Inconsistent success in the first few months

[MikePAP]

Hi all,

I have been lurking for some time and thought I'd join, post and hopefully help others when I gain some experience in CPAP throughout my treatment. 

I was diagnosed at the end of Feb and have had some fleeting success but mostly not much at all.

My biggest issue at the moment is hypopneas that often cause me to wake up. 

Which was my issue before beginning therapy.

I initially started on an n30i with 6-8 pressure EPR 2 and saw some success until I began to get several mouth leaks.

Then I moved to an F20 to stop the leaks and only had 3 good nights' sleep. Though hypopneas still dominate my events.

I have turned EPR on a few nights, but the next day, I am completely disabled and can't even get off the couch. 

Sometimes I think I should rough it for a few days because the numbers are better, maybe I'll adapt but it almost feels worse than being untreated?

Unsure of what to do and incredibly frustrated. 

I know this can work I'm just not sure what to do for consistent sleep without having to tweak the settings repeatedly.

At the moment I've settled for 7-10 EPR off as it's the best I can do. My sleep specialist said this will do and it did deliver for 3 nights as mentioned.

I also wonder how much of my waking up is a learnt behaviour from years of untreated apnea?  

Help is much appreciated.

Thank you.

[MikePAP]

Also, noteworthy with this follow-up post as I read the rules and realised I could only post 3 screenshots, but somehow I managed to sleep throughout the entire night these nights. 

It may be worth comparing. 

Sorry for the additional post.

[super7pilot]

Ditch the pie chart. The forum needs to see the data below it. At a glance, your average pressure is 9. But your min is set to 7. Change it to 9 and see what that does.

[MikePAP]

Thanks, 

I've attached some more screenshots.

[Expat31]

Hi, 

Also we can't see some of your statistics, and all of your settings.

Try the attached settings (left hand side) to free up some space.

[MikePAP]

Thank you! 

Attached some more screens for assistance.

I find it strange that 6-8 pressure n30i EPR 2 used to work and now it doesn't? 

But at the moment my problem is present in the screens and wake ups.

Thanks.

[super7pilot]

Two things, you need to switch your machine to the “Standard” response mode. soft response is too slow to respond to the H’s. And as your CA’s aren’t high i would up the EPR.

My lab study showed 101 Hypopnea’s and only 3 OA’s. And of course the Hypopnea is just an obstructive apnea that didn’t fully form. Yet creates a great restriction to airflow. And so are fought with pressure. And thus “soft response” is not your friend.

Why it has changed for you is an unanswerable question.

[MikePAP]

Thank you, 

I’ll attempt to make some amendments to my settings and post results. 

I’ll need to buy some “decent” sleep prior to implementing the EPR change as sometimes that exacerbates my symptoms. 

It’s funny, I didn’t have so many hypopneas when I wore my n30i though leaks may have made it difficult to detect. Probably had EPR on 1 or 2 if I recall. 

Do you think pressure is fine? 

7-10 cmH2O? 

Thank you for the assistance.

[super7pilot]

I can't begin to know if a pressure is fine for you. But I would go ahead and try that setting and monitor and post up the results. Also go to standard response mode.

[MikePAP]

Cheers, thank you

I’ll attempt over the next few days.