OSCAR Data - Help Interpreting

[learningtosleep]

Hi, 

Very new to APAP/CPAP machines and sleep apnea in general. 

I originally had a sleep study for unrelated reasons, and it came back with a moderate OSA diagnosis as well.

I had an AHI of only around 7, but a high number of RERAs (14), which pushed me to an RDI of 20+, hence the moderate diagnosis from the sleep study scorer. The physician was a bit more dismissive (not entirely, but suggested their importance was overstated), hence rerating it to mild. 

I figured I'd give an APAP trial a shot. It's been about a week - no complaints but no real improvements either. I haven't had many issues with waking up (maybe once or twice in the last week when the pressure starts to go significantly higher) and the fit seems quite good (AirFit F40 Nasal Pillows).

I noticed in OSCAR that nightly it has a fairly distinctive pattern, and my AHIs are effectively unchanged from the sleep study (6-7). 

Just wondering if some of the smarter people would take a look and provide some insight into what's going on, should I be doing something differently? 

Last night was an unusually short sleep (unrelated reasons), so I've attached two nights worth of data. 

Cheers

[Deborah K.]

I see a couple of things that would be good to change.  Your start pressure is too low for you.  Set it to 8 for now, and let's see how that goes.

You also have some positional apnea.  This shows on your chart when you see clusters of Os and/or Hs.  This is caused by your chin dropping towards your chest as you sleep.  This affects you much in the way that a kinked hose reduces water flow, only your dropped chin reduces airflow.  Some can treat this by sleeping on a flatter pillow, but most wear a soft cervical collar.  Amazon offers loads of these, and your local drugstores usually offer a few.  I didn't like the collars so I found a child-size pillow, as they are flatter than adult pillows, but mine has a raised edge that holds my head tipped slightly.  This solved the problem for me.

Again, welcome, and best wishes for achieving great therapy and comfort!  

[learningtosleep]

Thank you for the friendly welcome and advice. 

I increased to 8, but it looks overall the same, just an order of magnitude higher (see attached). 

I realise the OAs are as you said likely due to positional apnoea, but since upping the min pressure to 8 didn't make a difference, should I leave it as is or decrease it back down to 5?

Cheers