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Hi all, I'm just starting in treating my sleep apnea and would like a second set of eyes on my first set of good OSCAR data. I was able to go 5 hours with my machine last night.
EQUIPMENT
CPAP Machine: ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset
Headgear: AirFit P10 Nasal Pillows (Medium)
Heated Hose
SETTINGS
Mode APAP
Pressure Min 4.00 cmH2O
Pressure Max 20.00 cmH2O
Antibacterial Filter No
Climate Control Auto
EPR Full Time
EPR Level 2 cmH2O
Essentials On
Humidifier Status On
Humidity Level 4
Mask Pillows
Ramp Auto
Ramp Pressure 4 cmH2O
Response Standard
Smart Start Off
Temperature 27 ºC
Temperature Enable Auto
The only change I've manually made to the machine is setting EPR to Full and EPR Level to 2 (up from 1). I've found it hard to exhale comfortably with no EPR starting out. I've read that there's a chance of creating CA events with EPR though. BACKGROUND
I was diagnosed after clocking in at 28 AHI on my sleep test. My insurance is months away from getting me a machine so I purchased the Airsense 10 Auto and related gear after reading some forums. I initially tried using a full-face mask (F&P Vitera), but I have a beard which made it hard to keep a good seal. Now I'm using the nasal pillows. I'm still getting used to breathing with them and my nostrils start to hurt after some time, but I'm slowly getting more used to them. This data is from my 3rd night of trying them. I've worked up from 1.5 to 2 to now 5 hours with the machine running.
I was concerned about the nasal pillows initially. I believe I'm a mouth breather, but have been trying to keep my tongue on the roof of my mouth when I sleep. I haven't been woken up to an open mouth yet, but am unsure if the data will show if this occurs somewhere (leak rate? tidal volume?).
Thank you very much for reading this. Please let me know if I can provide any additional detail for recommendations.
Welcome to the board, and the world of living with cpap.
Once you get dialed in and comfortable, and with a bit of therapy time, you will notice the improvements in daily living.
You might want to modify your min/max pressures a bit.
Perhaps 6 and 12 ?
At least bring the min up some to allow the EPR to work. When your pressure is at 4, the EPR will be doing nothing.
At 6, it would have the legroom to drop back by the "2" you have set (dropping back to 4 on exhales).
Since you are using EPR at 2, the minimum pressure you should have set is 6.0. This starts your pressure at 6.0/4.0. Your median pressure is over 6.4 and this increase of minimum pressure will stabilize your pressure changes and make the use of your EPR more consistent and effective. So DaveCar is correct. You need an increase in minimum pressure, and his suggested maximum pressure will just avoid excursions of pressure outside of the effective range for you.
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.
I notice flow limitations are 0.7, maybe raise EPR to 3 and see what happens? It would not hurt and you could always change back to 3 if desired. AFAIK, having EPR of 3 is only a problem if you have a prior history of "lots" of centrals. You don't have "lots" of centrals.
Thank you all for your guidance! I saw the first two replies about raising min pressure to 6 and made that adjustment last night (6 - 20). This was the only adjustment I made to the prior settings. I was a little worried about exhaling against 4 cmH2O but really didn't notice that much difficulty when I woke up after the ramp. I was able to keep the pillows on virtually the entire night, almost 8 hours! Best night for me yet by far.
Attached is the default OSCAR screenshot for last night.
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.
(08-16-2022, 07:18 AM)28AHIguy Wrote: I saw the first two replies about raising min pressure to 6 and made that adjustment last night (6 - 20). This was the only adjustment I made to the prior settings. I was a little worried about exhaling against 4 cmH2O
The minimum pressure the machine will produce, even on exhale is 4.0 cm, so the increase in minimum pressure, only affected inhale pressure. Exhale pressure was always 4.0 cm.
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.