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First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Printable Version

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First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Kris the Crone - 06-10-2016

I have a ResMed autoset, but the prescription is for a constant pressure of 8. Didn't want to discuss with doctor until after I did it his way for awhile. When I previously posted some info from my initial sleep study, some of you suggested I might need a varying pressure, since almost all of my apneas occur during REM sleep. Initial sleep study AHI was 9.8, with REM index of 50.6 and non-REM of 2.9 At the titration study, where they used a pressure of 8, AHI was 0. I had 26 awakenings during the first study and 24 during the second.

Thanks to the great info on this forum, I have had a good start. Was able to download my info from last night into SleepyHead, and AHI was 2.62. I remember quite a few awakenings and leakages. I know it takes time to get used to wearing a mask while sleeping.

I was able to tweak a few things to try tonight. The air felt very warm and muggy (I have a ClimateLine Air hose), and I prefer it cool, so I turned down the temperature to the lowest at 60 from around 80 last night. I also felt a bit of difficulty exhaling. The DME had said that she turned EPR on and it was set at 3, but when I looked at SleepyHead results this morning, it said it was off. So I went into clinician settings and turned it on to 2. Maybe that will be better. I also turned off the ramp, since I felt a bit starved of air as it ramped up to the pressure of 8.

I opened an Imgur account and put in a screenshot of the basic details. I'll have more info as time goes on with more data, but I was happy that I did this well for the first night. I left the mask on all night, except for one trip to the bathroom. Feel about the same kind of tired today as I have felt every other day for years, but my apnea wasn't too awful, and it takes time to recover from years of untreated apnea.

Any comments are welcome, although I know one night of data isn't much to go on! I can do more screenshots.

http://imgur.com/TgOg4LW


RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Luvmyzzz - 06-10-2016

Hi there Kris! Welcome to this marvelous forum! You well get many-many helpful responses!

I will share a little of what I did to help me get used o the pump, I tried it during nap time, you can
get a feel of your adjustments before bedtime. I know it's not much, but it did help me, and
the forum is a great support group for these changes you are going through, forum support
24/7.... Wishing you much luck on this new concept in your life!


RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Crimson Nape - 06-10-2016

Looking Good! How you feel comes first and the AHI comes second. You might want to look at controlling the leaks. I've listed a thread that relates to adjusting the mask. . . just in case you haven't found it.

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-How-to-How-to-achieve-the-perfect-mask-fit-GUARANTEED

I hope it proves useful.






RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - green wings - 06-10-2016

(06-10-2016, 12:41 PM)Kris the Crone Wrote: At the titration study, where they used a pressure of 8, AHI was 0.

Sounds like you are very knowledgeable and off to a great start, Kris!

Do you know if the AHI of 0 for your titration study was for the whole study or just for the period at 8 cm pressure?

Was 8 cm used for the whole titration study, or did they start you off at a lower pressure and then increase it?

Did you have any REM sleep during your titration study, and if you did, was it during the time that you were at 8 cm pressure?

Just something to check if you have a copy of the study results.

I finally found my copy of the reports from my two sleep studies today. I discovered that my prescription pressure was determined from ONE HOUR of non-REM sleep, even though my apnea was found to be much higher during REM sleep than during non-REM sleep during the first study. Angry

It wouldn't matter that much if I hadn't been given a fixed pressure CPAP machine.



RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - trish6hundred - 06-10-2016

Hi Kris the Crone,
It's good to hear that your first night on CPAP went well for you, keep up the great work.


RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Kris the Crone - 06-10-2016

(06-10-2016, 01:07 PM)Crimson Nape Wrote: You might want to look at controlling the leaks. I've listed a thread that relates to adjusting the mask. . . just in case you haven't found it.

http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-How-to-How-to-achieve-the-perfect-mask-fit-GUARANTEED

I had not seen that yet, Crimson. Will follow his suggestions tonight, thanks so much!


RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Kris the Crone - 06-10-2016

(06-10-2016, 02:09 PM)green wings Wrote:
(06-10-2016, 12:41 PM)Kris the Crone Wrote: At the titration study, where they used a pressure of 8, AHI was 0.
Do you know if the AHI of 0 for your titration study was for the whole study or just for the period at 8 cm pressure?

Was 8 cm used for the whole titration study, or did they start you off at a lower pressure and then increase it?

Did you have any REM sleep during your titration study, and if you did, was it during the time that you were at 8 cm pressure?

Green wings, thank-you.

(1 & 2) I didn't have any OAs at all, and a few CAs and H's. She tried me at 5, 6, 7 and ended at 8. AHI's were 1.8, 0.7, 1.6 and 0.0 respectively.

(3) I had 5 periods of REM, totaling 39.5 minutes, which was 13% of sleep time. Yikes, I see that I had 0 minutes of REM during pressure 8.

Another thing that is bothering me is that I have been wheezing all day, with a feeling of a tight chest and occasional little dry coughs. It's been more than two years since I had wheezing, and that was when I was sick. It must be related to the CPAP. I am thinking I might turn off the climate control on my hose, or at least turn the humidity way down tonight.


RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - green wings - 06-10-2016

Hi Kris. Your AHIs were very low at all those pressures, so I wouldn't worry too much. If it does turn out that you're having events during REM sleep, it will show up on the SleepyHead graphs.

SH won't tell you that it's REM sleep, but you'll see a cluster of events and your hourly average AHI graph will have a peak in it.

You may turn out to need slightly different pressures than what worked for you in the lab, but since you have an autoset machine, no worries.

It sounds like getting used to inhaling and exhaling with the pressure and developing a good relationship with your mask are your concerns right now.

Your mention of the wheeze reminded me of something that would happen with me during my first couple of months of CPAP therapy. If I was sitting quietly during the daytime, sometimes I'd give an involuntary wheeze, like my diaphraghm gave a little hiccup. It was just weird, not painful or anything. It stopped happening after a few weeks, though.








RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - Kris the Crone - 06-10-2016

Appreciate the info and encouragement, green wings. My wheeze is not like what you describe, though. It is happening with every exhalation except for small ones. I wonder if I got some fluid in my lungs with the heavily humidified air last night. Well, I turned off the climate control for the hose and dumped the water. The AC is on in the house today because it got hot outside, so my air should be cool and definitely not too humid tonight.

I just went through the mask adjustment as suggested on the thread by jeffy1958 that Crimson Nape linked above. Looking forward to some nice sleep tonight. I am so tired right now. The excitement of starting yesterday and having to go twice to the DME to get the right machine and learning/implementing so much last night really got to me.


RE: First night on CPAP, did ok. Any suggestions? - green wings - 06-10-2016

Oh no, I didn't mean that the wheeze was the same. Yours sounds bad. Mine felt purely mechanical. It was odd. Not sure why I even mentioned it.

My experience with humidity has been that not enough means a dry mouth and nasal passages and too much means what feels like a mild respiratory infection with sneezing and stuffy sinuses. I've been told that too much humidity can't cause any sort of respiratory issues, so I don't know what the truth really is. I'm pretty cautious about my humidity setting now. I mostly leave it at 2 or 3 (out of 0-5).

I hope you get a great night's sleep. Dreaming


(06-10-2016, 08:29 PM)Kris the Crone Wrote: Appreciate the info and encouragement, green wings. My wheeze is not like what you describe, though. It is happening with every exhalation except for small ones. I wonder if I got some fluid in my lungs with the heavily humidified air last night. Well, I turned off the climate control for the hose and dumped the water. The AC is on in the house today because it got hot outside, so my air should be cool and definitely not too humid tonight.

I just went through the mask adjustment as suggested on the thread by jeffy1958 that Crimson Nape linked above. Looking forward to some nice sleep tonight. I am so tired right now. The excitement of starting yesterday and having to go twice to the DME to get the right machine and learning/implementing so much last night really got to me.