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HI all -
I wanted to settle in with some constant pressure values before making changes. I had settled on 8.6 min and 12 max as it seemed to feel the best and offered a lower AHI than I had seen. All seemed better and somewhat consistent. Based on what I see on this forum the general consensus is to raise the pressure. I wanted to go slow so I went to 9 minimum and my AHI went way up. Maybe this is just an off night as it is only one. I felt like I slept about the same but the charts may show otherwise.
Any thoughts would be great. I can either try this setup again tonight or drop down? I hate to make decisions on one bit of data but I don't know.
Thanks,
Dave
Your sleep report showed Central Apneas which are not being addressed.
You may need a different machine. I will let the experts here help with that information.
Your other events seem well controlled with your original post settings.
Mar 13th 2025
7.4 cm min to 9.0 cm max
epr 2
If you were comfortable with this go back.
Your comfort is very important to keep you using the machine for the 7.5 to 8 hours of therapy.
Good luck.
Thanks for your thoughts and input. I was kind of at the same conclusion. It seems the CA get addressed with a different machine but I am new at the CPAP world so I am hoping they will settle down after some treatment. When I got my report I didn't know enough or research enough to understand the differences. Now that I have I don't know that they will go away with this treatment option.
Upping the pressure hasn't helped and in most instances it has been a detriment. So far it has been comfortable at the 7 to 9 minimum. I haven't ventured much past the 9 minimum range to know when it is problematic. I cant see anything in this report that may be triggering these events like a pressure change or a leak so I cant pinpoint anything to help as of yet.
I will dial things back and give it some time.
Dave
I would push your insurance provider to do an in lab sleep study. An in home study might be ok just to get the lay of the land. But the moment Centrals are listed. You need to find out which variety they are. You can only tell Clear Airway events form Central events via leads from your skull.
I'm of the opinion that it is a great disservice to all involved to call two very close but different events by the same name.
Yes, I may need to go that direction. My insurance is good but most of this stuff ends up out of pocket, I am fortunate I have been healthy and not needed much as far as the deductibles. I will need to weigh my options.
Unfortunately as I noted above I was very unfamiliar with APNEA, I did what I thought I needed to do for the study and took was the specialists told me I needed and went with it. Until I got into this forum I didn't understand the differences. I am an engineer so I usually ask too many questions, this it wasn't explained on the different levels. I will sort thru as I go.
03-25-2025, 04:23 PM (This post was last modified: 03-25-2025, 05:44 PM by jdougc.)
RE: Custom 68 Therapy Help Thread
I finally met my Pulmonologist this past fall, though he signed 2 sleep studies and 2 titration studies. He said Engineers, me retired, ask too many questions. He retired shortly after that
This group has been guiding me since July of this year.
I bought a lightly used bilevel very cheap last month and am getting used to it
CAs, as you fall asleep or are waking up, or a single CA following a gasp/sigh are normal. You have those and more and without an EEG, chest and abdomen belts we can't know for sure what they are .
Hi all -
I'm kinda bummed. it appears I was lead by the sleep folks down the wrong path. I hoped if I left the settings along for a bit things might get better. It appears this 7 to 10 AHI with mostly CA is where I am settled into. I realize on this graph I did go to my upper limits of 10 but up a couple I had it on 12 and it didn't seem to make any difference.
Do these graphs indicate my sleep is just bad? I see some areas that appear to be smoothed out so it appears I am sleeping pretty well but the areas of the events are all over the place. I don't know what it all means.
If I can zoom in anywhere to help let me know of any more thought.
Thanks,
Dave
Pillow masks are much more sensitive to leaks ruining the therapy, imo.
Some would say your leaks are fine, but do you use mouth tape and a soft cervical collar?
You may be one of the people who have trouble with even small pressure swings or EPR.
Please consider CPAP mode at 9 cm pressure, near your median.
Consider EPR at 1 or off.
Finally as you fall asleep or are waking up, you have the wake sleep junk and the associated events.
You could set ramp at 5 minutes and at 8.4 cm of ramp pressure as a test.
Good luck
03-28-2025, 09:25 AM (This post was last modified: 03-28-2025, 09:27 AM by custom68.)
RE: Custom 68 Therapy Help Thread
Thanks Doug, good catch on the leaks. The previous night included here didn't have quite as much leak. I had thought about trying the single pressure even tho the events seem to be when the machine has stayed at a constant pressure. I couldn't see much correlation to the pressures changes.
Now that I am into using this more I can try the lower or no EPR a couple of weeks ago when I tried it I struggled. It may have been mainly mental. I am ok with the understanding of the junk as I wake or fall asleep but it seems that I am somewhat waking causing the events all thru the night.
At first I was only using the pillows and all seemed well. As I got more used to the mask I was more comfortable turning over and would end up on my back for a short bit. That caused some mouth breathing so I added a chin strap. That seemed to have stopped that or at least I don't wake up knowing I am doing that now plus I haven't seen it on the graphs. I have a beard so I don't know that I can use any tape.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Dave
You can look for a hose holder to help keep the weight of the hose off the mask as you turn over. There are floor standing types and clamp on types. I use a simple one that mounts on a flat surface.
I use a sports tape that still sticks to my mustache and stubble. A 2x 5 inch works well for me.
They sell another device, that has not arrived yet, that seals the mouth with a plastic piece. I will comment later if it works, under $20
Make sure your chin strap goes under the chin and pulls straight up. if the chin strap pulls back, your apnea will worsen.
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