having episodes or just didn't have any last night??

hugs Jacks xx

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Permalink Reply by Tigers Fan on April 3, 2011 at 11:33

Hi Jacks

 

95 -97% is good/OK and means you are alive and breathing, with oxygen being absorbed into your blood giving 95 - 97% saturation.

 

You have to wear the oximeter all night long! It records your saturation levels and pulse. Either the meter can show the results or you'll have to download the data to your PC - either way, the graphs tell you what happened. You're looking for saturation dips (de-sats) - how far and how long - and these correspond to events and, by a different definition, to apnoeas/hypopnoeas. The type of line in the graph tells you a lot. OSA gives a saw tooth line and good sleep has lots of straight lines, pulse not zooming about.

 

An easier test is this - if you regularly wake up tired after eight hours in bed, your therapy needs improving - often a pressure change in your machine.

 

TF

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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on April 3, 2011 at 13:22

It's not just the patients that don't know their AHI, the medics don't either as a lot of the time the prescribed machines aren't capable of telling them anything, other than amount of hours used and what pessure :(

RockHinkleRpsgt said:

I can't believe you all aren't even allowed to know your AHIs. That's rough!

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Permalink Reply by Tigers Fan on April 3, 2011 at 13:50

Ah! I thought that was just Southampton! The machines come up from Tech Dept set at 10cm and that is how they are dispensed (to the extent I am aware). Whenever I speak of AHI to the nurses I get a blank stare and a muttered, "That's not the measure we use". Ever since Nurse Ali went on Permanaent Maternity Leave (whatever that is!) it seems the clinic cannot set pressures because they don't know how.

 

TF

Kath Hope said:

It's not just the patients that don't know their AHI, the medics don't either as a lot of the time the prescribed machines aren't capable of telling them anything, other than amount of hours used and what pessure :(

RockHinkleRpsgt said:

I can't believe you all aren't even allowed to know your AHIs. That's rough!

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Permalink Reply by Kath Hope on April 4, 2011 at 21:27

Here's one of many articles explaining why it's not healthy to have oxygen drops during sleep, and why it's a good idea to check your levels:-

 

Sleep apnoea can significantly impair brain function. That is the findings of a study conducted at the University of New South Wales. It was published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. They did an analysis through a second-by-second timeframe. This analysis showed what's going on inside the brain of a sleep apnoea sufferer while asleep.

 

Professor Caroline Rae, lead author of the study, did this research with collaborators from the Sydney University's Woolcock Institute. They used magnetic resonance spectroscopy in studying the brain of 13 men who are suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea and are still untreated. The study revealed that even a moderate degree of oxygen desaturation while the patient is asleep has significant effects on the brain's bioenergetic status.

 

"This is happening in someone with sleep apnoea acutely and continually when they are asleep. It's a completely different biochemical mechanism from anything we've seen before and is similar to what you see in somebody who has had a very severe stroke or is dying," said Professor Rae. This concludes that lack of oxygen while asleep may be far more detrimental than when a person is awake. This is possible because the normal compensatory mechanisms don't operate fully when a person is asleep.

 

Sleep apnoea can have long term effects such as cardiovascular diseases, memory loss, diabetes and arrhythmia. It increases a person's chances of having stroke or heart attack. Sleep apnea is characterized by loud snoring and extended pauses in breathing during sleep. It is followed by snorts or gasps for air. Because of this the sufferer experiences fragmented and low quality sleep. It is caused by a physical blockage in the breathing passages. This blockage can make the sufferer drop oxygen levels thus affecting the brain and other body functions. Sleep apnea affects one out of four middle aged men, particularly those who are overweight. Sleep apnoea can also affect children. This raises the concern of children having long-term cognitive damage.

 

Children who are affected by sleep apnea are generally mistaken to be slow learners, lazy, and having poor memory. They have sudden behavior changes and easily get irritated. They are constantly tired in school and are often caught sleeping during lectures. This affects the child's school performance and confidence level. It affects their overall body and brain development. It also affects how they mingle with other children. However, children whose sleep apnoea has been treated showed significant improvement in their behavior and school performance. Children affected with sleep apnea at an early age puts them at an earlier risk of having heart related problems. That is why sleep apnoea needs to be treated as early as possible and as soon as clinically verified.

 

Given that sleep apnoea is a very common and detrimental breathing disorder, people's perception of snoring should change. Most people see snoring as something that is funny and can be joked about. When in fact, loud snoring is actually a major symptom of the sleep disorder of sleep apnoea. Efforts should be done not only to educate the sufferers but also the non-sufferers as well.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6112903

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on April 5, 2011 at 6:53

I gotta ask Tiger. What measure DO they USE?

Tigers Fan said:

Ah! I thought that was just Southampton! The machines come up from Tech Dept set at 10cm and that is how they are dispensed (to the extent I am aware). Whenever I speak of AHI to the nurses I get a blank stare and a muttered, "That's not the measure we use". Ever since Nurse Ali went on Permanaent Maternity Leave (whatever that is!) it seems the clinic cannot set pressures because they don't know how.

 

TF

Kath Hope said:

It's not just the patients that don't know their AHI, the medics don't either as a lot of the time the prescribed machines aren't capable of telling them anything, other than amount of hours used and what pessure :(

RockHinkleRpsgt said:

I can't believe you all aren't even allowed to know your AHIs. That's rough!

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Permalink Reply by Tigers Fan on April 5, 2011 at 9:39

Hi Rock

 

They have claimed to me to use oxygen desats, but had head lowered and eyes down - the only time I used an oximeter for them was at my sleep study (AV plus oximeter). What they actually use are two very scientific questions - "How do you feel?" and "Have you stopped snoring?/Do you still snore?" Whatever the answer, the responses seems to be the same - "Oh - that's good!" or "Well, give it a bit longer while you get used to it."

 

Their waiting lists meet Government targets, none of the people who attend have died or been killed, they all are four hour compliant (I expect) - what more do you want, this is an excellent service - and they have a certificate to prove it!

 

TF

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