RE: A couple of newbie questions
(12-17-2017, 11:49 AM)paulag1955 Wrote: I did not reformat it, because, having dug it out of my husband's desk, I wasn't entirely sure it was empty. I ordered a new one that I should receive today.
I'm still wondering about how soon I should see my AHI go down, because it hasn't really gone down at all. Friday night my AHI was 11 and last night it was 9.5.
You can see your sleep report results on-screen. Can you relate the AHI, Total AI, Total CAI, Total HAI? If events are mostly obstructive, your minimum pressure of 4 may be a problem. If they are obstructive or central, then I'll wait for the data. You may want to raise the minimum pressure to 6.0 anyway as 4.0 is not very useful and can leave you feeling a bit short on air.
RE: A couple of newbie questions
Um...I'm not sure what you mean by relate.
Last night my AHI was 9.6, Total AI was 9.0 and Central AI was 6.6. I have no idea what those numbers really mean. I'll have a phone consultation with my doctor in a few days. The first three days of using the device were a bust, because I couldn't keep the mask on all night. I still can't, actually, but at least I'm getting around 7 hours now.
RE: A couple of newbie questions
You've gotta love Amazon's free one-day delivery. I was able to get a new SD card yesterday (it came around 8:00 pm) and use it last night. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to post an image.
RE: A couple of newbie questions
Please look at my signature area for steps in posting images here. It's called, Posting SleepyHead Charts in 5 Easy Steps but will cover any image.
RE: A couple of newbie questions
Thank you!
RE: A couple of newbie questions
This appears to be the best I can do.
12-18-2017, 01:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-18-2017, 01:36 PM by Sleeprider.)
RE: A couple of newbie questions
Hi Paula, glad to see you were able to get some data on the forum. Your apnea rate is mostly central and usually that can be cleared up by using a more steady pressure. As you can see under the machine settings on the left side of the chart, your are using EPR Full Time at 3. That is where the problem lies. You need to either switch EPR off, or set it to 1. Also, your minimum pressure of 4 is not effective, so your pressure immediately rises as you can see by the red line on the Pressure graph. I think you would do better with a minimum pressure of 6.0 and turning EPR down to 1 or off.
EPR is a comfort feature and the settings should be available to you in the patient menu. If not then you can go into the clinical menu by pushing the control knob and home button on the lower-front of your machine at the same time. This will let you enter Settings and scroll down to the Comfort features. Locate EPR Level and select the 3 and dial it back to 1. You can get a copy of the clinician manual at the link for CPAP Setup Manuals at the top of this page.
We are NOT changing your prescribed settings, we are changing your comfort setting and raising the minimum pressure from the default minimum of 4 to 6-cm. These are safe changes to make and should greatly improve your results.
12-18-2017, 01:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-18-2017, 01:54 PM by paulag1955.)
RE: A couple of newbie questions
Thank you for your feedback. The EPR setting is the one that controls the pressure when I breathe out, correct? I already feel like I'm struggling to breath out. I'm not sure I could tolerate more pressure while exhaling.
Or I guess I should ask, does lowering the EPR setting make it harder or easier to exhale?
12-18-2017, 03:55 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-18-2017, 04:13 PM by Sleeprider.)
RE: A couple of newbie questions
Paula, EPR does drop your exhale pressure, but it is also what is probably contributing to the centrals. It could be what you "feel" as a difficulty exhaling is not the pressure, but your response to the changing inhale and exhale pressures. If you turn down EPR, I think you can also limit the maximum pressure to 10.0 cm. The goal is to be comfortable and try to resolve the events. Your EPR is set at 3. I think you will see some improvement at 2, and more at 1. The amount of change you choose to implement is your choice, and it's fine to go slow.
If you make no changes at all, it is likely your event rate will go down as you adapt to the therapy. A certain amount of CA is fairly common with new users, and it usually self-corrects in time. Lowering the EPR setting would likely speed that process up. Your comfort and ability to get good restorative sleep is the first goal. Lowering EPR and limiting the maximum pressure might be a good solution for you, as it works well for most people with a mild level of central apnea like you. You can also choose to continue as-is. The nice thing about CPAP is that you can try something, and return to former settings if you find it doesn't make you feel better. We are only here to offer choices, but you have to make those decisions.
RE: A couple of newbie questions
I'm still unclear on whether lowering the EPR increases or decreases exhale pressure.
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