[CPAP] Beginning My Journey and a Big thank you

[Hydrangea]

I can't get it to zoom either. It maintains its lack of fidelity.

[ninja707]

Had one more idea...I used JPG format instead of BMP...seeing if that worked at all (maybe phones work better with JPG files?)

If not I must be doing something wrong , ill sleep on it (har har) and see if I can come up with other ideas


Click here for direct link ----> http://i.imgur.com/XKuK8Bh.jpg

[ninja707]

Trying a different host

http://oi64.tinypic.com/5wccvt.jpg <--direct

<==bb code linked (click to enlarge)

[ninja707]

One more shot at BB codes....different host:




https://i.imgbox.com/C7IJETw6.jpg <--direct

[Marillion]

Even the first one worked for me (post#52.) Anyhow I don't have a lot of time so I'll get right to it.

Based on what I am seeing, you are getting a lot of Obstructives and Hypopneas with no Clear Airway events and you are really hitting your flow limits. Your leak rates are quite high also, which may be causing the flow limits and also limiting the success of your therapy. There are clusters of obstructive events which really makes me think they may be positional related. As in you are tucking your chin in towards your chest and restricting the airflow and increasing the likelihood of an obstructive event occurring. What kind of pillow are you using? If it is too soft and deep you may be dislodging your mask and also tucking your chin in due to the lack of support.

My recommendations:

1. Look into a buckwheat pillow for better support. Many members with positional obstructive events have had great success with them. Also, a soft cervical collar (the $6-10 kind at Walmart) NOT a hard neck brace, could prove to be very effective at preventing the chin tucking. The buckwheat pillow or even a smaller firm memory foam pillow might help also with preventing your mask from being dislodged and causing those large leaks.

2. I would really like to see what your numbers are once you get your leaks under control and we don't have those clusters of events likely being caused by you tucking your chin but I suspect your maximum may need to be bumped up to 18 for now just to give a bit more headroom. Also, my inclination would be to a little higher on your minimum to 11 but that...I am a bit hesitant to fully recommend because of everything else going on.

Please read the great mask fitting link in my signature below for tips on how to get a good fit with your mask.

Lastly, I would like to say there are a lot of things going on in your graph. Hopefully Sleeprider or some of the more experienced folks will jump in here and either confirm what I am seeing or give some alternate advice. One thing is for sure. There is definitely room for improvement on that AHI number.

[Sleeprider]

All of your image posts worked for me, and I think Imgur was having problems yesterday. I agree with Marillion. The pattern of obstruction and flow limits strongly reminds me of another member here "Melman" who had even higher AHI. His problem was completely resolved by using a buckwheat chaff pillow, then later using a soft cervical collar. This helps to keep your chin from tucking towards your chest which will close off the airway, and it also helps with the leak problem you are having, by placing gentle pressure on the back of the jaw, keeping your mouth closed and improving fit. I don't think the solution to your problem is adjusting pressure at this point.

Good luck, and please keep us posted with your progress.

[ninja707]

Thank you guys VERY much...I had a feeling that some of my issues could be 'positional' because some nights I have had under 5 AHI (even under 1 AHI) and other nights 20...and the only thing that has changed is my position and also mask adjustment.

I am going to get a buckwheat pillow, foam collar and report back when I have another weeks worth of data or so.

Thanks a bunch!

[Marillion]

Good show.  I suspect your numbers will be much improved and likely you will not need to adjust your settings at all, as Sleeprider mentioned. 

Just doing these two things will very likely make a huge difference.  I should not have even suggested changing the numbers at all until this positional issue was rectified.  Sleeprider was spot on, as always.

[stanleydean]

You don't need to bother with locking and unlocking, that was a old issue that has been long resolved on the Airsense 10 series.

Play it safe and always lock the SD card prior to inserting it into a card reader or computer. Some Windows OS and others will write on the card otherwise and cause issues. Better err on the safe side here.

[vsheline]

Hi ninja707,

Sleep position usually has strong effect on how much pressure we need, so if you're able to improve position you might not need to increases your Min Pressure as much.

But from the data you posted, looks like your Min Pressure needed to be around 13.

You have no Central Apneas, so it would probably be good to have your Max Pressure 1 or more higher than your 95% pressure.

The 95% pressure is the pressure you were at or lower at least 95% of the time. It is also the pressure you were at or higher at least 5% of the time.

Take care,
--- Vaughn