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Newbie needs some feedback
#1
Newbie needs some feedback
Well Coach:


I finally decided to ask if you’ll put me in the game. I’ve been watching everyone else interact for the last 3 months from the bench.


I’ve kept a good attitude while trying to deal with my sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment. I’ve used my machine every night since I brought it home. I’ve read a lot of posts with an eye for judging my situation against what I read in the various threads.


I really can’t tell where I am so I finally downloaded OSCAR and attached the last 3 nights of data to this post. I’m having some problems with the F12 screenshot functionality so I used the Windows Snipping tool to get some data in front of the group. We’ll need to figure out what I’m doing wrong with F12. The one attached graphic file that looks hosed up is what happens when I use F12 (or any of the alternative methods described in the documentation) on the data for the 25th.


I feel better than back in the day when I was untreated but still have fragmented sleep and am still groggy during the day. My eyes burn and feel puffy while I’m awake. Any pointers for the new kid on the block would be greatly appreciated.


I thought my snoring was under control but OSCAR says otherwise. I need to get a handle on the snoring and mask leaks. I went with a full face mask because I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut while sleeping. My jaw drops when I snore and that breaks the seal on my F20.


I’d be lost without this group. My family and friends can sympathize with my situation but they really don’t get what we go through. I think that also goes for the doctors and resp. techs too.


Best Regards,
Steve


P. S. The 5 weeks from my diagnosis to receiving my equipment were pretty rough. Waking up hour after hour gasping for breath was really scary. Sleep is supposed to be something that we look forward to.

               
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#2
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
G'day Steve. Welcome to Apnea Board.

Before we go any further, did you realise your real name is showing on all those screen shots? I've edited the three screenshots to blank out your name and deleted the other one.

Now, looking at your charts, it seems you have large persistent leaks over the 24 L/min redline and they are going pretty much all night. (On Philips machines it's the lower line you need to look at). With leaks this large for so long the machine can't properly diagnose and treat apneas and hypopneas, which is probably why you're getting a 0.0 result each night. ie that 0.0 is not a real figure.

You're using a full face mask, but your jaw is still dropping open so you'd likely benefit from a chin strap or a soft cervical collar (or anti-snore collar). Other than that, getting a mask which fits properly, doesn't leak and is comfortable is one of the hardest things about this treatment. I suggest you read the mask primer in our wiki: http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php/Mask_Primer

The other stuff will all come in due course, but for now, focus on the mask and leaks.
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#3
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
See the links below for informational articles on mask adjustments (mask primer)mand soft cervical collars. I had a problem with my jaw droppping and breaking the seal at the bottom of the mask. A soft cervical collar put an end to that.
Download OSCAR

Organize Charts
Attaching Charts

Mask Primer
Soft Cervical Collar

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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#4
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
(09-29-2019, 08:27 PM)FerdBerfel68 Wrote: I feel better than back in the day when I was untreated but still have fragmented sleep and am still groggy during the day. My eyes burn and feel puffy while I’m awake.

The problem with the eyes could be caused by a leaking mask. Air blows across the eyes and dries them out.

Contact your equipment provider and tell them about the leaking mask. One of the things they're required to do, and are quite used to doing, is swapping out masks for new users. With so many different shaped faces it can be hard to find a mask that fits well.

A properly fitting full face mask should allow you to breathe through either your nose or mouth, and certainly shouldn't leak when your jaw drops. I see that the F20 comes in three sizes, so just getting a larger size cushion might help.

For me, the fragmented sleep was a battle. It fades away, but for some of us it takes longer than for others. A good fitting mask was a big help for me as I think the leaking kept waking me up.

Congratulations on using your machine every time you sleep. You seem to understand what's happening to your body without CPAP therapy and it scares you. That's a good thing, in my opinion. It scares the heck out of me!

Compliance is the first hurdle, and you've cleared it. Next is leaks. After that, we can start start looking at the AHI. Way too many people skip those first two steps and go right to looking at the AHI.
Sleepster

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: Newbie needs some feedback
Thank you very much to those who replied to my post. As usual, this group provides great insight and technical advice.


I am a real chump for not reaching out sooner.


Here’s what I did based on the feedback, previously reading existing threads, and some lucky guesses regarding my OSCAR screenshot issues.


Used a Caldera Releaf collar.
Used a GeekSport mouth guard.
Uninstalled OSCAR.
Ran Windows update on my Windows 7 x64 machine.
Updated the system BIOS.
Updated the video driver.
Re-installed OSCAR.
Created a new profile using my screen name rather than my real name.
Imported my data.


I have F20 (AirFit, AirTouch) medium and large cushions. Without the collar, the large leaked a lot more than the medium. I used the AirTouch medium last night. I’ll do some experimentation with the other cushions and collar.


I’ve attached a screenshot of my sleep session from last night. I believe that things look a bit better.

   
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#6
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
Well look at you—leak problem licked! Very impressive! And it’s very good of you to share all this information. I wouldn’t be surprised if you wind up helping another forum member with similar problems.
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#7
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
I totally misunderstood my leak situation. My machine has a screen labeled "Mask Fit" which displays a percentage. I thought that if it reported 100% in the morning, then everything was good regarding my mask. It recently started showing less than 100% which sent me down the path of setting up OSCAR and making my post. Now when I look back to nights showing 80% - 100% on the display, OSCAR shows most of the night blowing the leak threshold. I'm not sure what purpose is served by the machine display. I thought I did a good job of paying attention to the briefing when I received my equipment.
Doctors and DME resp. techs: 0 / apneaboard gurus: 1
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#8
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
Glad somebody’s keeping score!
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#9
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
My take on the machine Mask Fit is it's a quick test to see if the mask would leak under high pressure, signaling whether adjustments are needed or not. It's not as detailed as an OSCAR graph. Even if you test and score a Smiley face, it doesn't seem to correspond to good leak rates in OSCAR with overnight use.
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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#10
RE: Newbie needs some feedback
The second night with the collar wasn’t as good as the first. I believe that 2 relatively short periods of time above my machine’s leak red line were caused by the position of my head on my pillow. I’m currently using a CPAP foam pillow with the cutouts for my mask but it still puts pressure on my mask based on my head positioning. I bought a buckwheat pillow and will give it a try tonight.


I’ve been a back sleeper for all of my adult life and switching to a side sleeper hasn’t been easy. My hips start to hurt after a while so I keep switching from one side to the other during the night. I’d love to be able to sleep on my back again but the threads about positional obstruction that I have read here make me believe that sleeping on our back is a no no.


The weirdness with OSCAR’s screenshot is back so I used the Windows Snipping tool for last night’s session


Assuming that I get the last bits of leaking under control, I’d like to figure out what my next steps might be. It appears that my treatment has taken my sleep study 39.1 AHI to under the recommended 5.


I’m not sure what to make of my snoring situation. I read a few threads about the VS2 event and I’m still not clear on it’s meaning. I’m also not sure how to read the Snore graph. My use of the mouth guard and collar have pretty much immobilized my jaw. This fact plus sleeping on my side lead me to believe that my chances of snoring should be quite low.


Anyway, some guidance on next steps would be greatly appreciated.


Best Regards,
Ferd

   
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