(01-06-2013, 02:39 PM)Sedona79 Wrote: - I have not yet increased pressure settings. I am at 9 cm currently (per initial set-up), I could try increasing to 10 to see what happens.
- Have not tried different masks or chin strap to control the slight mouth breathing I do.
Any other ideas or suggestions that can help me to reduce the AHI below 5 and keep it in the 0 to 5 range are greatly appreciated.
Keep in mind that AHI varies quite a bit on its own, so the changes in your AHI may not be due to the changes you are making to your settings. I doubt very much that the humidity setting could be directly affecting your AHI. You should adjust it for comfort. The more comfortable you are, the better you'll sleep.
As to your pressure setting, well it may be time to tweak it, but first you have to get your leaks under control. If you are mouth-leaking you have to get that under control or nothing else you do will be effective.
As far as changing the pressure goes, you have to know the composition of your AHI. If it's composed mostly of obstructive apneas and hypopneas, and if your leaks are under control, then you may want to raise the pressure a bit.
On the other hand, if the AHI is composed mostly of clear-airway (central) apneas, and if your leaks are under control, you may want to lower the pressure a bit, but it's likely that your AHI will come down on its own as you acclimate to CPAP therapy. You certainly would not want to raise the pressure as it will make your AHI go up. And if your leaks are not under control they'll get worse, too.
See if you can get some information from the on-screen display about your leaks and about the indices that make up the AHI. Getting your own software to view the data would be awesome if you could get that to work. You may be able to send your data to your doctor or equipment provider and get a report from them showing your leak rate and indices that compose your AHI.
If I were you I'd get that chinstrap first. That alone may have more of an effect than anything else you do.