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Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
#1
Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Hello Everyone-

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or insights on my data, I've given up trying to get info from the sleep doctor. I've downloaded Oscar and I'm trying to figure out what the data means.

Last fall I did a sleep study and my AHI was 5.7, just barely over the requirement to try (and have insurance pay for) a CPAP Machine. I'm using the DreamStation by Philips and at first, I felt I was getting a better quality sleep and now I'm not so sure. I'd like to explore why this might be and also why my morning migraines (about 3 or 4 per month) have not decreased.

Thank you Sleep-on-pillow


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#2
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Hello, tb123. Your mild apnea is well treated with these settings. You could experiment by raising your minimum pressure to 6.5 to see whether that can reduce obstructive apnea events and hypopneas even further.

Can you say more about why you are not sure you're having better-quality sleep? Do you have trouble falling asleep? Staying asleep? Or are you going on how you feel during the day?

And does your doctor confirm that the type of morning headaches you're having are migraines? Do you take medication for migraines? Other kinds of morning headaches are common, which is why I ask.

I notice that you clocked less than 7 hours in the chart you posted. You may well need more sleep than this. Can you try to get 8 hours and see whether that helps you?

And just because it never hurts to review these guidelines for better sleep:

• Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Get up at the same time every day, even on weekends or during vacations.
• 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.
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#3
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Hello Dormeo- Thank you for responding!

To answer your questions: I am not sure why I'm not having good quality sleep, but I feel tired during the day, so I "assume" that I'm not sleeping well. I fall asleep quickly, I do wake up during the night, but mostly to turn or kick blankets off (& our room is pretty cold already).

The doctor has not confirmed that they're migraines, but she suspects that they are. Imitrex works-- thankfully-- every single time that I have one.

I try to sleep more than 8 hours, at least that is my intent... but I almost always wake up after 7-ish hours.

What other kinds of headaches are there that are particular to mornings? I wonder if they respond to imitrex (sumatriptan) as well, and that is what's throwing me off.

Here are my stats from last night, I'm not sure which data (datum?) are the "important" ones to look at.

Again, many thanks. Thanks


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#4
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Hi tb123,

Your charts are similar to mind and I found a slight increase in minimum pressure cleaned up the hypopneas  really well.  When I bumped my minimum pressure from 8 to 8.5, my average AHI dropped from 1.5 to 0.3.  I'm betting you would get similar results.  Good luck!
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#5
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Hello Fedman!

Thanks for this! I bumped the maximum pressure from 10 to 15 and woke up feeling even more cruddy, so I'll try your suggestion tonight.

Here's what I don't understand (if you or anyone has a moment to explain or point me in the right direction to get an answer): what does bumping up the minimum pressure actually do? It seems to me that it would take longer for the machine to kick in (or whatever the correct terminology is).

Again, many thanks!
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#6
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
If you look at your Oscar stats from last night, you will see that your 95% pressure was 8.4.  That means that for 95% of the time, your pressure was at or below 8.4  Your current minimum pressure is 6.  Rule of thumb is have your minimum pressure set at 1 or 2 below your 95% pressure.  The Dreamstation's algorithm always wants to drop to the minimum set pressure quickly which in your case, doesn't appear to be high enough.  The fact that you set your maximum pressure to 15 doesn't really matter.  As you can see, your machine hit a max pressure of 8.9 last night.  It only goes as high as it has to depending on your needs.

I'd suggest trying a minimum pressure of 6.5 or a few days and see how it goes.  You may even need to go to 7 but time will tell.
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#7
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
As Fedman has explained, you want your minimum pressure to be high enough to prevent events from happening. If the minimum is too low, an event or two will happen, that will cue the machine to raise the pressure, the pressure will stay up for a bit, but then if there are no more events, it will go back down to the minimum, where you are once again vulnerable to events. That's why we've both suggested you raise you minimum just a tad. Depending on how that goes, maybe another little increase would be warranted.

I asked about migraine because there's a different kind of headache that is common with apnea. That kind of headache does go away with apnea treatment, but I wouldn't expect migraines to respond, unfortunately. Here's some more information about morning headaches:

https://www.medicinenet.com/migraine_hea...rticle.htm
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#8
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Thank you Fedman and Dormeo for taking the time to explain what the 95% means-- it makes sense and is really helpful to me in understanding what matters in the data and why.

Per your suggestion, I upped the min pressure to 7 and last night my 95% was 9! (My AHI went up as well, not sure what that's about). I'll keep the settings where they are for a few nights and see what happens, but I'm thinking that if my 95% pressure goes up again, I'll up the minimum pressure so that it's 1 to 2 points below that.

If you have any other insights or help, I'm all ears!

Thanks


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#9
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Compared to your previous posted chart with the minimum of 6, your AHI actually went down. I think you have an excellent plan: another few days at 7, then up. It's not a race, so I'd suggest just going to 8 and seeing what happens. Keep us posted, would you?
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#10
RE: Any help interpreting DreamStation data is appreciated!
Yes, I will!

And I am really appreciative of the help. This is an area I know nothing about and the sleep doc's office has not been super helpful in that regard (probably inundated with patients?), so thank you!
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