[Lynn Sheen]

For clarification — two different questions are being addressed/confused in these comments.  These two issues should be understood to be separate questions.

1) CPAP for sleep apnea issues tend to be independent of gMG, so see general information on when a CPAP can help.  My understanding is that the CPAP alone doesn’t provide the necessary breathing support to help rest breathing muscles impacted by gMG — which is what I’m guessing you were really getting at (trying to ask) with your question.  See #2

2) on the other hand, using a non-invasive *ventilator* like a Trilogy or ResMed Astral can help the breathing muscles rest and recover for people who have gMG.

For what it’s worth, my understanding of and experience with #2 is as follows:

I have gMG and use an Astral 100 non-invasive *ventilator* without oxygen on settings specifically recommended for people with gMG.  It is non-invasive, meaning it uses a mask similar to those used for CPAP machines.  My machine is often mistaken for a CPAP, because it’s use and looks are so similar.  However it has functionality of a full ventilator which a regular CPAP does not.  The gMG specific functionality allows my breathing muscles to rest and thereby recover quicker.  If I’m extra fatigued I will use it during the *day* when I’m fully awake; which allows me to recover faster from my fatigue.  The Trilogy has a similar gMG specific circuit (although it is called something different) which functions in a similar way.  Both machines can be useful if someone with gMG suffers continuously and specifically from diaphragm and/or axillary breathing muscle fatigue.  I have been using my Astral for years and my need for it during the day varies depending on how tired my breathing muscles are.  Generally I use it every night (or more), but unlike a CPAP I don’t have the same dependency on it if my breathing happens to be strong enough.

I hope this helps clarify some of the inconsistencies in the previous responses — which in some cases were taking about these two different things and were confusing the two at other times.

Every day I am limited by how well my breathing muscles are functioning.  I spend the best part of my day slowly exercising/strengthening my breathing muscles, knowing I have the ventilator to help them recover as needed.   The non-invasive ventilator (amongst other things) is an important part of the program I use to improve my alertness and the quality of my life.   I work hard to keep my breathing muscles as strong as possible and the result is that all that *rest* time I have to spend anyway is of better quality.  Another way to think about is that the ventilator helps mitigate risk; I can exercise with much less fear of an exacerbation.  If I over do I can rest on the ventilator until I’m stronger again; earlier intervention at home!!!  Everyone with gMG walks a fine line determining/deciding *how much* we can do every single day, maybe my sharing my experiences will help others.