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+--- Thread: [Diagnosis] Interpreting breath patterns (/Thread-Diagnosis-Interpreting-breath-patterns)
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Interpreting breath patterns - mrtea - 06-03-2021
Hi:
I'm on my second day of APAP treatment going through the data, I found a weird breathing pattern (to my eyes) and I'm wondering if anyone knows if this pattern means anything? There seems to be minimal out-breaths in this section.
[attachment=32646]
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - mrtea - 06-03-2021
And for contrast this is the breathing pattern just before the last image:
[attachment=32647]
Any feedback/suggestions welcome - thanks!
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - Gideon - 06-03-2021
That's not weird, that is expiratory mouth breathing. It's not hurting anything. But. . . .
See the clusters of obstructive events? That is an indication that you are 'kinking' your throat and thus causing a form of positional apnea. This can be caused by too many pillows or something like that. Try a flatter pillow. If that doesn't work you may need a soft cervical collar to maintain your neck alignment. See the link in my signature.
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - mrtea - 06-03-2021
Is the first pattern a sign that I was actually asleep at that point? On my graphs that particular pattern is rare which is why I originally felt it was "weird". Most of the sections on my graph have a much more pronounced negative section to the curve such as this:
[attachment=32648]
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - Gideon - 06-03-2021
in the second image, you had an arousal at 14:21:15 which resulted in your taking deeper breaths and flushing CO2 out of your system to below your apneic threshold resulting in a central hypopnea. You built up to deep breaths flushing COP2 once again gradually lowering and a central apnea occurs. You finally come out of it with normal breathing with exipratory mouth breathing.
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - mrtea - 06-03-2021
(06-03-2021, 09:18 AM)Gideon Wrote: in the second image, you had an arousal at 14:21:15 which resulted in your taking deeper breaths and flushing CO2 out of your system to below your apneic threshold resulting in a central hypopnea. You built up to deep breaths flushing COP2 once again gradually lowering and a central apnea occurs. You finally come out of it with normal breathing with exipratory mouth breathing.I'm using a nasal mask, so the lack of a negative section is what is telling you there is mouth breathing?
Edit:
Read your replies again, and that is exactly what you are saying. Thanks for the help, this has helped a bunch for learning to interpret the data.
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - Gideon - 06-03-2021
The breathing is a closed loop system, the flow rate accounts for what it sees going in and out. without the exhale portion of the curve the air that was inhaled had to go somewhere. It had to exhale via the mouth. So yes, that is what told me that.
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - mrtea - 06-03-2021
The pressure at this time was at the minimum (7), I'm wondering if this is a sign I should bump up the minimum pressure, or is this as you say more likely to be a sign that my neck is kinking?
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - Gideon - 06-03-2021
The clusters of obstructive events usually indicate a 'kinking' of the neck. That is not pressure related.
I didn't look at pressure, I do suggest you go with a min pressure of 8, not the 4 you are at. 8 because you are using a DreamStation and they do not respond as fast to events as ResMed. & minimum to allow for the full range of the Flex to work. More for comfort than anything else.
RE: Interpreting breath patterns - mrtea - 06-03-2021
The minimum on the machine was set to 7 so I'm not sure why it's showing as 4. Another problem I had is the software imported the new data into an old date rather than create a new day?
The first day I had it set to A-flex at 3 and it felt forced/unnatural to me so I bumped it down to a setting of 1, but I can maybe try bumping it up to 2.