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misc questions
#1
misc questions
A) Do people on the board view the data from SD card themselves through some software. Right now I take the SD card to my doctor who gives me results
B) Is there a scientific way to know if the mask is fit tightly or not. In my machine I remember having seem something which shows if the mask is fit well or not.
C) Do people actually go about determining the best pressure themselves. I had gone for sleep study ~4 years ago and pressure was set then. I wanted to optimize it now but doctor said it will be another sleep study so not sure if I want to spend all the money on that.
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#2
RE: misc questions
(03-29-2014, 05:15 PM)roym Wrote: A) Do people on the board view the data from SD card themselves through some software. Right now I take the SD card to my doctor who gives me results

Yes, most people here do that using either SleepyHead (free on SourceForge.net) or the vendor specific software such as Rescan for ResMed devices.

Note: The machine they use must be one that collects such data. The other type of machine is un-affectionately referred to as a "brick" since it is just about as smart.

(03-29-2014, 05:15 PM)roym Wrote: B) Is there a scientific way to know if the mask is fit tightly or not. In my machine I remember having seem something which shows if the mask is fit well or not.

More or less. For the full data machines with the data, part of the data collected is the minute by minute leak rates.

Notice also: That mask fitting is NOT primarily about having it "tight enough" but rather about having it "evenly tight" and to the right extent.

It's obvious that having to tight in one area and looser in another would be problematic, but too tight can actually make a mask leak.

(03-29-2014, 05:15 PM)roym Wrote: C) Do people actually go about determining the best pressure themselves. I had gone for sleep study ~4 years ago and pressure was set then. I wanted to optimize it now but doctor said it will be another sleep study so not sure if I want to spend all the money on that.

Some do that. Some use the data to talk to the Sleep Doc or to know when they need to visit the Sleep Doc and to prove they are getting effective therapy.

For instance, I took control of my own settings from day one, even before the first night.

A few people are self-treating and have no sleep doctor.

Others took control after realizing the sleep docs either don't know enough or only see them at infrequent intervals.

Many people just monitor their results and change nothing.

NO ONE will TELL you to change anything but IF YOU DECIDE to change things you will get lots of help.
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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#3
RE: misc questions
A) Yes. Lately not bothering about much download, quite content to see the data on the screen sleep report which is all I need

B) Smiley face/Frawny face tells you if the mask fit is good or bad and the leak number. Any leak (small or large) disturb your sleep or/and get close to your eyes is bad

C) Yes. I used the sleep study titration as guide and figured out how to set/adjust the autoset pressure range

As far as I can see, for most people with run-of-the-mill type apnea ... followups are not necessary once one become familiar with the machine and get everything dialed-in using data capable autoPAP
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#4
RE: misc questions
I had to figure out my pressure on my own. I waited until my exhaustion from sleep apnea became a crisis before I went in for a sleep study. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I had an abscessed tooth pulled, and I caught a sore throat from the bacteria on the tooth. I dragged around feeling exhausted for weeks and I could not recover from it until I got some downtime.

I was scheduled for a split sleep study, but I didn't sleep long enough for a titration. My sleep doctor offered me a choice of scheduling a titration study or a prescription for an Autoset machine. I knew I was about to lose my insurance since I was too exhausted to hold onto my job, so I chose the Autoset prescription and purchased a machine on Craigslist.

You will want to download your data and review the detailed graphs daily. Don't worry if it doesn't make any sense at first. It took about a month of reading my data daily before I understood it. You will want to make any changes gradually, increasing or reducing the pressure by 1 cmH2O or even 0.5 cmH2O at a time, allowing a week or two between changes to allow your body to adapt.

I see in your profile that you have an S9 Elite. Although it's not auto-adjusting, it does provide the necessary data. Getting the right pressure dialed in may take a little longer than if you had an Autoset, but the Elite will do the job.
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#5
RE: misc questions
roym, IMHO, many nights of self titration at home, facilitated by using an autoset device, is more representative of one's sleep quality than is a one-night sleep lab titration in unfamiliar surroundings. In an ideal situation, I would prefer starting with a professional titration study (preferably by a home-care provider) and then fine tuning the settings with careful analysis/tweaking at home.

I was fortunate to accidentally find a DME that routinely provides an S9 AutoSet regardless of the sleep lab prescription. The sleep lab doctor prescribed straight CPAP but the DME gave me an autoset device with the autoset feature disabled. With the help of this forum, I discovered and enabled the autoset feature, started using SleepyHead and am now in the final stages of adjusting my pressure to the ideal range.

I have only four months experience with this so don't mean to sound like I know it all.
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#6
RE: misc questions
(03-31-2014, 04:41 AM)JimZZZ Wrote: I have only four months experience with this so don't mean to sound like I know it all.

Don't feel bad, I am approaching my third year as a hosehead and still learning. :grin:
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#7
RE: misc questions
Oh heck yeah. It never stops. Every time I think I got it figured out, something changes. New masks, new machines, new algorithms, new research.

PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#8
RE: misc questions
All,
How do you download data from rescan. Is there some hardware you need to buy.
Also is there any benefit in the software rather than just looking at the summary on the resmed. I mean have people gotten actionable insights from looking at daily data rather than just viewing summary.
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#9
RE: misc questions
Hi roym. I personally use the SleepyHead software to view the data on my SD-Card. There is a lot of information in one night for sure! For example, you can find out if you AHI is primarily made up of Obstructive -vs- Central apneas (your machine can distinguish between the two). It can tell you how long events are lasting (a 30 second event has a much more profound impact on your health than a 10 second event -- both affect AHI equally). Leak graphs are handy to troubleshoot those problems (to try to isolate quick/major leaks, versus low/constant leaks). And for you, since you don't appear to have an "Auto" machine: to be able to confirm if your single pressure setting is ideal. For those of us with the Auto machine, the pressure is 'automatic' so we don't have to worry about it so much.

The SleepyHead "Overview" report gives you the long term trends to answer questions such as: are leaks getting better/worse over the past month? How about Peak AHI (are the events clustered tightly together or evenly distributed)?

I'm really just scratching the surface here...

Edit: BTW, no, you should not need any special hardware other than any cheap SD-card reader for your PC -- most PCs have a reader build in, if not, you can buy an external USB SD-Card reader for your S9. The S8 series machines have a proprietary card and hence need a special card reader.

One word of advice: lock the SD-Card before using it in your PC (little slider on the side of the SD-Card).
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#10
RE: misc questions
Hi coredump
If my AHI is <1 do you think I still need to adjust pressure. I am trying to see if the Doctor recommended pressure (Based on study done 4yr ago) is still optimal. With pressue =11 I see AHI over 1 month <1 so would you say no need to modify the pressure and I am done.

thx
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