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How do you know you're getting better?
#11
RE: How do you know you're getting better?
Ghost, how would it be different from using 90% pressure reported by "regular" auto mode.
AFAIK, Auto Trial is good for automatically setting regular CPAP pressure or to simply try Auto and see if the results are better than in CPAP mode. Winterfrost can already tell his 90% pressure and use it as a guide to set the min and max.

As for the original question: After starting the treatment, the improvement for me was gradual yet, right away, I noticed that I was waking up much more rested than before treatment. 11+ years ago, I didn't look at AHI nor any other data. I simply felt better and that how I knew that the treatment was working. Now, I know that it's still working because; once in a blue moon, I have to sleep without my machine and than, in the morning, I'm feeling worst than before falling asleep.

Everything I post on this board is nothing more than an opinion expressed by an apneak. Normally, it's based on facts and experience but sometimes, I may get things wrong or not have all the facts.
I reserve the right to change my mind. Why? Because tomorrow I may know better.
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#12
RE: How do you know you're getting better?
I don't have a link, but I was just reading an NIH article that I linked to from one of Dr. Steven Parks' newsletters that said that it takes around 12 months for brain damage from sleep apnea to heal after a person gets stabilized on xPAP therapy.

I don't know how accurate that figure is ( seems like it might vary from person to person), my main take-away from that statement is that improvement is going to occur over a long period of time.

I have been using CPAP for about a month now and am just now getting comfortable with it. I think we have to work to make sure that our xPAP therapy is working correctly and use it consistently and wait and watch for improvement.

I am already seeing improvements in blood pressure control and not waking up every morning with a headache. I am also having short periods of time where my brain feels more active. I don't really know how to explain that part.



(02-16-2016, 10:08 AM)Winterfrost Wrote: Before my home sleep study, I didn't realize I had a problem. I was tired a lot, groggy in the mornings, yawning all day. I thought it was just short sleep (going to bed late-ish but still getting up early for work). Then my fiance told me that I'd begun snoring a lot and he was also witnessing me skipping breaths.

On my study night, my AHI was 6.5, so I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea. Oxygen desat went as low as 85%, though I don't know for how long.

Now, after two weeks of APAP therapy, average AHI is around 2.6. I also still show a lot of snore events and flow limitations. I *think* I have more daytime energy but am not sure. Some days I'm still yawning a lot, and I nearly dozed off during a seminar this weekend. Other days, not a yawn, and I'm not fading as quickly in the evenings.

But is that enough? Is the 2.6 AHI with lots of snores/FLs acceptable or do I need to work it down even lower? Do I need to be using an oximeter to see what's going on there? How do you know when you're out of the woods?

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