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Last night was my first night using a CPAP. I am using a Airsense 10 with a P10 nasal mask. I do have a deviated septum, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to breathe well with that, but it wasn't as bad as I expected as long as I slept on my side. If I tried to sleep on my back it wasn't nearly as comfortable. I think I typically inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth, but I was hoping that the pressure would allow me to use my nose exclusively. I'm not sure if that worked.
I watched a video from CPAP Reviews on Youtube that said that they usually set it to 4-20 cm and that's way too much for most people, so I bumped it down to 4-10. I didn't turn on EPR. The worst part was that I woke up with some pretty severe stomach bloating. Clearly, I had swallowed a lot of air.
I didn't wake up feeling very rested--in fact I fell back to sleep on the couch just a bit after I got out of bed. AHI is over 10, which I understand isn't great. My OSCAR data is attached. Any thoughts about what to adjust?
Generally it's recommended to use a full face mask if you have a deviated septum. Most of your events look like positional apnea which no amount of pressure is going to resolve so evaluate your sleeping position and test & tune the best way to keep your chin from tucking. The shortcut is to buy a soft cervical collar that doesn't allow your chin to tuck.
I'd recommend you change your minimum to 7cmH20 and your maximum to 15 after thinking about a better sleeping position. This will prepare you for EPR later should you need it.
10-15-2023, 10:16 AM (This post was last modified: 10-15-2023, 10:18 AM by staceyburke.)
RE: First CPAP use (with Oscar Data)
You have a huge amount of positional apnea. Positional apnea can not be treated with Cpap because no pressure can clear this type of apnea.
You are getting your neck in a position that blocks your airway. Think of it as a kink in a hose - it doesn’t matter how much you turn up the pressure you have to find out why you are kinking and avoid that position. Many times but not always it is one or both of these positions. Sleeping on your back or tucking your chin down to your sternum cutting off your airway. Try sleeping on your side not back and use flatter pillow(s).
If that does not work you will need a collar to sleep in. I have a link in my signature at the bottom to look at.
Thanks! Would you recommend continuing to try the machine or just go to the collar instead? I try to sleep on my side due to my deviated septum because I breathe much easier that way, but I seem to roll to my back frequently during the night. I don't really have any control over it. My pillow is already basically flat.
(10-15-2023, 09:27 AM)Jobaaayyy Wrote: Thanks. I'm still very new to all of this and still learning.
Do you have a mask you'd recommend instead of nasal pillows?
Also, if it's due to positional apnea, if I use a cervical collar is it possible I wouldn't need a cpap machine at all?
Resmed F20, either the airfit or the air touch. I prefer the silicone lined one because I can wash it before use making it slightly tacky and it makes a great seal.
Buy the fit pack to find the pillow that fits your face the best.
To answer your question, the cervical collar will fix your sleep posture but not your sleep apnea. Once you solve the positional apnea then we can see what your sleep truly looks like.
You have a huge amount of positional apnea. Positional apnea can not be treated with Cpap because no pressure can clear this type of apnea.
You are getting your neck in a position that blocks your airway. Think of it as a kink in a hose - it doesn’t matter how much you turn up the pressure you have to find out why you are linking and avoid that position. Many times but not always it is one or both of these positions. Sleeping on your back or tucking your chin down to your sternum cutting off your airway. Try sleeping on your side not back and use flatter pillow(s).
If that does not work you will need a collar to sleep in. I have a link in my signature at the bottom to look at.
I bought a cervical collar yesterday and used it last night. I do think it helped. I woke up feeling a little better than yesterday and the bloating was a little better, but not gone. I decided to not adjust the pressure from 4 - 10 because I wanted a direct comparison with the cervical collar. If I understand these results, though, it looks like I might need to increase it since I was at 10 for a lot of the night.
Here's my second night results. Any suggestions? Should I try a full face mask instead of nasal pillows?
10-16-2023, 10:35 AM (This post was last modified: 10-16-2023, 10:37 AM by staceyburke.)
RE: First CPAP use (with Oscar Data)
Now that the positional apnea is so much better we need to work on your flow limits. Flow limits are APNEAS also just like Oa and H events. To help FL we use EPR and to use EPR we have to do 3 setting changes
Turn on EPR to FULL time.
Set EPR to 3
Set min to 7
FL cause 2 problems. First your Cpap raises pressure when it finds FL and continues to raise max pressure until the FL go away but they never go down because EPR is not working.
2nd problem is because pressures have risen. You get bloating and many times you wake up during the night.
