RE: AHI going higher
I dropped EPR to 1, with no other changes. Don't know why or how, but last night I hit the highest AHI ever. It was 4.06, with only 1 CA event, but 21 H events, which is about 100%-200% more than I typically see. What am I doing wrong now? Maybe back to 2 with EPR?
RE: AHI going higher
ppca,
The EPR will usually show up as CA's. This is just a guess but try bumping your pressure up to 9cm and, based on your Flow Limits, I would set the EPR back to 2 or 3. I am trying to reduce your Hypos(by increasing pressure) and Flow Limits (increasing EPR). Another thought; This is just a one night snapshot. You may wish to give it a few days. What are your thoughts?
RE: AHI going higher
Yes, I most certainly understand that one night's results cannot be used to draw any conclusions. It's just that right after I dropped the EPR to 1, I am seeing a pretty significant change. As you suggest, I should probably run at this setting for another few nights and see what happens.
In the meantime, I've gone through my SleepyHead history. By far the best results, with lowest AHI, were when I ran at 7.8 pressure and EPR of 3. I was typically seeing 2-5 Hypos and 0-2 CA's. However, that was also the time when I wasn't getting as much deep sleep, as now. At least, that was my impression, based on the more frequent awakenings.
RE: AHI going higher
ppca,
Was your Flow Limit lower when your EPR setting was 3?
RE: AHI going higher
For lack of a better description, mine looked like yours, or worse, without using EPR. I referred to it as "5 weeks growth". When I used EPR it went down to a 5 o'clock shadow. (I need to work on my vocabulary)
Look at your Clinician Menu->Options->EPR Inhale. It has a setting of "Medium" and "Fast". This determines how fast the S9 will return to the set pressure when inhaling while using the EPR. I found that the "Fast" setting produced a blast of air that would cause sleep disturbances. Additionally, it made my mask pulse like a diaphragm between inhale and exhale thus becoming an annoyance. Setting it to "Medium" produced a gentler feel. . . almost to the point that the change in pressure was undetectable and reduced my Flow Limit as well.
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RE: AHI going higher
It's kind of unusual to see hypopnea increase, with a decreased EPR. I would certainly put it back to 2. You may have some issues exhaling against the pressure. You might even try the opposite experiment. Increase pressure by 1 and dial up EPR to 3. You might find this actually improves tidal volume a bit. Any asthma or restrictive pulmonary conditions?