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Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
#21
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
[quote='Millie' pid='172882' dateline='1471530680']
" I think I can get my needs met from the dr I see each week for acupuncture but I want to walk in there knowing what assessments and treatments are necessary so I can ask for them if not offered. So I understand your opinion is to get a full sleep study, dont just start treating with APAP. My mom had sleep study and she said that was a joke."

Hi Millie - Great if you can start using the CPAP right away. Still -my long term advice is to find a sleep lab, have the study, and get their official recommendations. I agree with your mom that the sleep lab seems like a joke - as in, I went twice and was so convinced that no one could pass that test that I pretty much refused to believe their diagnosis of "severe obstructive sleep apnea" for months. I tried treating it with weekly acupuncture visits, yoga breathing, and a variety of herbs. All those were probably somewhat helpful - but nothing like the relief of when I finally bit the bullet and got the CPAP. It took over 2 months to get used to it, but now after my 3rd month I'm a huge fan. I'll never be a fan of that mask on my face, but the huge difference it makes in how I feel in the day is worth it.

Good luck to you on your journey -stick with it - it takes time to get it under control. Jane

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#22
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
Does anyone know if the inline filters will open so I could replace the filter with a charcoal one? I'm still waiting for my machine to arrive so I'm not sure I have a problem but I am proactively trying to figure out how I will be able to continue therapy if I react to the plastics used in the hoses, masks or the machine. Resmed doesn't say what plastic the hoses are made of. I'm also making inquiries on used/older hoses and masks that may already be offgassed and would appreciate suggestions on where to look besides Craigslist. Fragrances people use in their home, laundry chemicals and cosmetics may be on the older stuff so this is not easy. Failure is not an option!
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#23
First night! was: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
I made it thru my first night! My reactions to the plastics were tolerable. I am attaching my reports and would like to hear your observations as I really don't know what everything means yet.

I am not surprised to see the clear airways events as I think I observe them during the day. The experience of CA on cpap was very disturbing. I had to wake up and think about what to do. Inhale? Exhale?

I got up to change my pressure settings to a narrower range a couple times based on what I was observing. Not sure yet how I will set it for tonight. I left the machine blowing air when I went to the bathroom. Should I shut it off?

I absolutely loved using the cpap while I was experimenting in the evening before bed as i could see my oxygen levels rise from about 90-91 to 97-98. I may continue to use it during the day whenever I am able to sit for awhile. Unfortunately my cms 50D+ is not recording properly. This is my third day to use it all night and then find no report or just a few minutes. It's only 2 weeks old and I think I am doing everything correctly. The recording light blinks all night and I don't turn it off until it is attached to the PC and the software says it is waiting for data.

I swallowed a lot of air, especially in the last half of the night. My mask seemed ok but I was aware of having some mouth air leaks 2nd part of night. I started out with tape but took it off because I was blowing up like a balloon during centrals.

I'm hoping to gain some understanding of my reports so I'll know my next step when I talk to my Dr Saturday.


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#24
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
Millie, you did great the first night! There is some leak there, but it's tolerable. Your apnea events were mainly clear rather than obstructive, and they occurred during periods of higher pressure. These events are not a concern for your therapy or well-being at this level. The machine increased pressure when you had some flow limitation, and avoided obstructive apnea. As long as you were reasonably comfortable, I would not change anything at this time. Your maximum pressure was under 13, so you are using a pressure range of 10-13 at this point. As you can see the maximum set pressure doesn't make much difference. If these kind of results continue, you may want to reduce the minimum pressure a bit, which would help relieve the air swallowing. The machine will still increase pressure if needed.

Well done, and keep up the good work.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

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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.
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#25
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
(08-31-2016, 10:35 AM)Sleeprider Wrote: Your apnea events were mainly clear rather than obstructive, and they occurred during periods of higher pressure. These events are not a concern for your therapy or well-being at this level.

That's good to hear! But I need to understand how you arrive at that assessment and learn how to interpret when they are or are not a concern. Can you point me to an example when clear apnea events are a concern? I'm reading everything I can find that is relevant but still so many questions.

Also, I think I read that high pressure is bad with central apneas which is why I turned my pressure range down a few times. I can't seem to find info verifying that today.
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#26
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
CA's are normally only a concern when your apneas are mostly CA *AND* your AHI is over 5. If BOTH conditions do not apply don't worry about them unless these last a long time, like 30 seconds or more. The *length* of the events is important and the AHI doesn't directly measure them.

As you get comfortable with your machine the CA events will tend to go down and your AHI with them. Many people experience this when they begin *PAP therapy.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


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#27
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
I agree with Ed, and will add that CPAP / APAP is not designed to intervene with CA events. A small background of CA usually just means disrupted sleep or sleep stage transition. When it increases to longer clusters of events, it may be an actual problem that existed along with OSA or that was caused by settings in the CPAP. The patterns of CA that were posted, suggest infrequent, random events which typically occurs in new users, and eventually diminishes on its own. As you observe other user's data you will see where events are a serious concern, or could be improved, or acceptable background events. Yours falls in that latter category.
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.
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#28
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
I appreciate hearing your wisdom Ed and Sleeprider. I was feeling more at ease and had a great 2nd night.
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#29
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
(09-01-2016, 05:39 AM)Millie Wrote: I appreciate hearing your wisdom Ed and Sleeprider. I was feeling more at ease and had a great 2nd night.

Good to hear.
Ed Seedhouse
VA7SDH

Part cow since February 2018.

Trust your mind less and your brain more.


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#30
RE: Advice for getting treatment for a New Bee
Woke up with severe vertigo. Can't move without puking. I woke with mild dizziness yesterday too. Maybe failure is an option.
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