Increased AHI with C-Flex +

[Rritch]

We turned the C-FLEX+ back off and for the past 2 nights her AHI was back down to 1.5 with equal distribution of OA and CA. She can tolerate that pressure without any issues without C-FLEX so I am going to just leave it off.

[HeadGear]

Is there a correlation between the exhale relief and higher AHI? I am trying to decide whether to turn the C-Flex back off or increase the pressure to 10.5 as the next step. Any thoughts?

Is the increase in AHI due to additional CA's or OA's?

Mostly OA's

There is a lot of variance in response to expiration relief (x-flex, EPR, etc.) In my case it significantly increases CA, moving from EPR 2 to 3. I have verified this many times. On the other hand, changing EPR does not seem to change my wife's AHI in the least. There is no science, just trial by error, with somethings!

[Jenny]

After reading a thread last week about how turning C-Flex off lowers the AHI, I indeed tried it and turned C-Flex off. My AHI went from 1.8 to 0.6 and has been that consistently for a week! I couldn't believe it, but am so happy I turned it off.

[Sleepster]

After reading a thread last week about how turning C-Flex off lowers the AHI, I indeed tried it and turned C-Flex off. My AHI went from 1.8 to 0.6 and has been that consistently for a week! I couldn't believe it, but am so happy I turned it off.

Jenny, is that reduction in AHI due mostly to a reduction in CA's?

[JumpStart]

Before I did anything, since the AHI is good either way, I would ask how she felt with and without it? It is too easy to get caught up in the numbers, and particularly when those in question are both within the "very good" field, how she feels would be paramount to me.

[Rritch]

Before I did anything, since the AHI is good either way, I would ask how she felt with and without it? It is too easy to get caught up in the numbers, and particularly when those in question are both within the "very good" field, how she feels would be paramount to me.

Besides the higher AHI she was getting the morning headaches again. C-Flex has been off for a few weeks now and she is doing fine without it and no headaches.

[Jenny]

After reading a thread last week about how turning C-Flex off lowers the AHI, I indeed tried it and turned C-Flex off. My AHI went from 1.8 to 0.6 and has been that consistently for a week! I couldn't believe it, but am so happy I turned it off.

Jenny, is that reduction in AHI due mostly to a reduction in CA's?

You know, I have no idea. I can't read my data with any software yet since I have the Series 60 (it's a very new machine, I guess). I would mention, though, that though I feel a lot better than I did before CPAP, I feel a little strange in the morning and wonder why this is. I wonder if I was actually able to see the data, if that would explain why (you all could tell me what it means). I was trying to explain to a friend today how I felt in the morning and it's hard to explain. The best way I can explain it is that I've always liked to read, and now I generally feel I can't read anything till evening. I just feel blah, agitated, and a little "traumatized." It's very discouraging, and if I think about it too much, I sink into depression. Does anyone know what I mean? I wonder if it's because my brain has been so traumatized for so long with sleep apnea, that the blah feeling is just a result of everything I've gone through (pre and post-CPAP). I read on another forum that sleep apnea causes your brain to shrink 20%! The girl that posted these findings was very upset and was asking if anyone else had heard this. I look forward to reading everyone's comments on this. Thanks for asking about this.

[oldteddybear]

I tried one when the DME was trying to figure out the noise with my Resmed S9 Elite. With the cflex+ I was unable to sleep as the cpap was trying to force my body into a breathing pattern that would not work. It would regularly get into a reverse pattern where I could not breath in air and I would wake up gasping for breath, it kept both my wife and I up. With the S9 I am very comfortable with an EPR setting of 2 and the S9 follows my breathing pattern even when I intentionally change it up

[CHanlon]

With the S9 I am very comfortable with an EPR setting of 2 and the S9 follows my breathing pattern even when I intentionally change it up

I've found that too, and I'm that ornery sort that likes to mess around with hardware. I like to know what functions, and how. When I first got my machine I spent a fair bit of time messing with it... intentionally holding my breath to see how it showed on the graph, causing leaks, letting it vent out my mouth, and altering my breathing patterns by doing things like rapid breaths, long slow ones, half an inhale and then long slow exhales, and vice versa. I never managed to "trick" the machine into providing the wrong support.

[oldteddybear]

I never managed to "trick" the machine into providing the wrong support.

Unfortunately I did not have to with the cflex+m it tried to do it to me.