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

[CPAP] Is it working?
#11
RE: Is it working?
(09-02-2013, 10:32 AM)bluederby Wrote:
CPAP Statistics as of Sunday, September 01, 2013
16 days of CPAP Data, between 8/15/2013 and 9/1/2013

Average Details
AHI 3.1
Hours per Night 06:14
Pressure 13.00
Average Leaks 14.99
95% Leaks 49.20


... my AHI is reasonable, why do I feel so horrible.

Hi bluederby,

Some people have lots of sleep-disrupting events called Respiratory Effort Related Arousal (RERA) events which do not show up in their AHI numbers. The usual treatment to eliminate RERAs is bi-level PAP. Increasing the difference between the inhale pressure and the exhale pressure makes breathing easier and eliminates RERAs.

Are you using EPR? EPR is a form of bi-level therapy. A higher setting for EPR may reduce RERA events, but (for a few people) a higher setting for EPR may increase central apnea events. Also, if using a constant-pressure CPAP machine, a higher setting for EPR may increase obstructive apneas, unless the pressure is increased to compensate for the amount of EPR used. This is because too low of a pressure right before inhalation is associated with an increased number of obstructive events. Increasing the CPAP pressure setting to compensate for the amount of EPR used would knock the obstructive events back down, if EPR had caused them to become elevated. But increasing the CPAP pressure is unlikely to reduce central events. In many cases, increasing the pressure tends to increase the number of central apneas.

If your main problem is RERA events (which the S9 machines do not report or detect) and if you have already been using EPR=3, you may benefit from a bi-level Auto machine which can deliver a larger difference between inhale pressure versus exhale pressure and, because it is an Auto machine, can minimize your average therapy pressure. Examples of this type of machine would be the PRS1 BiPAP Auto or the ResMed S9 VPAP Auto.

If bi-level treatment causes your Central Apnea Index (CAI) to get larger than 5.0, then an ASV machine may be prescribed which would be able to treat/prevent both your obstructive and central events. However, some insurance companies will not cover an ASV machine unless the CAI is at least 15 ("moderate"), which would mean you could be faced with the prospect of paying for the ASV machine on your own, if you wanted to pursue ASV treatment. New ASV machines are nearly US$2,000 from Supplier #2, and used machines are somewhat less. Examples of this type of machine would be the PRS1 BiPAP autoSV Advanced or the ResMed S9 VPAP Adapt.

On the other hand, if your main problem is central apnea events and if you have already been using EPR=3, you may benefit from turning EPR down or off, because (for a few people) turning EPR off can reduce or largely eliminate central apnea events and make sleep more restful.

So, what to do? Turn EPR very slowly up? Or turn EPR very slowly down and then off? Either one might help.

Take care,
--- Vaughn
The Advisory Member group provides advice and suggestions to Apnea Board administrators and staff on matters concerning Apnea Board operation and administrative policies.  Membership in the Advisory Member group should not be understood as in any way implying medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
Post Reply Post Reply
#12
RE: Is it working?
(09-02-2013, 07:33 PM)Sleepster Wrote: With a AHI below 5 you do not have a large number of events, CA or otherwise.

I understand my events are low, because of my AHI number... According to my data the events (that I do have) are mostly CA events and not obstructive events.... this is what I am trying to understand, because when I was diagnosed, they said I had OSA....

Thanks for your helpSmile
Post Reply Post Reply
#13
RE: Is it working?
Thank you everyone, for the advice. It is goiing to take me a little bit to understand alkl of this... I will be making an appointment to go back to my sleep evaluation as soon!

Thanks againSmile
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  New Machine and settings not working snapperzz 3 96 03-26-2024, 02:10 AM
Last Post: snapperzz
  Is my Philips Remstar Pro System One working? alanbc 11 384 03-13-2024, 11:41 AM
Last Post: alanbc
  25 years of cpap, and still not working good Johan van der veen 2 182 03-08-2024, 10:15 AM
Last Post: Johan van der veen
Question SD Formatting and OSCAR not working smallhandsfeeding 2 199 02-02-2024, 03:24 PM
Last Post: smallhandsfeeding
  [Equipment] 12 months of therapy. Tried several masks/nothing working Tiredkiwi 5 493 12-30-2023, 11:15 PM
Last Post: Phaleronic
  [Treatment] new to this - is it working? human 7 574 11-04-2023, 11:45 AM
Last Post: human
  Dreamstation 1 APAP Function Not Working? gary w 4 530 10-12-2023, 12:37 PM
Last Post: gary w


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

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