+- Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums)
+-- Forum: Public Area (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Public-Area)
+--- Forum: Main Apnea Board Forum (https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Forum)
+--- Thread: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one (/Thread-My-story-is-just-beginning-hopefully-it-will-be-a-happy-one)
Pages:
1
2
My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - cpetku - 10-22-2015
From my Previous postst I decided to Buy an Airsense 10 Auto with a new Mirage Swift II and Micro Masks.
First nigt was Tuesday and the machine indicated I had an AHI of around 1.4 which is pretty good (settings in my profile). I felt more alert during the day yesterday and looked forward to sleeping again leaving the office after only 9 hours. Again last night I was 1.5. I'm sure some are thinking maybe I don't have sleep apnea since I refused to pay for the sleep study, but there is a significant change in my oximetery from before CPAP (see my other post as I'm out of allowed space) to after
[attachment=1808]
Now I just need to keep the mask headgear from riding up the back of my neck at night and causing leaks
[attachment=1809]
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/images/smilies/oh-jeez.gif
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - DariaVader - 10-22-2015
Looks like you have ramp on and are starting out with a pressure of 4. Does this feel ok to you? If you begin without ramp and fit the mask at a higher pressure, it may help with getting leak under control. Ramp is a comfort thing tho and if you like it, then you do.
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - cpetku - 10-22-2015
The ramp and start at 4 seem fine to me. I think it ramped to 7 about 10 minutes after I was in bed. I was probably still awake but didn't notice the change The strange thing has been a couple times when I woke up I thought it was at a low level as it didn't seem any different than when I went to bed. However a check of the display showed it to be around 8.
The mask fit issue seems to be the headgear is creeping up the back of my head at night. Happened with both a nasal pillow and a nasal mask (Resmed micro something). Part of this may be I'm a side sleeper and am now trying to become a back sleeper since the masks I bought don't work as well as I'd like when side sleeping. The pillow touches them and causes leaks. In the past I couldn't sleep on my back because I'd start snoring before I even got to sleep and that would keep me up.
I do feel better after two days, but this could just be wishfull thinking a well
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - DariaVader - 10-22-2015
(10-22-2015, 05:45 PM)cpetku Wrote: The mask fit issue seems to be the headgear is creeping up the back of my head at night. Happened with both a nasal pillow and a nasal mask (Resmed micro something). Part of this may be I'm a side sleeper and am now trying to become a back sleeper since the masks I bought don't work as well as I'd like when side sleeping. The pillow touches them and causes leaks. In the past I couldn't sleep on my back because I'd start snoring before I even got to sleep and that would keep me up.
I do feel better after two days, but this could just be wishfull thinking a well
I anchor mine with my hair. If you don't happen to have flowing locks, that may be hard to do
but there is a way, and I'm sure you will persist and find it.I beat my pillow into submission... make a crease for the mask to fall into. I have also tried a firmer pillow and just have my face on the edge... I have never been able to sleep on my back unless I'm sitting up. Can't breathe! now I can breathe, but it would take some doing to form that habit.
I still struggle with sleeping position and mask and aches and pains aka left shoulder, right hip toss. But my sleep is still light years better than before so I manage
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - DWaldman - 10-22-2015
Welcome. I am new also, using an Aloha pillow mask. I found that trying different size pillows was key to getting a good seal so I could sleep leak free on my side. From everything I have read on this and other sites, it takes some work to get the masks to work well. You are getting good numbers and are feeling better, so you are way ahead of the game at this early stage. Keep up the fine tuning and good luck.
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - cpetku - 10-23-2015
Well the Mirage Micro Nasal Mask made it 5 hours with minimal leaks and only 1 OA. Then I woke up and removed it (don't know why). I had been stuffed up even with the humidifier to to 85F and level 4, so maybe I just wanted to mouth breath at that point.
It may also be I forgot to start the SPO2 recorder and thought the night was a bust without both. Wish I had left the mask on though.
If I can get comfortable for with this one for a whole night it might be the better of the two in my case. The only other issue is I have some sinus headache today and it almost feels like it's reflecting the msk and headgear....
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - cpetku - 10-24-2015
(10-23-2015, 07:00 AM)cpetku Wrote: Well the Mirage Micro Nasal Mask made it 5 hours with minimal leaks and only 1 OA.
So here's a question about how machines score AHI and if it's possible that a low AHI score may not describe what's really happening at night. Reviewing this night where the A 10 only reported one OA event I see several occasions like what is shown in this image where the apnea was technically one or two seconds too short to be scored as an event. Is tihs common and if so is anything under 10 seconds really of no consequence when it comes to sleep quality?
[attachment=1810]
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - sonicboom - 10-24-2015
Sleepyhead wil allow you to define and track events less than 10 seconds using User Flag 1 and 2 event functions. Ultimately though, whether these shorter events are of consequence depends upon factors such as a decrease in oxygen saturation level. Unless you are wearing a pulse oximeter you won't know this.
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - eseedhouse - 10-24-2015
The AHI is one indication, but it's not everything. My AHI was low as soon as I started on APAP, but I still kept feeling worse. An overnight oxymetry showed my oxygen levels were below 90% most of the night and below 80% a lot. I had supplemental oxygen added and that's when I started, slowly, to feel better.
Some times it just takes awhile for you to start feeling better, you are different from everyone else and your experience will be different to. You need to discuss this with your doctor.
RE: My story is just beginning, hopefully it will be a happy one - cpetku - 10-29-2015
(10-24-2015, 10:16 AM)sonicboom Wrote: Ultimately though, whether these shorter events are of consequence depends upon factors such as a decrease in oxygen saturation level. Unless you are wearing a pulse oximeter you won't know this.
I stumbled upon this as I looked for definitions of graphs.
[attachment=1820]
It appears the minute vent graph is a predictor of SPO2 levels. I guess that makes sense since the less air that is taken in the less O2 that can be exchanged from it. I've also read that REM can cause reduced MV, so is there any way to look at other graphs to determine if this is most likely REM or something else? It seems the pulse rate graph also shows increased activity during these same time periods and the flow rate is a typical sleep shape.
Maybe I can stop wearing my SPO2 Monitor if the MV is a predictor for me.