SLEEP APNEA
IF YOU'RE TIRED OR HAZY, SEE IF YOU HAVE IT!


Note:  Sleep apnea may cause daytime drowsiness, which will increase one's likelihood of having accidents!
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When the body goes into REM (rapid eye movement), Stage 4 sleep, muscles lose their tone and are unable to react.  If they did react, you would be running out of bed in your dreams.

The purpose of REM sleep is to consolidate (and make a bit of sense out of the day) your experiences and to sort memories and process some things into memory.  (If a person learns, say 1/5 of something that takes 5 hours to learn, each day, that 1/5 will be consolidated into memory much more solidly than if the person does all 5 hours in one day!)

When the muscle tone is lost, there may be a collapse (in a sense) of the opening for air in the throat.  When it closes, the body senses it needs air and wakes us up so that we recover the ability to use those muscles so that we can again breathe!    We can awaken as much as 30 - 100 times an hour, which of course ruins our REM sleep and leaves us short of sleep.  Even above 15 is considered to be apnea and important enough to treat. 

You "treat" apnea via a machine that puts air pressure into the throat sufficient to keep it open.  The CPAP is a continuous air pressure machine that is automatic.  (If you have a nose mask and you breathe through your mouth, you lose pressure and thus lose REM sleep - so you may need to get a nose&mouth mask to cover both.)


CPAP Maintenance Procedure

__ Empty humidifier tank every morning
     __ Fill 1/2 way up every night
          (Trigger is the red narrow necked bottle containing the distilled
            water - to pour water through tank opening easier, spill-freee)
           __ Use only distilled water!
          Keep large distilled water bottle in laundry room,
              with small funnel over it, to pour into small necked bottle.
  Can wash water tank unit in top shelf of dishwasher.
__ Replace mask nose seal device and filter every 6 months, call Apria refill line 1-800-731-3408.  (Replace hose if needed.)
   Rx is good for only a year, so call for new one at 916-973-6490, but try to avoid appt. and just talk to a tech who could save a trip with phone appt.
    __ Tickled
   Mask seal, filter, hose can be replaced every three months, no less, except seal can be every month.
   Filter is in the squishy sponge in the back of the pressure machine.
   Clean mask and filter at the same time
   __ Tickled to do it every month
__ Se

Break down - Call 1-877-317-6230
Mask Fit or new Rx
  Rx only good for a year.

Clinical assistance: 9736490 to speak to Respiratory Care Practioner

Equipment: 

REMstar Auto- A-Flex, Philips Resprionics
System One Heated Humidifier, Philips Respironics
Mirage Mirage FX Nasal Mask
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

See CPAP file in "Physical" hanging file.

For humidifier:
Press CPAP dial down until see a number above the dial and a blue small image.  Generally 2 is good. 
For pre-heat 1/2 hour before push straight down on knob until blue light turns on, release. (Hit buttom 2x to turn off.)
For nose seal
Leave no slack in strap (can put finger under it though).  If too tight, then air pressure with not inflate the flexible plastic sufficiently to seal against the skin. 
For pressure:
Automatic, but can press little ramp button next to big button and it will ramp up for you, starting low and reaching full level over 20 minutes (set ramp time at 20 minutes and ramp start at 4

Keep nostrils free of obstruction or dryness
Use Ocean Spray or similar.

Settings

A-Flex sets how much the air pressure lets off for exhalation, so exhalation is easier.  Then it pops back.  3 is the furthest drop.. If want to test what works use A Flex demo and dial the number wanted to experience it and choose
AHI - # of times per hour you stop breathing.  Below 5 is good.
Pressure - indicates average in the range you were at.  I was 6 in a 5-9 range.
My tickles and triggers
__6 months - Notes say "Replace mask nose seal device and filter every 6 months, call Apria refill line 1-800-731-3408.  (Replace hose if needed.)
   Rx is good for only a year, so call for new one at 916-973-6490, but try to avoid appt. and just talk to a tech who could save a trip with phone appt.
  Mask seal, filter, hose can be replaced every three months, no less, except seal can be every month."
REMstar Auto- A-Flex, Philips Resprionics
System One Heated Humidifier, Philips Respironics
Mirage Mirage FX Nasal Mask
__ 3 months optional tickle for mask seal, filter, but I chose not to do it.
Refill tank - Triggered by seeing red refill bottle and/or the airing refill tank.

All tickles and triggers needed to assure compliance are handled! 
Example of a "procedure"

Notes I set up for me to remember and to use this better.

These are just notes for myself and are limited to what I will not remember.

I systematized all of this for myself so that I would not forget a thing that I needed to do (using tickles and triggers) and set up a minisystem for easier tank filling.

This is an example of systematization but also of completing everything so that there are no "open loops" or things you might forget that you may want to be able to "recall" in some way. 

If I need anything, I will remember this and simply go to it.  (I print a copy for my file also.)

See also

Sleep Main Page - especially the checklist.

Physical Areas, Contents, Links