Noobie Question: CPAP or BiPAP? UARS? Alleries

[Crimson Nape]

If your question is referring to EPAP, IPAP, EPR value, then they are the same.  In theory, the EPAP pressure would be 4.  However, the EPR option is only offered in the CPAP mode.  The CPAP mode only allows the setting of the IPAP pressure.   Only a Bi-level machine allows the setting of the EPAP and IPAP pressures.  

A more accurate display would be:
CPAP (using IPAP - EPR = EPAP):
7-3=4
6-2=4
5-1=4
4-0(Off)=4

Bi-level (using IPAP - EPAP = PS)
7-4=3
6-4=2
5-4=1
4-4=0

[newuser1002]

Ah my bad sorry, I meant min, max, EPR on an APAP machine. 

E.g min:4, max:7, EPR 3. 

Actually I think I understand now.. With those settings, my understanding is that my inhale pressure will fluctuate between 4 and 7, my exhale pressure will always be at 4, which doesn’t fully utilize EPR when pressure is at 4,5,6. 

Thank you for the recommendation, Gideon. Just to take it slow (kinda scared of CA), I’ll work my way up to 7,8, EPR3. Tonight I’ll try 5,8,EPR3. Then if that goes well, I’ll go up to 6, then finally 7.

[newuser1002]

Hey all, an update from me:

I have started using PAP therapy for a few weeks and am looking to improve my AHI. My AHI isn't much better than what it is without my CPAP, and empirically I don't feel much better on days where I used CPAP and days where I do not. From the numbers, my sleep apnea is very mild (UARS); yet, my cognitive symptoms are very bad. Started when I moved into a new apartment that I was allergic to (I've moved out since then, though it didn't help), which enlarged my turbinates in my nostrils permanently.

Basics: Resmed Airsense S10 Autoset (APAP) with Dreamwear Full Face Mask.
Sleep study, AHI: 3.2 and RDI: 8.8 (mix of central and obstructive and hypopnea, lots of RERAs). Titration study (constant at 5 pressure), AHI: 0.2 and RDI: 0.7.

From recommendations in this forum and other forums, I started off with min:4 max: 7, EPR 2 (I know now that the EPR here makes no sense). This was before I received an SD card, but it yielded:
Day 1: AHI of 5.2 (3.1 Obstructive, 0.6 Central, 1.5 Hypopnea)
Day 2: AHI of 0.6 (0.5 Obstructive, 0.1 Central, 0 Hypopnea)
Day 3: AHI of 0.9 (0.3 Obstructive, 0 Central, 0.6 Hypopnea)
Day 4: AHI of 3.1 (1.3 Obstructive, 1 Central, 0.7 Hypopnea)
Day 5: AHI of 1.3 (0.6 Obstructive, 0.6 Central, 0 Hypopnea)
Day 6: AHI of 1.7 (0.3 Obstructive, 0.7 Central, 0.7 Hypopnea)
Day 7: AHI of 1.6 (0.3 Obstructive, 0.5 Central, 0.8 Hypopnea)
Day 8: AHI of 0.6 (0.1 Obstructive, 0.25 Central, 0.25 Hypopnea)

Then, after more recommendations, I went to min: 5 max: 8, EPR 3. From here on I have SD card data. This yielded:
Day 9: AHI of 0.4 (0.2 Obstructive, 0.2 Central, 0 Hypopnea). Link: https://imgur.com/a/ZVJX3F6

Then, I went to min:6 max: 8. This yielded:
Day 10: AHI of 0.8 (0.4 Obstructive, 0.2 Central, 0.2 Hypopnea)
Day 11: AHI of 6.3 (4.5 Obstructive, 0 Central, 1.8 Hypopnea) ---- WTF happened here?? That was worse than my sleep study without a CPAP! Link: https://imgur.com/a/phaQiMw. Note: This day I was in a different apartment that I used to live in for a year that I assume I was also allergic to since I never vacuumed the bedroom carpet in the past year (which was completely my fault). Is it likely that my sleep without a CPAP back when I used to live in this apartment used to be even worse than during my actual sleep study, because of potential allergens?
Day 12: AHI of 2.5 (2.5 Obstructive, 0 Central, 0 Hypopnea)
Day 13: AHI of 0.5 (0.5 Obstructive, 0 Central, 0 Hypopnea)
Day 14: AHI of 1.0 (0.3 Obstructive, 0.4 Central, 0.4 Hypopnea)
Day 15: AHI of 0.9 (0.2 Obstructive, 0.6 Central, 0.1 Hypopnea). Link: https://imgur.com/a/YjQ11G8
Day 16: AHI of 2.0 (0.7 Obstructive, 0.9 Central, 0.3 Hypopnea). Link: https://imgur.com/a/EaCSjKu

Last night I decided to go back to min:5 max:5, 0 EPR. Since that did well on my titration study, figured it was worth a shot. I also tightened my mask in an attempt to reduce leaks (didn't seem to work tho?):

Day 17: AHI of 1.0 (0.1 obstructive, 0.6 Central, 0.3 Hypopnea). Link: https://imgur.com/a/VVE1zM5. I found this really strange, since I had more centrals than obstructive. I thought that centrals were caused by EPR and/or higher pressure... this showed the opposite effect.

Notes:
1. These days are not consecutive - I'm roughly 50% compliant. I have definitely improved on this recently though and am continuously trying to improve this.
2. I don't get enough sleep at night - I range from 4 to 8 hours, most often getting like 5-6 hours on weekdays and 8+ on weekends. I'm trying to improve on this too.
3. Some of the lower AHI nights may be because I got less sleep on those days and thus had less REM on those days?
4. Overview page: https://imgur.com/a/BSj4d4X. Statistics page: https://imgur.com/a/jzWuv3w

I'm having a hard time putting these results together since it varies so much by the date. I've attached some recent screenshots (Day 9, 11, 15, 16, 17) and I think inspecting the specific graphs may help.

I'd love any advice from you experts )! I'm curious about how EPR, flow limitations, leaks, and anything else are leading to the results I've been getting, and how I can use intelligently use that data to optimize my parameters. Thank you so much