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This board is amazing! Thank you. Still a couple of questions....
#1
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This board is amazing! Thank you. Still a couple of questions....
I came here in August confused to what the "Sleep Apnea" was and how to deal with it. My doctor wasn't helpful and they even tried giving me the cheapest machine possible. I became disgusted with the whole idea of even using a CPAP machine and gave up. On a whim, I found this board and spent about an hour reading about everyone's experiences and problems. I found that I had the some of the same problems as others. I was starting to understand what sleep apnea was. I can't express how grateful I am to everyone on here. I really feel you guys saved my life. Using the advice and knowledge from everyone on this board, I was able to get the best machine for me and actually use it. It's a slow climb, but I am feeling better everyday and actually have energy and motivation. I truly feel like this board and members helped save my life. If it wasn't for you guys, I would have given up on the CPAP machine and probably would have went to bed one night and never woke up due to my apnea.

With your help, I was able to go from a cheap "respironics one machine" to a data capable "respironics remstar auto a-flex" It's still a cpap but it has pressure relief when exhaling and has a range of pressures from 8-15.

I wanted to get your interpretation of the numbers. I think I have a mask leaking problem but I want to be sure. I am using a full face Amara mask made by Respironics. I obtained all these numbers right off the machine this morning. I am chubby (I can get away with just saying chubby on here since no one can see me:grinSmile I also have a goatee. Two things that might affect my mask leaking.

Large Leak:
62.7% 1 Day
53.2% 7 Day
26.9 % 30 Day

Is that a percent of the time that my mask had a large leak when the machine was in use? Could it be a percent within an hour? I sometimes take my mask to scratch my nose or deal with wetness (gross)- Could that jack up the numbers? I have loosened the mask slightly because it was so tight, but I still get red marks on my forehead and bridge of my nose. Before I had it so tight that I was getting strap marks on my cheeks.

Here are some other numbers. How am I looking?

AHI:
0.0 1 Day
1.8 7 Days
1.2 30 Days

90% Pressure
8.5 1 Day
9.0 7 Day
9.2 30 Day

I tried using sleepy head with my machine but it's not working. It appears that I might need to download/buy encore 2.0. Does anyone have any idea where I could find it?



Again, thank you all!!!! I-love-Apnea-BoardI-love-Apnea-Board
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#2
RE: This board is amazing! Thank you. Still a couple of questions....
Can't answer the one about leaks but you want the AHI lower than 5. On that, you're doing great!!

The 90% pressure is where the pressure sat. Meaning 90% of the time it was 8.5 or lower. I think that's what it means.

If your pressure is set to 8 - 15, I suggest you change that. You're not even getting close to the 15 and you are hovering right about 8 most of the time. Perhaps you could change it to 7 - 10 for a few weeks.

If your machine is a 60 (as in 460 or 560), then it will not work with SleepyHead. There may be a workaround, though. See this thread:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...ee-Post-10
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#3
RE: This board is amazing! Thank you. Still a couple of questions....
Hi biglar831,
I'm glad that you didn't give up and that you took the time to come to this board and read the many helpful things on this forum.
Hang tight and someone will be along to help you interpret your data.
CONTINUED SUCCESS,!
trish6hundred
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#4
RE: This board is amazing! Thank you. Still a couple of questions....
biglar... Your are looking great and the envy on the block.. Numbers are great. Hope you are feeling better then (BC) before CPAP. We here on the board are delighted to hear that we may have played a role in your better health and feeling better. Thats what this board is all about. Hopw to see some of your contributions soon..
I see no reason to mess with the pressure numbers.. So what if the top is set to 15. The machine is not getting there anyway, so there isn/t any reason to change the top figure. It appears that it is catching most all of them at around 8 -81/2 and thats fantastic.

It looks llike your mask is causing you a bit of a problem leaking but(ever so slightly), so you might consider trying a different one if the straps are causing you discomfort. You might want to look into some nasal pillows style. The ResMed Lt is very light and allows me to toss and turn (sleep on side , stomach or whaterver0 very easily. GOod Luck
Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a gift; Thats why its called "The Present".  
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#5
RE: This board is amazing! Thank you. Still a couple of questions....
source: PRS1 manual which available by Email (scroll to section three)
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-pr...tup-manual


• Large leak - During any given night, the device recognizes the percentage of time the patient was experiencing what it deemed to be a • large leak. Large leak is defined as the level of leak that is so large, it is no longer possible to determine respiratory events with statistical accuracy. This screen displays the average of these individual nightly values of percentage of time in large leak over a 7 day and 30 day time frame (provided the device has at least 7 or 30 days of data respectively). If the device has only 5 days of data to use for the calculation, the 5 day average value will be seen under the 7 day display.

• AHI - The device accumulates individual Apnea/Hypopnea indices (AHI) for each session the patient used the device. This screen displays the average of these individual nightly AHI values over a 7 day and 30 day time frame (provided the device has at least 7 or 30 days of data respectively). If the device has only 5 days of data to use for the calculation, the 5 day average value will be seen under the 7 day display.

• 90% Pressure - During any given night, the device recognizes the 90% Pressure achieved by the Auto Algorithm. 90% Pressure is defined as the pressure at which the device spent 90% of the session time at or below. For example, if the device recognized airflow for 10 hours, and 9 hours were spent at or below 11 cm H2O, and 1 hour was spent above 11 cm H2O, then the 90% Pressure would be 11 cm H2O. This screen displays the average of these individual nightly values of 90% Pressure over a 7 day and 30 day time frame (provided the device has at least 7 or 30 days of data respectively). If the device has only 5 days of data to use for the calculation, the 5 day average value will be seen under the 7 day display. This screen only displays in Auto-CPAP therapy.
____________________________________________________________

the software would shows total leak = intentional leak (vents leak) + unintentional leak (mask/mouth leak)
you can look up mask intentional leak at set pressure and subtract from total leak so you can get unintentional leak
leak graph would shows you how was the leak during the night

you need to figure and sort out the leak before looking at the AHI or anything else
large leak can affect accuracy of data and sleep quality which is most important
maybe replace the cushion, try different mask or make own mask liner from an old cotton T-shirt
there ready made mask liners ... Remzzz liners (see commercial posts) disposable ones or washable ones pad-a-cheeks liners





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