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Advice on tuning my cpap
#1
Advice on tuning my cpap
Could any of you Guru's give me some advice on getting my AHI lower. Please
       
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#2
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
Your numbers are awesome. How do you feel?
At this stage comfort is king, not numbers.

It is not practical to get all zeros. And your centrals will vary some. This is normal.
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#3
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
I agree with bonjour, that any changes we might make are unlikely to actually reduce AHI to much better than you already have. I think from a comfort standpoint, you would do better with a higher minimum pressure and perhaps some EPR to reduce flow limitations, which are the root cause of the pressure fluctuations. We don't know how you will respond to EPR, but if you want to try it, you can set minimum pressure to 6.0 and maximum at 8.0 and use EPR full-time at 2. This will make breathing with CPAP easy and more comfortable, however some individuals experience an increase in CA events with the bilevel pressure.
Sleeprider
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#4
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
Agree, your numbers are very good, so go by how you feel.  Do you feel rested in the morning?
Also, realize that your numbers will vary from night to night.  This is normal.  

The only thing I see is your minimum pressure should be brought up to what your median pressure reads, around 6cm.  This could even out the pressure swings.

For comfort and to help with flow limitations, try EPR of 1 or 2.  If you see more Clear Airways, then turn EPR off.
OpalRose
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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.
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#5
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
I agree with the "feel good" meter as an indicator of success.

My AHI numbers are anywhere from 1 to 10 but when I discount the SWJ, my (what I would call "real AHI") number is around 1.5 to 2.  And I feel great with logging 4.5 to 6.5 hours of therapy.

I am a firm believer that health problems and the "feel good" meter are cumulative - in both directions.  Well, at least that's my experience.  If I maintain the stats above for a few days, I generally feel great day after day.  If I stumble in therapy-time-per-night or "real AHI" gets too high (as an example, headgear stretches over time and I don't catch it in time, and it results in a few successive bad nights), then I start feeling poorly.

For me, that usually happens after 4 or more successive bad nights.  Then I feel it.  Then after two or so good successive nights, I start feeling much better to great on the old "feel good" meter.

So with me, even if I see an AHI of 10+, I don't get excited.  Because the events are normally clustered around when I am falling to sleep and just before waking up.  And I feel great.

I guess what I am trying to say, is xPAP therapy isn't like taking a pill and you feel good.  For me, initially, it took 6 months + to work out the major difficulties in equipment (many thanks to the AB team for that).  And I slowly started to feel good.  And then from 6 months to 9 month I went from feeling good too great.  With time and help here on the Apnea Board you will feel great too.  If not, mask up and visit your doctor or a specialist and track down whatever may ail you.  Always push for answers when it comes to your good health.
RayBee

~ Self-Treatment - via ApneaBoard experts.
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~ Complex Apnea - All Night AHI=34.2/h, Supine AHI=45.5/h
~ Using a 2021 16" MacBook Pro M1 Max, 32 GB, 1 TB, macOS Monterey V12.6.2.
~ Pay no attention to the dog behind the cup, he ain't a docta, and does not give medical advise.
~ Woof, woof.

I-love-Apnea-Board
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#6
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
Nothing I can add to the stack. Go by maximizing comfort. A zero AHI is no guarantee you'll feel better.

Coffee
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#7
Wink 
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
Thanks to everyone for the advice I changed the median pressure and lowered max to 8 turn on EPR to 2 slept like a baby last night and feel great!!
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#8
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
I'm glad you feel better, but still curious.

Would you mind posting your most current results for comparison to the original ones you posted previously?
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#9
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
Here ya go. Let me know what you think.

Updated Data.


Attached Files Thumbnail(s)
       
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#10
RE: Advice on tuning my cpap
mhudson68, you are currently using a pressure of 6.0 to 8.0 with EPR 1, and there appears to be a brief ramp from 5.0 cm. I think your pressure range is fine, but your flow limitations are pushing pressure to the maximum and keeping it there. You don't seem to need higher pressure, so let's see if we can relieve the flow limitations a bit by increasing EPR to 2. The only other thing would be to turn off ramp.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
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Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
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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.
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