(08-02-2014, 09:58 AM)Rosanne Wrote: My first question has to do with leaks, reading the charts etc. My ResMed Auto elite ...Can you please confirm what machine you are actually using? There is NO machine called a ResMed Auto Elite.
The Resmed S9 Elite is a full efficacy data machine that runs only in CPAP mode; it has no Auto mode.
The Resmed S9 AutoSet is a full efficacy data machine that can be run in either CPAP mode or Auto mode.
The Resmed S9 Escape Auto is an auto CPAP that does not record full efficacy data.
We need to know which of these three machines you actually have in order to help you.
Quote:My ResMed Auto elite typically shows 1L/m (something like that--1 leak a minute?) when I check itI assume you are getting this off the machine's LCD in the morning. Is that correct?
If so, it represents your 95% Leak rate. In other words, the unintentional leaks were AT or BELOW the number for 95% of the night and they were AT or ABOVE this number for the remaining 5% of the night. That's a phenomenally good leak rate.
In general I would expect more variability in the 1-day numbers. But the S9's LCD also shows 7-day, 30-day, 6-month, and 1-year summary data as well. And if the display is set to one of those longer time frames, then it is quite likely that the 95% leak rate would be the same day after day ....
Quote:Does it automatically change should the leaks increase or is that a permanent setting? On the readout I got the other day there were periods of higher leak rates shown on the graph. I don't check for the leaks each day as the smiley face is always green.What graph from what software? And how high were the biggest leaks?
Mr. Red Frowny Face shows up only when the unintentional leak rate is AT or ABOVE 24 L/min for at least 30% of the night, by the way.
Quote:Does opening my mouth to check to see if air is blowing count as a leak?Yes, but this will only show up IF the machine samples the leak rate during the time you have your mouth open.
Quote:Do I also skew the readings if I hold my breath to see if the air is blowing or to listen for some other operational process?If you hold your breath for more than 10 seconds, an event of some sort is likely to be scored by the machine. Whether it will be scored as a CA, an OA, or an H really depends on how you hold your breath.
Quote:I believe that the air blowing through my mouth (I use nasal pillows) does wake me up and has helped me learn to no longer breathe through my mouth--which is a good thing. I can't imagine having to wear a chin strap too.Sounds like you may be experiencing a bit of REM rebound (i.e. more dreaming than usual). That should settle down once your body figures everything out.
[quote]I thought I was sleeping really well last night, and even used bag balm on my nose. Felt like the nasal pillows were set just right. Only aware of waking up once, but chose not to get up for the bathroom, but did note that I switched positions from side to side 4-6 times. Was very tired when I went to bed and had had a nap earlier in the evening. Lots of dreaming.
Quote:When I read my results this morning it showed 10.2 hours of usage but my API was 8.5 ! This is the highest it's been since I started cpap at the end of June. The other times it was at 7 or above were also nights I was really tired but felt like I slept well and had lots of dreaming. So what's the deal?Without seeing the graphical data it's hard to say anything intelligent about why your treated AHI is sometimes still too high or why it was so high last night.
It could be that you are still having clusters of events during REM and more REM means more events. But without seeing the data, that's just idle speculation on my part.
Quote:Finally, my machine is set at continuous pressure of 6. Should I try and tweak it to an automatic readjustment, or wait for the doctor to recommend and let the DME do it?Without seeing any data it is impossible to answer this question. And if you have a Resmed S9 Elite, this is a moot point since the Elite only does straight CPAP.
In general, however, I'd say talk to the doc about this issue.
Quote: I see my medical doctor who ordered the sleep study later this month, but don't know if he will send me to the "specialist" or not--who would know more interpreting the results.That may depend on how comfortable the doc is when it comes to treating OSA. And whether you really need to see a specialist depends strongly on what the data actually shows.