Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

AHI always under 4
#11
RE: AHI always under 4
I thought I would test pressure at 7-9. Here is last night's screenshot:


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
Post Reply Post Reply
#12
RE: AHI always under 4
Your pressure will go as high as you set it, so set the maximum pressure for what your tolerate comfortably with the understanding, it won't matter what your minimum pressure setting is. With flow limitation this high and relatively few apnea events a bilevel is probably warranted. We did not look at a chart with your higher pressure settings, and it would be interesting to see if flow limit is lower.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#13
RE: AHI always under 4
Here is a screenshot a while back when I set the pressure at 7-20 just to see where it would go. Note that flow limitation was not much lower. As I have said, my flow limitations are usually in the .30-.40 range. In all of my changes in pressure the AHI has been a low of .31 and a high of 1.10 when I do a 7 day average for each pressure setting. So if that's the case, does it really matter what the pressure is as long as I'm comfortable and feel good the next day? Another question I have is, do I really need a CPAP machine, or would I need another sleep study?


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
Post Reply Post Reply
#14
RE: AHI always under 4
Deweyn,
I am really not sure what you want to achieve. If you have AHI less tha 1 over a wide range of pressure setting why not use fixed pressure (CPAP mode) and try to identify what conditions are present when you feel the best. Try to vary the pressure and EPR over a range and look for a pattern that is present when you feel good. In my case I realised that I feel the best when flow limits are lowest so I have learned to titrate on the flow limit statistics. Taking an average over several days and ruling out outliers when you have a bad night due to non sleep related events (illness, personal difficulties etc.) can reveal more than single day results will help find your optimum settings.
Post Reply Post Reply
#15
RE: AHI always under 4
I would say it does matter what the settings are. The settings are there to tune the machine to your personal therapy needs. Just running default 4-20, as an example, is not typically going to give great therapy and comfort results. Besides the FL, you seem to be doing pretty good on the chart.

As for needing the CPAP style machine, the numbers you see on OSCAR are post-treatment or the results of being on a CPAP. If you didn't use the machine, your apnea events are higher than seen here.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Post Reply Post Reply
#16
RE: AHI always under 4
To be honest, I generally feel good most of the time. I appreciate the tip about using flow limits as a guide. 
I like to set min and max limits as opposed to a fixed pressure because the min limit is the pressure used when I am awake before getting to sleep. I also don’t use the ramp feature because this gives me a good instant seal from the mask when the machine starts.
Post Reply Post Reply
#17
RE: AHI always under 4
It looks like the best I can do with flow limits is .29. Here are three screenshots showing pressure at 7-20, 7-12 and 12-16.

Should I be concerned about the high flow limit?


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
           
Post Reply Post Reply
#18
RE: AHI always under 4
How do you feel?
If you feel good, you are getting good sleep, then do nothing but monitor.
Post Reply Post Reply
#19
RE: AHI always under 4
Here is a screenshot of last night. As you can see the AHI is .21, with Flow limit of .41 and RERA of 1.39.

Should I be concerned about getting the flow limit and RERA down, and if so, how? 

I feel good today.


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
   
Post Reply Post Reply
#20
RE: AHI always under 4
No, you should be fine.
Post Reply Post Reply



New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.