+- 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: [CPAP] Still a new user, still confused about it all. (/Thread-CPAP-Still-a-new-user-still-confused-about-it-all)
Still a new user, still confused about it all. - mdh235 - 08-29-2013
So, I'm going on three weeks with CPAP now, I'm looking at my data with ResScan every morning, and I just keep getting more confused. I was diagnosed with mild SA, with no CAs during my three studies.
First, what is my goal? My AHI is always below5, usually below 2, but I'm still having many apnea events, mainly in the early morning hours, and mainly of the CA type. My snoring is basically zip, but I do have some leak problems, again mainly in the early am, although they're rarely above the 95% threshold.
Is this good? Should I be concerned with the CAs? And what about the clustering of events between 3 a.m. and when I wake up around 5:30? Is there something else I should be doing, or is this good enough.
Sorry to ask this here, but getting in to see a Respiratory Doc takes months, and I've got another month to go before I see mine. I'm just trying to get a handle on things.
RE: Still a new user, still confused about it all. - eviltim - 08-29-2013
Hey I'm still new to this myself but I think I can help, maybe someone more experienced will come along.
- Pretty common to have a lot of centrals when starting out, my doc says this is just the brain adjusting to CPAP therapy. They should go away soon.
- Clustering of events? It may be you are in deeper sleep around 3 and 5:30 and are more likely to have obstructive events because your muscles are relaxed or something like that.
The goal is basically to have an AHI as near 0 as possible. If you're below 5 you are doing good. HOWEVER if you are having a lot of leaks it can compromise the machine's ability to detect apneas and make the therapy ineffective. So it's important to get them under control if they are high.
RE: Still a new user, still confused about it all. - zonk - 08-29-2013
I would be concerned if consistently feeling lousy, AHI above 5 with central events more than half of AHI total and at least 5 central events per hour otherwise not a problem. Try avoid sleeping on your back if possible, some find tennis placed in a sock sewn/attached on back of night shirt prevents rolling over on the back
The machine have no way to figure out if you,re awake or asleep during those events so you can discard those events which were flagged while being wake. Whats your leak? prolong leak above 24 L/min can skew the data. More pressure can break-up the cluster events if were obstructive events not if were centrals events, the machine can distinguish between the two types and do not treat centrals
RE: Still a new user, still confused about it all. - Paptillian - 08-29-2013
This is basically how I started out a couple months ago... low AHI, few CA's mostly in the late morning hours, and generally low leaks that got bigger as the pressure went up (again, in the late morning hours).
Fast forward to today:
Frequency of CA's has come down, but they do still happen. It's only a handful each night, at most.
Leaks, although decent to begin with, have been further controlled with a chin strap to stop the "lip flutter" (air escaping through lips in the late morning hours).
It gets better so hang in there.
RE: Still a new user, still confused about it all. - Shastzi - 08-30-2013
Hang in there and keep the leaks down at all costs. I clean & degrease the mask and face right before dropping into bed.
I use the "Wet Ones" Lemon wipes on the mask seal first then go over the sealing surface on my face then slap the mask on while everything is still wet then run the pressure check, adjust straps if needed.
Works like a charm.
If I get any leaks at all they will be early in the morning and small enough that they are not a problem, just a small blip on the graph.
Don't worry too much about the CA's the first month or two just focus on getting rid of the OA's they are the big problem at this time.
With any luck you can almost elminate the OA's and just have some short hypopneas now & then.
If you are below 2 that is doing pretty good! Try the tennis balls in the back pack for a couple weeks and see if you can get below 1.0. Sometimes that helps.
Cheers & good luck!