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21 Days of C-pap.
#1
Gross 
21 Days of C-pap.

Greetings,
I am a newbie, on day 21 of using my c-pap. I have logged a whopping 183.3 hours on my machine. I've read a ton because realizing finally that I've been suffering from sleep apnea for probably about 15 years based on symptoms, I am more than ready to try and get my life back.

Is it okay that even with the adjusting I need to do, I LOVE MY MACHINE??? I didn't feel amazingly better the first night or anything, but I started to be reminded of the gal I was before all of the sleep woes. I feel like I am "thawing" after being frozen for years. Nights of torture have become, nights of trial and error but with HOPE sewn into them.

I've just downloaded res-scan today so I can try and analyze my complete data.

My pre-machine sleep study AHI was 26.6 median event time 22 seconds. I've been getting up to pee about every hour to a greater or lesser extent since 2000. No I don't have diabetes.

Since getting machine I have praising GOD, seen the first 3 hours strung together in I don't know how long, and then 4 hours a couple times, and this past week I saw...wait for it. FIVE Dancing

I'm far from there yet. I hope this doesn't mean it's as good as it gets, sleep or nocturia wise. I had to push my new GP to get me tested, that was in June, didn't get my study until November, and got machine on Boxing Day 2014. I told him that studies show that apnea can cause nocturia. He even wrote "patient things it might be related"...sigh. I'm just glad I kept pressing. A nurse friend with Apnea had encouraged me a long time ago to consider it, but of course, not having sensed I was not breathing, I doubted it. Of course I regret this now.

So my current AHI is about 6.0 on avg. I have about 5.0 OSA episodes per hour and about 2.6 centrals.

I have had two or three nights where I wake with the machine blowing hard at me (I think that is what wakes me but am too delirious to really tell) and a couple nights pulled the mask off in my sleep.

I don't think I'm mouth breathing, or at least not often. I have only had the dry cotton mouthy throat feeling a couple times.

I'm a stomach sleeper if that makes any difference.

Any ideas on where I should start tweaking to get the AHI lower? I have my first follow up doctors appt in February. I have found the DME's pretty "meh" as far as help, and their are wasted days to get in to see them for anything. I've done better so far reading up and trying different things.

I do have a chin strap I ordered just in case I was mouth breathing, I could try that to see if my numbers are any better.

I've been wanting to raise my starting range on the autoset because I do feel stuffy at 4.0 but wanted to wait until I saw my charts. They show that I basically use 4.0 for the few mins it takes me to fall asleep (stuffy low air feeling though I am) and then never see anything lower than a 5.0 til waking. So I'm tempted to put the lowest at a 5.0

I know that one doesn't want to change more than any one thing at a time, so that it's possible to tell what made numbers improve/get worse.

Where would you start if you were me to try and get the AHI down?

I have the ramp feature available but long since turned that off as I didn't care for it, it just meant more time at low end.

I've made a habit of checking my pressure when I'm drifting off and feel comfortable and I note that I feel really good at say 7.0-10.2

In early days I had a bad habit of pulling nose pillows away from face just to feel cool air (cause of the darned low start) Does such bad habit affect one's numbers?

I have it set to Smart start, which I really appreciate at night with all the peeing, but I swear it keeps running for a good x seconds after I take it off, could that be artificially hurting numbers?

Have temp on auto and have a heated tube and humidifier, find both quite comfortable.

I use Ayr to keep my nose lining happy.

I taped my mouth shut one night after having that dry sensation. Never again, just too risky I think. Didn't affect my numbers at all.

If any of this gives any of you some sense of what I might need to do or might not being doing right etc, please let me know.

If there is something in particular I should look for in the data that would clue me in?

My leak level on the data screen says 16.L/min . I have run the mask fit test plenty and it says good.

Pressure (I assume avg as it's an auto) is 10.6.

Thanks in advance, sorry for being so long.

Susan in San Francisco:Huh








Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
TheManseHen, welcome, the two most important figures you need to look at are AHI which should be as low as possible but below 5 and leaks below 95percentile of 24L/min, at 16 your leaks are ok.
The third thing which can't be measured is how you feel vs before starting CPAP.
Even though your leaks are OK by that data your may still be breathing through your mouth, you could try a chin strap or in future look at a full face mask.

Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
Hi TheManseHen,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
It sounds like you are off to a good start with your therapy, and that you have a good attitude.
Hang in there for more responses to your post and much success to you as you continue your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
I had to bump up your font size so I could read it with my old eyes. It may get you more comments now, hopefully. I think you need some pressure adjustment but I doubt anyone will want to suggest anything until you post some graph data. Stick around for other comments and hopefully you can get dialed in to better therapy.

Best regards, Dude

(01-16-2015, 05:45 AM)TheManseHen Wrote: Greetings,
I am a newbie, on day 21 of using my c-pap. I have logged a whopping 183.3 hours on my machine. I've read a ton because realizing finally that I've been suffering from sleep apnea for probably about 15 years based on symptoms, I am more than ready to try and get my life back.

Is it okay that even with the adjusting I need to do, I LOVE MY MACHINE??? I didn't feel amazingly better the first night or anything, but I started to be reminded of the gal I was before all of the sleep woes. I feel like I am "thawing" after being frozen for years. Nights of torture have become, nights of trial and error but with HOPE sewn into them.

I've just downloaded res-scan today so I can try and analyze my complete data.

My pre-machine sleep study AHI was 26.6 median event time 22 seconds. I've been getting up to pee about every hour to a greater or lesser extent since 2000. No I don't have diabetes.

Since getting machine I have praising GOD, seen the first 3 hours strung together in I don't know how long, and then 4 hours a couple times, and this past week I saw...wait for it. FIVE Dancing

I'm far from there yet. I hope this doesn't mean it's as good as it gets, sleep or nocturia wise. I had to push my new GP to get me tested, that was in June, didn't get my study until November, and got machine on Boxing Day 2014. I told him that studies show that apnea can cause nocturia. He even wrote "patient things it might be related"...sigh. I'm just glad I kept pressing. A nurse friend with Apnea had encouraged me a long time ago to consider it, but of course, not having sensed I was not breathing, I doubted it. Of course I regret this now.

So my current AHI is about 6.0 on avg. I have about 5.0 OSA episodes per hour and about 2.6 centrals.

I have had two or three nights where I wake with the machine blowing hard at me (I think that is what wakes me but am too delirious to really tell) and a couple nights pulled the mask off in my sleep.

I don't think I'm mouth breathing, or at least not often. I have only had the dry cotton mouthy throat feeling a couple times.

I'm a stomach sleeper if that makes any difference.

Any ideas on where I should start tweaking to get the AHI lower? I have my first follow up doctors appt in February. I have found the DME's pretty "meh" as far as help, and their are wasted days to get in to see them for anything. I've done better so far reading up and trying different things.

I do have a chin strap I ordered just in case I was mouth breathing, I could try that to see if my numbers are any better.

I've been wanting to raise my starting range on the autoset because I do feel stuffy at 4.0 but wanted to wait until I saw my charts. They show that I basically use 4.0 for the few mins it takes me to fall asleep (stuffy low air feeling though I am) and then never see anything lower than a 5.0 til waking. So I'm tempted to put the lowest at a 5.0

I know that one doesn't want to change more than any one thing at a time, so that it's possible to tell what made numbers improve/get worse.

Where would you start if you were me to try and get the AHI down?

I have the ramp feature available but long since turned that off as I didn't care for it, it just meant more time at low end.

I've made a habit of checking my pressure when I'm drifting off and feel comfortable and I note that I feel really good at say 7.0-10.2

In early days I had a bad habit of pulling nose pillows away from face just to feel cool air (cause of the darned low start) Does such bad habit affect one's numbers?

I have it set to Smart start, which I really appreciate at night with all the peeing, but I swear it keeps running for a good x seconds after I take it off, could that be artificially hurting numbers?

Have temp on auto and have a heated tube and humidifier, find both quite comfortable.

I use Ayr to keep my nose lining happy.

I taped my mouth shut one night after having that dry sensation. Never again, just too risky I think. Didn't affect my numbers at all.

If any of this gives any of you some sense of what I might need to do or might not being doing right etc, please let me know.

If there is something in particular I should look for in the data that would clue me in?

My leak level on the data screen says 16.L/min . I have run the mask fit test plenty and it says good.

Pressure (I assume avg as it's an auto) is 10.6.

Thanks in advance, sorry for being so long.

Susan in San Francisco:Huh

Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
Hi Susan,

Welcome to the board!

I believe you are right about raising to bottom end pressure a little. I like a range of pressures surrounding the area where I get my best results. So for instance if your average pressure at night is 10.6, then if it were me I'd set the minimum to say about 7, and the max to not more than 14. Then I'd watch my results for awhile and move the range up or down if it seemed appropriate.

A lot of your questions dealt with "can this affect my numbers" sorts of things. I would encourage you not to worry about that much. You're sitting at a reasonable place and now the idea is to slowly tweak your results until you find your "sweet spot."

You're using the P10 mask, which I believe is the best thing to use. You might gain something from using a chinstrap, but you're leak numbers don't sound like that is much of an issue.

I really think if you'll just focus on tailoring your range to snug up on where you need to be you'll have fine results.

You mentioned you're a stomach sleeper? That could keep your results a little higher than if you were on your side. I'm not sure about that however as sleeping on my stomach has never been anything I wanted to do. But, even if you have to trade off a little result for comfort it is worth it. So keep doing what you're doing.

The first night you sleep all night long without getting up to go to pee will make you feel like you have conquered the world! I know, because I have already conquered that world!
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
Thanks everyone so far! Very helpful. Sorry to the person who said my font small. I have oldish eyes too but didn't know what the protocol was on size so next time I'll post bigger.

Retired Guy, how long did it take you to conquer the world? I know it is possible I won't see that happen because either I've had apnea too long and it's damaged my brain/sleep regulatory centers/ or I could have another cause yet unfound for the Nocturia.
I hope it not being "world conquering yet" doesn't mean it won't happen.

I'd gladly post graphs but as yet I don't know how to do that. Will get there.

Thanks all![/size]
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
Possibly sooner than you think Susan.

As far as a long time "sufferer" of sleep apnea? I recall the symptoms as early on as when I was in highschool. That was only 10 or so years after they invented dirt.

I still get up once a night most nights. ..and actually that's a good thing because those nights I don't wake up and take care of business are followed by a morning race to the bathroom while being mugged by the puppies. So I don't mind getting up once at all.

Probably it took a month or so for me to get there. Maybe more.

But they say everyone's different. Which is only partially true. I'm not different, I'm the same.
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: 21 Days of C-pap.
Thanks Retired Guy, I'm hoping that will be the case for me. Even if I never got any better than I am today 21 days in, it's better enough to use this thing forever.

Susan
Post Reply Post Reply


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