[Treatment] Finally got my AHI back below 5

[dboudreau]

Hi, first post here.

I've been lurking since February, to make a long story short, I only officially got tested in June, untreated AHI of 31, RDI of 56.

Started using cpap in Feb, as my father has the devices fully paid by his employer and was able to get a new one two years in, so I'm using his "old" machine with 2 years of use.

I got a sleep study done after a break of not using it in late may to get a proper AHI baseline etc...

I'm just curious if someone with a lot more experience can look over my stats and see if I'm going in the right direction. 

So far my main complaint is that my dreamwear isn't great with the undernose attachment, if it's not strapped in tight I get leaks, I may switch to the individual nostril gel pillow cushions as it would make the feel similar to my old P10 (which was great except for the hose lol).

(yes I should of gotten the proper P30I but my DME gave me the dreamwear with the cradle instead of pillows)

           

[Melman]

Welcome to the forum. You AHI is pretty good but there is probably room for improvement. We can better advise you if you present your sleepyhead data as described in the link below. Please delete the pie chart and eliminate the calendar as described in the link. It allows us to see more of your machine's data and settings. Also, the most important charts are event flags, flow rate, pressure (not mask pressure), leak rate, and flow limit. How do you feel?

[Sleeprider]

Using your Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset at 10 to 18 pressure with what appears to be EPR 3, you are in the efficacy zone, but still experiencing 2.4 OA per hour. This looks pretty good. I'd like to see your graphs revised not to include the monthly calendar and pie chart so we can see the underlying data. The calendar minimizes using the triangle arrow in the date-line, and the pie chart can be turned off in the menu: File/Preferences/Appearance, and uncheck the pie chart. Be sure you are using the F12 screen capture function built into OSCAR.

I suspect you would benefit from some positional therapy to prevent chin-tucking as described in this wiki. http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...onal_Apnea Take a look at the wiki, and think about anything that might be promoting or allowing your chin to tuck toward your chest. This can obstruct the airway so that even relatively high pressure will not clear it. The periods from midnight to 01:00 and after 3:00 AM are what we would like to see all night.

[dboudreau]

   

Here is the re-arranged chart. I have been feeling quite well, my AHI was always under 5 with the p10, it's only gone up (to 5-10AHI) since the dreamwear switch (june), so i'm assuming some of it is getting used to it, fine tuning it's fit etc. The nasal gel pillow attachment should be here tomorrow, that may help.

So what I'm starting to understand is that some of my Hypopneas could possibly be caused by chin tucking or incorrect sleeping positions? I have a cpap pillow with openings on each side (hourglass shape) to breathe and have found that to already be a massive help. I typically fall asleep on my stomach and sometimes roll over during the night.

[Sleeprider]

I use a soft, thin down pillow and often pull it between my shoulder and chin, and it works a lot like the soft cervical collar. The problem is when you're asleep it is hard to know or be aware of a problem. Being comfortable is the biggest part of adapting to CPAP, and it sounds like you've got that down. Remaining comfortable is more important than getting 'great' numbers. My suggestions are based on the possibility that your sleep position relates to the obstructive events that remain.

Good job on the graph. We now see the details of respiration, settings and pressure.