Hello all and thank you so much for this great forum!
I have spent hours reading through the information provided here along with other sources of information in hopes of finding the magic solution to my new to me CPAP adventure, much to no avail.
I am 53 years old, according to my doctor I am 30 pounds over weight and according to my wife have been snoring worse with each extra pound I put on. When we first met I was 30 pounds lighter and didn’t snore at all. My wife and my sister (who is a RN and deals with patient CPAP on a regular basis) both suggested I have a sleep test done. I finally caved and performed the at home test. I provided these results as attachments at the top of this post.
The test was completed on October 4, 2021 with these results arriving on October 22, 2021.
After receiving these results I went ahead and ordered the ResMed AirSense 10 autoset along with the Dreamwear Full Face mask. I have since switched over to the AirFit N20 Nasa (with the heated tube which is turned off)l which seems to be a better fit for me as I was mainly sleeping on my stomach all my life and the Dreamwear would loose half its air supply while I slept with my head cradled in my arm while laying on my stomach. Wearing a mask doesn’t bother me as I have been a fire fighter wearing a face piece for the last 37 years but sleeping on my stomach has been the challenge. I have almost converted my sleeping habits to sleeping on my side but will still wind up on my stomach through the night at times.
Since receiving my AirSense 10 I have been tinkering with the settings myself and with the help of my cousin who has the same machine with the same severe apnea. I am not utilizing any outside assistance and have airplane mode turned on.
I have the settings as follows:
Mode - autoset
Max pressure - 15.8
Min Pressure - 4.0
Mask - Nasal
COMFORT Settings
Response - soft
Ramp Time - off
EPR - on
EPR Type - full time
EPR Level - 3
Climate Control - manual
Tube Temp - 65f
Humidity Level - off
OPTIONS:
Essentials - Plus
SmartStart - on
My Sleep Report for the last month is as follows:
Days Used - 21/30
Days 4 hours plus - 1/30
Average Usage - 1.9 hours
Hours Used - 40.5
Pressure - 8.2
Leak - 4L/min
AHI - 1.5
Total AI - 1.1
Central AI - 0.1
Last evening I was only able to keep it on for 1 hour and had 3.1 events per that hour. But I seem to average about 2.5 hours a night with the mask on. Before I turned the humidity off I was waking up to a wet face/nose. But now I just seem to be taking the mask off inadvertently while sleeping.
I really, truly want this to work not only for my health and well being but for my marriage also and I am hoping just a easy change in settings somewhere will make this all more tolerable. Can anyone help with any tips or tricks to make this new adventure work for me, please??
Thank you!!