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One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
#1
One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
I've had 7 nights of CPAP and solved many problems, thanks to the resources and members of this board. What a week! Brain is overloaded. 5

AHI was under 5 for all but one weird night, was 3.06 last night. Pre-CPAP it was 9.8, with a REM index of 50.6 and 46 RERAs. Having no RERAs now. Feeling a bit less daytime sleepiness/fatigue every day.

Wore my full face mask an average of 7 hours a night, mostly side sleeping, and last night I hardly noticed it at all. Can hardly believe this one!

Requested the Clinical Guide for my machine and got it, thanks! Lots of good info in there, and I appreciate being able to access clinical settings on my machine.

Turned on EPR after first night (DME person had told me it was on, and it wasn't). MUCH better. Wouldn't have known about this except for this board.

Used suggestions from here to adjust my mask perfectly.

Conquered many large leaks of the first 3 days.

Turned off ramp (which was only 5 minutes) after a couple of days. Didn't like feeling air-starved.

Turned off the Auto On/Off feature, found it annoying. It's simple to just touch the button on the top of the machine for on/off.

Messed around with climate control - humidity and hose temp - went back to auto everything last night and it felt fine.

Have come a l-o-n-g way in understanding and using SleepyHead. It's such a great program.

Posted a bunch of threads here on AB, and your replies helped me so much.

Donated to both Apnea Board and SleepyHead.

I'm having only one problem at this point, which none of the rest of you seem to share. I started wheezing after the very first night. Used humidity every night except for one which created horrendous dry mouth, but did lessen the wheezing. I got BioTene gel, as suggested by a member here, and tried it one night, interesting stuff. Will use if I have to go off humidity to see if that makes wheezing go away. Have a chin strap on order. Will see sleep doctor in 2 weeks.

I know I still have loads to learn, and can improve in many ways. I'll be trying other types of masks and will surely have plenty of other challenges. I might end up with APAP at some point with a range of pressures. But to think I could have done so well in one week - well, I am surprised. Cool

My CPAP statistics for today and first week average:

   
"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs."
Victor Hugo
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#2
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
Kris, you've come a long way, but there is room for improvement. First, it would be helpful if you posted detailed daily data showing events, flow, pressure and leaks. This tutorial should help. http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...pnea_Board The summary data is missing a LOT of information that would be useful in helping you. I'd be interested in seeing the tidal volume data in light of your CA events.

You are still on CPAP mode, and have implemented EPR at 3.0. This has reduced your EPAP pressure to 5.0 and I think you're seeing obstructive events as a result, and it is likely increasing your clear apnea events. I think you should consider going to Autoset mode, or perhaps backing off on EPR to 2.0, or both. A range of 7 to 10 might be interesting to see if the machine responds upward from your current fixed pressure of 8.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
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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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#3
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
I'm all for more improvement! Will get on this later today, Sleeprider. I've done the IMGUR thing already, but the info you posted will be helpful in doing it better. I'm going to switch to a computer with a bigger screen so I can get it all in.

I have the prescription from sleep doc for the constant pressure of 8. Will be seeing him in 2 weeks about the wheezing, to do a pulmonary function test. Seeing him 4 weeks after that about the apnea/cpap, and will be bringing in the SD card for him to check results. Will bring it in two weeks, too, in case he wants to see it then. Don't know if I should change my settings to Autoset with a range of pressures before I talk with him. Believe me, I am not shy about speaking assertively with doctors. I've done a lot of that in the past two years.

(06-16-2016, 10:13 AM)Sleeprider Wrote: ...it would be helpful if you posted detailed daily data showing events, flow, pressure and leaks...I'd be interested in seeing the tidal volume data in light of your CA events.

Regarding the above, do you mean the graphs and/or the daily sidebar? And use the info from last night?

"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs."
Victor Hugo
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#4
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
Hi, Kris. Really fast progress! I know you have put some work into CPAP and SleepyHead during the past week. I think getting to the point where you can breathe well enough with the CPAP to keep the mask on all night is the biggest hurdle. like

A question about humidity. When you had humidity set to "Off", did you have water in the reservoir? Some people do that, and find it to be enough humidity with just the moisture that the air picks up from blowing across the surface of the water. It's a step between "totally dry" and "warm, moist air".
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#5
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
I would use the Auto pressure set to see what the program in the machine does. My first setting was 5 to 15 and I have wound up at 9 to 15 so far. The most I see on the high side is about 12. Allowing the machine to adjust and viewing Sleepyhead data has made big improvements.

Keep working on your settings. Sleep-well

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#6
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
Kris, with all due respect to the prescription for fixed pressure, it was arrived at through trial and error, and represents the best single pressure result from one night of sleep in a clinic. The APAP is capable of optimizing pressure throughout the night. My recommendation of Autoset at 7-12 cm is based on that result, but allows you to collect more useful data that will correlate events with different pressures, and has the unique risk of better results. You don't need permission, and you may well find that your 90% pressure is indeed 8.0; however you have already radically changed your prescribed pressure by invoking EPR. I'm suggesting the auto will help compensate for that, and will certainly not cause any harm. If you don't like auto adjusting pressure, a couple simple button pushes will take you right back.

What could you possibly discuss with your doctor, if you don't try something else to see if it is better or worse? Your results are therapeutically acceptable. I doubt you will get a recommendation to try anything different.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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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#7
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
(06-16-2016, 01:13 PM)kwhenrykerr Wrote: I would use the Auto pressure set to see what the program in the machine does. My first setting was 5 to 15 and I have wound up at 9 to 15 so far. The most I see on the high side is about 12. Allowing the machine to adjust and viewing Sleepyhead data has made big improvements...

kwhenrykerr, thanks for the encouragement to try auto. I'll try Sleeprider's suggestion of 7 - 10.

(06-16-2016, 01:29 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: ...My recommendation of Autoset at 7-12 cm is based on that result, but allows you to collect more useful data that will correlate events with different pressures, and has the unique risk of better results...What could you possibly discuss with your doctor, if you don't try something else to see if it is better or worse? Your results are therapeutically acceptable. I doubt you will get a recommendation to try anything different.

Sleeprider, your points are excellent. I will try the range from 7 - 10 tonight.

(06-16-2016, 12:49 PM)green wings Wrote: When you had humidity set to "Off", did you have water in the reservoir? Some people do that, and find it to be enough humidity with just the moisture that the air picks up from blowing across the surface of the water. It's a step between "totally dry" and "warm, moist air".

I did not have water in the container. Great idea, green wings. I'll try that. Got my chip strap today. Think I'll try the auto setting tonight, and will wait a bit to try no humidity again, but when I do it, I'll set to Off and put water in the tank.
"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs."
Victor Hugo
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#8
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
Here are those screenshots of Sleepyhead as requested by Sleeprider. Hope I am doing it right.

This one is the top of the Daily Sidebar, with 4 graphs, event, flow, pressure and leak.
[Image: MpzfNq6l.png]

This one is the bottom of the Daily Sidebar, with 4 graphs, event, flow, leak and tidal.
[Image: YKy9DW3l.png]
"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs."
Victor Hugo
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#9
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
Hi Kris the Crone,
It's great to hear how well you are doing, keep up the good work.
trish6hundred
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#10
RE: One week on CPAP-FFM 7 hrs a night-side sleeping-lower AHI, thanks to Apnea Board!
Wow, that's great! Good job on posting the graphs, and so much better information there. Numerically, your results are very good. I think a trial in autoset mode is still a good idea, but I also think you need to back-off on EPR to 2.0. By all means use the humidity feature as it makes things much more comfortable.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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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