Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Yet another new user needing advice!
#21
RE: Yet another new user needing advice!
Have appt with sleep doc next week.
Wanted to check in and see if there is anything else to be done, and/or any issues anyone thinks I should bring up… 

It's been about 4 weeks.  I have tweaked pressures and have settled on 13-20, PS 4.2.  I have been using these settings for over 2 weeks now.

Overall I see a lot of  improvement!!

AHI was never a huge issue (usually 2-5), but the last 2 weeks has been consistently < 1, and I've had a couple of "perfect" nights (0.0 AHI).

Flow limits are virtually gone.

The pressure fluctuations are for the most part, gone too.  IPAP starts at 17.2, usually stays between 17.2-17.5.  It sometimes peaks a little higher, but I haven't been above 18 on these settings.

SpO2 drops continue, but the range is much tighter.
- Used to have Up-down ranging from 80-95%.  30-60 minutes < 90%

- Now rarely go below 87-88.  5-10 minutes or less < 90%.  No more headaches.

Biggest change is sleep time.  Before sleep was erratic(!!), and rarely for more than 90-120 minutes at a time.  Often getting up 3+ times a night to go to the bathroom or just walk around.  

Now I'm sleeping 3-4 hours at a time, usually only getting up once.  I even had one night where I slept 7 hours straight!

Fatigue continues, but it is better!  I've never had that great night of CPAP sleep where I woke up feeling like my life was "transformed".  Changes are more subtle -- I actually watched a movie with my wife without falling asleep.  Hoping for more improvement, but realize it takes time.

Here is an Oscar screen shot from last night. 


.pdf   10-21aa.pdf (Size: 307.05 KB / Downloads: 11)

I was wondering about the unusual curve at roughly 22:30-23:11, and again at 1:40-2:00.  I've seen it before in 20-40 minutes stretches.  A "tight" section of flow rate.   The other graphs -- tidal volumes, minute vent., respiratory rate, and even pulse and SpO2 are virtually flat.  Then at some point it returns to a more "normal" fluctuating curve/graph.  I zoomed in on the section @23:11 where the tight section ends.  The change in wave amplitude is pretty clear, but it may just be part of my sleep patterns.


.pdf   10-21b.pdf (Size: 961.7 KB / Downloads: 9)

Does it signify anything?  REM sleep maybe?
Post Reply Post Reply
#22
RE: Yet another new user needing advice!
It signifies an arousal. The flat sections are solid sleep, a good thing. Don't obsess over it.
Post Reply Post Reply
#23
RE: Yet another new user needing advice!
Not obsessing.  Learning!

Says something that a representation of "solid sleep" was a new thing… 

Thanks for the info!!

Thanks
Post Reply Post Reply
#24
RE: Yet another new user needing advice!
Does this make any sense?

First a brief summary:  I haven’t posted in a while!  Since making adjustments to my CPAP 2 years ago, my stats have stayed extremely consistent.  I saw some improvement to my fatigue over the first year, but over the last 8-10 months fatigue has been steadily increasing.   The last 3 months, I started waking up with headaches again.  Checking my SPO2 overnight, showed I was spending as much as 90 minutes each night in the low to mid 80’s.  Rarely for more than a few minutes at a time, but up and down through the night.  I have a sleep study scheduled for next month to see if we can get insurance to cover supplemental oxygen.

On a side note, I have suffered from chronic back pain for years.  About 3 weeks ago, I had a back ablation procedure.  After a short recovery period, I started to see a significant decrease in pain.  Coincidentally, the last 2 weeks, my headaches have stopped, and my SPO2 is down to < 10 minutes in the 80’s.

Does one have anything to do with the other?  I have included Oscar charts from a month ago, and last night.

Any insight?

   

   
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  [Pressure] Advice on pressure adjustments akarifur 44 1,822 5 hours ago
Last Post: akarifur
  New to CPAP, looking for guidance and advice iamJB 16 302 Yesterday, 11:48 AM
Last Post: Expat31
  New- CA CA-Tired help with settings advice jenjabba 8 180 03-27-2024, 01:03 PM
Last Post: SarcasticDave94
  New Here, Been using OSCAR, Need Advice Regarding Adjustments FrankReality 26 874 03-26-2024, 01:49 PM
Last Post: FrankReality
  Needing help fixing my sleep with cpap nunogarcia 2 162 03-22-2024, 09:04 PM
Last Post: PeaceLoveAndPizza
  [Pressure] Looking for advice about ASV settings rosebladepat 7 144 03-15-2024, 07:12 PM
Last Post: rosebladepat
  [Treatment] Looking for Advice jlacassin 0 79 03-15-2024, 03:51 PM
Last Post: jlacassin


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.