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[Treatment] Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
#1
Question 
Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
I managed to get everything up and running for my first night with a ResMed S9 AutoSet. Slept only 5 hours or so but that's ok since I had a big piece of plastic strapped to my face ;-) I am currently in a trial stage of my therapy so the DME and sleep doctor have not had a chance to review any data but they will at the 2 and 4 week milestones.

The mask is a ResMed Mirage FX Nasal. If I interpret the data correctly it shows the mask is fitting well and working as it should. Am I right?

During the sleep study my AHI was 34.1 so things were better last night with an AHI of 8.42. I know it's too early to draw any real conclusions so any feedback is just for learning purposes: what do you expect would help improve on these results? During this stage of the therapy I'll have the DME and sleep doctor make corrections as necessary but eventually I expect to make adjustments myself.
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#2
RE: Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
(03-07-2014, 11:18 AM)SleepWrangler Wrote: I managed to get everything up and running for my first night with a ResMed S9 AutoSet. Slept only 5 hours or so but that's ok since I had a big piece of plastic strapped to my face ;-) I am currently in a trial stage of my therapy so the DME and sleep doctor have not had a chance to review any data but they will at the 2 and 4 week milestones.

The mask is a ResMed Mirage FX Nasal. If I interpret the data correctly it shows the mask is fitting well and working as it should. Am I right?

During the sleep study my AHI was 34.1 so things were better last night with an AHI of 8.42. I know it's too early to draw any real conclusions so any feedback is just for learning purposes: what do you expect would help improve on these results? During this stage of the therapy I'll have the DME and sleep doctor make corrections as necessary but eventually I expect to make adjustments myself.

Your leak results look pretty good, so that indicates good mask placement. Was it comfortable? At least reasonably so given your not used to such a thing yet?

It looks like they have your pressure set to run between 4 and 8. My guess is they'll titrate that up as they feel you can handle it. Each time they do that you'll hopefully see your AHI reduce more.

So you're off to a good start. Keep it up, and check in with us with any concerns or questions.
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#3
RE: Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
retired_guy already mentioned your leaks are ok (as long as the mask isn't whistling or making you feel like you are in a hurricane).

Your AHI is much lower, but note that it's still pretty bad in those clusters where your sleep is likely being disturbed.

They are almost certainly going to raise you spread but you will have to wait the 2 and 4 week reviews.

[My doc was going to review mine at 3 weeks and I wasn't about to wait that long so I just fixed mine starting immediately -- NOTE: I AM NOT suggesting you do that. By the time I got back to the doc, I had 3 good weeks of therapy (AHI 0.8 average, down to 0.2 for past 7 days now that those high numbers are a thing of the past), much better sleep, and he just said "Everything looks good" and didn't seem to notice that *I* had taken control. YMMV].

For now, just get accustomed to wearing the mask and the routine of maintaining it while you learn to read your data etc.
Sweet Dreams,

HerbM
Sleep study AHI: 49 RDI: 60 -- APAP 10-11 w/AHI: 1.5 avg for 7-days (up due likely to hip replacement recovery)

"We can all breathe together or we will all suffocate alone."
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#4
RE: Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
(03-07-2014, 11:18 AM)SleepWrangler Wrote: During the sleep study my AHI was 34.1 so things were better last night with an AHI of 8.42.
Did they tell you if any central apnea during the sleep study AHI, the majority of the events breakdown chart are CA (central apnea)
One night is not a trend but if continue like that, followup with the sleep doc
Set pressure 8 - EPR 3
EPR is comfort feature , pressure drop at exhale which some find more comfortable breathing against the pressure while others found out lowering or even turning it off have some positive effect on their AHI, hence better sleep ... ymmv

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#5
RE: Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
(03-07-2014, 01:42 PM)retired_guy Wrote: Your leak results look pretty good, so that indicates good mask placement. Was it comfortable? At least reasonably so given your not used to such a thing yet?
For the most part it was fine. I turned the humidity too high and woke because I was blowing bubbles into a puddle of water.

(03-07-2014, 02:11 PM)herbm Wrote: They are almost certainly going to raise you spread but you will have to wait the 2 and 4 week reviews.
The sleep doctor and I have only met once so I'll follow the sleep center's process so as not to cause friction. There's no real rush. I think I've had apnea for at least a decade so four to six weeks of hand-holding and being a patient patient is fine with me. One possible change would be to enable AutoSet and raise the upper bound on the pressure.

(03-07-2014, 03:36 PM)zonk Wrote: Did they tell you if any central apnea during the sleep study AHI, the majority of the events breakdown chart are CA (central apnea)
One night is not a trend but if continue like that, followup with the sleep doc.
I was too ignorant during the review to ask good questions. I guess that makes me "unconscious incompetent" according to the four stages of competence learning model. Gratefully, apnea form members like yourself are helping me improve. I understand that CA requires attention but don't understand the treatment options.

(03-07-2014, 03:36 PM)zonk Wrote: EPR is comfort feature , pressure drop at exhale which some find more comfortable breathing against the pressure while others found out lowering or even turning it off have some positive effect on their AHI, hence better sleep ... ymmv
Noted. Maybe as I get used to the resistance I can dial EPR back, and then possibly turn it off.
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#6
RE: Newby: First night CPAP therapy ...
(03-07-2014, 04:18 PM)SleepWrangler Wrote:
(03-07-2014, 01:42 PM)retired_guy Wrote: Your leak results look pretty good, so that indicates good mask placement. Was it comfortable? At least reasonably so given your not used to such a thing yet?
For the most part it was fine. I turned the humidity too high and woke because I was blowing bubbles into a puddle of water.

Another thing that can help with that is to sleep with the hose tucked in under the covers with you. It's kind of like having a teddy bear, but maybe not quite so much.

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