Low OA, Higher CA Scores

[Davaadtron]

My AHI is usually under 5, but since using OSCAR I've noticed that I have way more "clear airway" events during the night than obstructive airway events. 

What settings could I change to help this? I have EPR off right now, which I've heard can increase CA. It's amazing that my obstructive events are so low, as that is the goal of CPAP therapy, but I'd also like to keep the central apneas to a minimum as well. 

Here are the last couple nights of sleep on OSCAR:

   
   
   

[SarcasticDave94]

Welcome to Apnea Board,

Do you happen to have your diagnosic sleep study detailed report? You will want this for your personal records anyway, so request it if you currently do not have it. Also you can post it here redacted of personal data. We can help better with that info. Even so, with your current CPAP, keep Ramp off to help keep Centrals/CA down. Since EPR is off, you’re in a compromised therapy state. Skewing settings toward CA reduction will likely compromise Obstructive, Hypopnea, Flow Limit treatment.

For now, maybe try a more narrow pressure range, lowering the high setting. If this becomes an issue that cannot resolved soon, I suggest you consider swapping the AutoSet with a ResMed AirCurve 10 VAuto bilevel for better control settings.

[Deborah K.]

Are you new to therapy?  Did your sleep study indicate that you have a lot of CAs?   If not, and if you are new to therapy, your CAs are likely to be treatment-emergent.  If this is the case then your CAs will lessen or go away in time as you adjust to therapy.

If you don't know what your study showed, set EPR for full-time set at 3.  Your therapy and comfort should improve.  For now, don't worry about the CAs.

[Davaadtron]

I've been using my CPAP since December 1st 2023, so I'm fairly new. I have only been using an SD card and OSCAR for the past week, though, so I am brand new to OSCAR data. 

My sleep study through Kaiser was just an at-home finger test so all the information I got at the time was 16 AHI, and 28 AHI during REM sleep

[SarcasticDave94]

You can still request a print of that detailed report. It's your report, and US HIPAA says you will get it when you request it, or you can report the doctor for this. If requested, they must comply. A minimum, you want this for your own health records.

[Deborah K.]

Dave's right. Your doctor has to provide a copy to you. In the meantime do set up your EPR.

[joeblough]

same exact experience here - also started in december. super low obstructive AHI and low flow limits but ~3 CA AHI. i reduced my EPR a little and the CAs reduced, but since you already have EPR off, that's not a possibility. at any rate the doctors told me not to worry about this as any AHI < 5 is not clinically significant.

i find that every time i turn, i wake up a little, and CAs occur as i fall asleep again. the CPAP somehow enhances these, probably because it's cleaning out the CO2 too quickly. without the CPAP i see some o2 drops that correlate with every position change.

[Davaadtron]

I have a Resmed AirSense 10.

Pressure set to 11-14, EPR 1, No Ramp 

My AHI after my sleep test was 16, and 28 during REM sleep. With CPAP therapy, it's usually between 3-5. But after using OSCAR for the first time for the past few weeks, I've noticed that my Obstructive Apnea scores are really low, like 0.6, sometimes 0.0. So clearly the therapy is working for my obstructive sleep apnea. 

I've noticed, though, that my Clear Airway or Central Apnea score is the highest every night, and that's what's bringing my average AHI up. Last night my OA was 0.6 and my CA was 4.57.

Two questions - is a CA score around 5 or under OK? And how could I potentially lower it without raising my OA score a lot? Or should I even bother trying to lower it if my OA is being treated? 

Included a screenshot of last night's data plus a zoomed in section showing three Clear Airway events.

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Also I should note I always wake up after sleeping 5-6 hours, use the bathroom, and go back to sleep. And my scores are always worse the 2nd half of the night.

I should also note I take Depakote, Seroquel, and Melotonin before bed, and I use THC daily. Which might be wearing off during that 2nd half of the night.

[Crimson Nape]

Davaadtron - I have merged your two threads dealing with your therapy into one. We prefer that all posts regarding a member's therapy be located in a single thread to allow for viewing your history. Please use this thread for all further posts that pertain to your therapy. We can change the thread title if you wish.
- Red