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Another newbie
#1
Another newbie
Hi all, I'm new to the forum but I've been using a machine with varying pressure for about six months now. Mostly just writing this to introduce myself, I'm 26 and I'm a sleepy Australian (hence the koala avatar).

I've done two sleep studies, and I've been told I've got a mix of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) and Central Sleep Apnoea (CSA). I've been looking through my data using the incredible SleepyHead software, and I can't seem to find any way to differentiate between OSA and CSA incidents. Is this data at all available?

Also I've had quite a few mornings where my mouth is completely dried out, so I assume the air is rushing in my nose then straight back out through my mouth. Are there any good tricks for preventing this, or should I look into getting a whole face mask, rather than the nostril pillows I'm using now?

If anyone reading this is completely new to using a CPAP, I know it can be pretty unpleasant at first. My first month was really tricky, and I think I slept much worse than I ever had before receiving treatment. But it gets easier and easier, and you learn to be comfortable. Stick with it.
-That said, I still haven't worked out how to position my hose properly. Does anyone have any creative solutions to hose management?

I'm really glad I found this forum, as I don't know anyone else who has sleep apnoea, and it's full of really interesting stuff, so thanks to you all for that!
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#2
RE: Another newbie
I should add that the vast majority of my apnoea incidents (according to SleepyHead) are Clear Airway. I'm not entirely sure what that is, but it doesn't appear to be regular obstructive incidents. Are these central incidents? Sorry if this is a thick question, I'm still trying to get my head around all this data.
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#3
RE: Another newbie
clear airway are central apneas. Just another name for it.

Welcome from the left coast of the US.
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#4
RE: Another newbie
Welcome! And congrats on figuring out your sleep apnea early in life - lucky you!

Practice the tongue suck technique, and you can get rid of the mouth breathing. (That worked for me.) There are other options too.

I route my hose above my head (simple to do since my mask has the hose at the top of my head). I leave some slack, so I can turn and move, and then I tuck a part of the hose under the corner of my pillow.
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#5
RE: Another newbie
Welcome F Mac. More information (data) would be helpful. For example what was your AHI in the sleep study vs your AHIs while using your machine?  OSAs are shown in the line labeled OA in the events flag graph and and in the light blue line labeled "obstructive" on the left under the calendar.

It would be helpful if you could post your SleepyHead data here. See the links below for how to organize your charts (very important) and post them using Imgur. You will need a couple more posts before you can post data.

Once we see your data we can be of more help.
Download OSCAR

Organize Charts
Attaching Charts

Mask Primer
Soft Cervical Collar

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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#6
RE: Another newbie
Welcome to the forum, Please respond with a couple of hello and thanks to get your post count over 4 and post your data here.  We especially need to see the data to give you insight on your Centrals.  

As stated above Central Apnea and clear airway are for all essential purposes the same.  Our machines can detect when youare not breathing and when the airway is open (clear airway)  They cannot actually detect central activity because they are not monitoring your brain as is done in a lab sleep study.  One vendor calls these "Clear Airway" events the other calls them Central Apnea.

Please see my sig on how to post your data,  pay attention to the section on organization because may graphs are not important right now.
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#7
RE: Another newbie
G'day F Mac. Welcome to Apnea Board.

As mentioned above SleepyHead displays central apneas as clear airway events. In the statistics they will show up as CAI (clear airway index) which is the measure of how many you're experiencing per hour on average. I'd be very interested in seeing how that index is performing and what showed on your initial sleep study. The reason being that if you are having a lot of centrals then the AutoSet may not be the best machine for you - many people with a high central count (like me) end up with an ASV machine which is at least twice as expensive. Wonderful machine but the cost can be crippling.

I'm not trying to scare you off, just giving a heads-up that there might be a need to explore an alternative therapy.

Anyhow, if you can post your sleep study results and some typical SleepyHead charts we can at least give you some questions to take back to your doctor. And don't they love it when patients come in to ask about stuff they read on the internet! Grin

Sleep-well
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#8
RE: Another newbie
F Mac,

As an FYI, a dry mouth does not necessary equal mouth breathing. Unless you want to switch to a full face mask, I would wait until the data experts on this board help you analyze the everything to see if it truly is an issue.

49er
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#9
RE: Another newbie
Hi F Mac,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you with your CPAP therapy and also with getting it optimized to meet your needs.
trish6hundred
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#10
RE: Another newbie
Thanks for the welcome everyone! I've been so busy since signing up that I haven't had time to communicate much yet. In a moment I'll go through my data and organise it in accordance with those guidelines, if anyone who knows what they're doing would like to take a look, I'd be very grateful.
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