Apnea Board Forum - CPAP | Sleep Apnea
New user asking for help - Printable Version

+- 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: New user asking for help (/Thread-New-user-asking-for-help)



New user asking for help - milesvb - 05-09-2022

Hi All,
First off thank you so much for your help. Apnea is exhausting to experience and understand, and you all are making a huge difference in peoples lives.

I'm a 25M, fit, 175 pounds, but have struggled with fatigue and brain fog for years. Girlfriends said I stopped breathing and ground my teeth so I finally took a Lofta test and got a 19ish AHI. Began using the machine in November, and haven't felt any better. 

I started keeping track of the data a couple months ago and I was hoping you could help me understand if there are any red flags. From what I can see, most of my events are central events. I've attached screenshots of the overview pages, last night's sleep overview, and some close ups of the central events (might add in comments). I imagine there's useful things I'm omitting so please let me know what else is helpful to provide.


RE: New user asking for help - milesvb - 05-09-2022

More screenshots of event closeups attached


RE: New user asking for help - CorruptAlligator - 05-10-2022

Miles, I think it's good that you started CPAP therapy if you grind your teeth from issues with airflow. From what I heard, bruxism maybe due to lack of oxygen intake. By numbers, you data doesn't look concerning. For now, I recommend raising your minimum pressure to 7 and EPR to 3 for better breathing.

The thing about take home sleep tests are that they are of questionable accuracy. I've done a lab and take home, and lab one was much lower. This could have been due to environment factors. Different point of time, the environment can be worse or much better for different outcomes.


RE: New user asking for help - Dormeo - 05-11-2022

Raising the minimum as CorruptA suggests may be more comfortable for you, milesvb, and for that reason it's definitely worth a try.

But I'd hold off on increasing the EPR until your CAs dwindle a little more. Over the past three months, your CAs have been coming down, although with the inevitable night-to-night fluctuation. This suggests your body is adapting to the ventilation you're receiving, and it can take time for full adaptation to be completed. Most people have a few CAs during the night, so don't look for them to disappear, but with a little luck you'll see them more consistently down around a CAI of .5 or so. At that point, you can try upping the EPR, which could help reduce your flow limitations. (The FLs may or may not have a role in the quality of your sleep.)

Meanwhile there are other things for you to think about. Take an honest inventory of your habits around these guidelines:

• Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations.
• Set a bedtime that is early enough for you to get at least 7 hours of sleep.
• Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
• If you don’t fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed.
• Establish a relaxing bedtime routine.
• Use your bed only for sleep and sex.
• Make your bedroom quiet and relaxing. Keep the room at a comfortable, cool temperature.
• Limit exposure to bright light in the evenings.
• Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
• Don’t eat a large meal before bedtime. If you are hungry at night, eat a light, healthy snack.
• Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy diet.
• Avoid consuming caffeine in the late afternoon or evening.
• Avoid consuming alcohol before bedtime.
• Reduce your fluid intake before bedtime.

For example, I notice you were using the machine last night for only 7 hours. Is that typical? Can you aim for more like 8 or 8.5 hours? Also, the dietary and screen issues can have a big effect, so think hard about those.

And if you take any medications -- over the counter or prescription -- google their side effects to see whether any of them tend to mess with restful sleep.


RE: New user asking for help - milesvb - 05-11-2022

Thank you both for the advice!! Much to consider and I appreciate your time. My average sleep is between 8-10 hours, so 7 was certainly not a typical night. I will keep in mind the other advice about sleep hygiene too. Raised my minimum pressure up as well. Thank you again!


RE: New user asking for help - Dormeo - 05-11-2022

Keep us posted!