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[CPAP] New here - nothing amiss... right?
#1
New here - nothing amiss... right?
Hi all! I've been trying to learn about sleep apnea since I've gotten recently diagnosed with mild REM-based sleep apnea. I love looking at data so OSCAR looks great but after reading through the wiki, I'm dealing with heavy information overload right now. Figured I'd save myself some time by posting and getting an opinion from someone that is knowledgeable in this area instead (after trying to interpret the data on my own for 2 hours).

I'm on my fourth day of treatment using the ResMed AirSense 11 AutoSet machine with the AirFit P10 mask, as well as a chin strap. I am a mouth breather by default, but I'm pretty sure that it's mainly due to my somewhat enlarged tongue... I don't wake up with a dry mouth at least so I guess it's working. However, I am feeling just as fatigued, if not more. I'm also diagnosed with ADHD combined, Bipolar 2, migraine with aura, severe PMS and C-PTSD, and a few other conditions that aren't related to fatigue. I do believe that poor sleep quality intensifies all these symptoms, but I'm controlling them the best I can.

I know that the first few weeks/months can be rough, but I thought it would be because of the fit of the mask or having trouble falling asleep. I found that I can sleep relatively quickly - at least compared to the first 3 days. The fit seems to be good because I don't have many leaks. Also, although the Fitbit sleep monitor is likely inaccurate, I thought it was notable to mention that REM dropped to 4% from my avg. of 22% and deep sleep dropped to 7% from an avg. of 19%. I've been waking up 1-2x every night while I never woke up pre-CPAP.

I've attached my data here and as far as I'm aware, it looks normal. Sleep times are incorrect because it was configured in TX while I'm in CA, but I do need to improve my sleep hygiene - I'm looking into CBT-I options already. Does it look like a normal adjustment period or do I need to configure my settings?


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#2
RE: New here - nothing amiss... right?
The first thing I notice is the setting of 4 to 20 cmH2O. This is the sign of a lazy or uninformed doctor. Based on the median pressure of nearly 7 cmH2O, I would set the min pressure to 6 and the max to 15. With a starting pressure of 6, I would turn off the ramp completely. Based on the flow limitation chart, which looks 'grassy', and the 95 percentile value of 0.09, I would suggest turning on EPR full time at 2 instead of one.
I think these will be better starting settings, and should be reviewed after a week, to see if further changes might improve your sleep.
Apnea Board Monitors are members who help oversee the smooth functioning of the Board. They are also members of the Advisory Committee which helps shape Apnea Board's rules & policies. Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#3
RE: New here - nothing amiss... right?
So I now have a bit more data available to me, though I've tinkered with the settings a bit and instead set the mode to AutoSet for Her, lowered humidity to 5 and EPR set to 0 - the suggested settings were a bit uncomfortable in comparison. I also got the Climateline tubing and incorporated mouth tape to complement my chin strap which has made the experience more pleasant. The two screenshots below are from the past 2 nights - the mask didn't fall off my face but my dreams have been very intense and I'm still feeling quite tired. Not sure if this is part of the adjustment period:

       

For what it's worth here are the results based on the suggestion made:
   

Any insight on how to interpret this data and how I can improve it? I may have set it up incorrectly so please let me know. Much appreciated Smile
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