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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (Expert Forum)
CPAP and my symptoms
by golfer29, Jul 24, 2008 06:27PM
Hi, I apologize in advance for this not being a COPD question but I think it involves your line of work...
Hello I'm a 29 yr old male, for some time now on occasion (1-5 times per month I will wake out of my sleep with a racing pulse and feeling as if I'm suffocating. Typically I am still asleep when I jump up and instinctively head for the nearest window to get air, and I'm only 30% aware of my surroundings until my body wakes me up and then when I get fully awake my pulse slows back down to normal and I can breath again. This only happens in my sleep, I don't get tachycardia otherwise and I exercise regularly. I am some overweight however and I had a sleep study because my doctor was just too sure this was due to sleep apnea, and it turns out it was only mild but I started CPAP anyways. Well, if anything CPAP has made it worse...the opposite of what I hoped. Feels like I'm smothering with the mask on and I suppose this doesn't help.
It does seem more likely to happen if I go to bed very tired, my observation is that when my pulse only races a little and I wake up I'm in a light sleep but if it starts racing at 160+ as shown on my event monitor, than in those cases I'm in a deep sleep when it starts since it all abates when I wake up good.
Here's a link to my event monitor trace in case you can look, my doctor told me it's sinus tachycardia:
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2285/ekg1ly8.jpg
Thanks for your time
Hello I'm a 29 yr old male, for some time now on occasion (1-5 times per month I will wake out of my sleep with a racing pulse and feeling as if I'm suffocating. Typically I am still asleep when I jump up and instinctively head for the nearest window to get air, and I'm only 30% aware of my surroundings until my body wakes me up and then when I get fully awake my pulse slows back down to normal and I can breath again. This only happens in my sleep, I don't get tachycardia otherwise and I exercise regularly. I am some overweight however and I had a sleep study because my doctor was just too sure this was due to sleep apnea, and it turns out it was only mild but I started CPAP anyways. Well, if anything CPAP has made it worse...the opposite of what I hoped. Feels like I'm smothering with the mask on and I suppose this doesn't help.
It does seem more likely to happen if I go to bed very tired, my observation is that when my pulse only races a little and I wake up I'm in a light sleep but if it starts racing at 160+ as shown on my event monitor, than in those cases I'm in a deep sleep when it starts since it all abates when I wake up good.
Here's a link to my event monitor trace in case you can look, my doctor told me it's sinus tachycardia:
http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2285/ekg1ly8.jpg
Thanks for your time
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish Health, Jul 28, 2008 04:48PM
, Jul 28, 2008 04:48PM
Abnormal heart rhythms are a common accompaniment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but usually improve rather than worsen with the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. The fact that your symptoms worsen with CPAP suggest that you, as do many individuals, have a claustrophobic reaction to the mask or that the CPAP settings are not optimum for you and need to be adjusted by the sleep lab physician or his/her assistants. The feeling of suffocation could, for example, be caused by too much or too little pressure or an inadequate flow rate.
OSA can result in a variety of abnormal emotional states. The reverse is also true – that is a person who has an untreated behavioral health problem, may have dysfunctional sleep, unrelated to airway obstruction.
My advice is that you revisit the sleep specialist and engage in a frank discussion about the need for and the anticipated benefits of CPAP for a person with "mild OSA". Then have a discussion of modification of the CPAP settings or consideration of bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) device.
OSA can result in a variety of abnormal emotional states. The reverse is also true – that is a person who has an untreated behavioral health problem, may have dysfunctional sleep, unrelated to airway obstruction.
My advice is that you revisit the sleep specialist and engage in a frank discussion about the need for and the anticipated benefits of CPAP for a person with "mild OSA". Then have a discussion of modification of the CPAP settings or consideration of bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) device.
