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+--- Thread: Looking for Advice on Effectiveness of Bipap Air Curve 10 ST-A (/Thread-Looking-for-Advice-on-Effectiveness-of-Bipap-Air-Curve-10-ST-A)
Looking for Advice on Effectiveness of Bipap Air Curve 10 ST-A - cmpman1974 - 02-07-2023
Hi everyone. I am not new to BiPAP therapy at all, but I am to some of these groups. I have been on BiPAP therapy since 2008. My sleep doc recently transitioned me from a ResMed Air Curve 10 VAuto machine to a ResMed Air Curve 10 ST-A. He said I needed the non-invasive ventilator machine as I'm overweight and retaining too much CO2 and can't get deep enough breaths. All daytime CO2 lab tests in my Comprehensive Metabolic Panel have been normal range or very slightly above normal at 30-31. Arterial Blood Gases were normal.
No matter what I do, I never feel remotely rested. I wake up many days very fatigued. For the most part, my machine was showing AHIs under 1 per hour with treatment. I was having a issues with mask leaking. This seems to be improving significantly with a new mask I got: F&P Vitera. I used to use a ResMed Quattro Mirage, but it was a nightmare getting a seal at high pressures such as 20+. I'm yawning hundreds of times a day. I do have multiple health conditions that I'm sure play a part. I probably have a more complex medical history than many I would assume.
I was on another apnea forum, but it seemed all people there were focused on a program called Sleep HQ. I just learned to input data in OSCAR. I am not sure why there were so intent on a single software vehicle. I'd prefer to use OSCAR.
If anyone very experienced has some feedback that could be helpful, I would truly appreciate it. Please let me know what info would be useful to see. Thanks in advance!
RE: Looking for Advice on Effectiveness of BiPAP - Melman - 02-07-2023
Welcome to the forum. It appears you are experiencing positional apnea probably due to tucking your chin to your chest which restricts the airway like kinking a hose. See this link for more information http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Optimizing_therapy#Positional_Apnea
It may be due to too thick a pillow or multiple pillows causing your chin to tuck toward your chest. If a thinner pillow doesn't solve the problem or you sleep on your side the solution is a soft cervical collar. It has fixed this problem for me and many others. See the link below.
RE: Looking for Advice on Effectiveness of Bipap Air Curve 10 ST-A - cmpman1974 - 02-07-2023
Very interesting. It makes total sense too. I was very curious why I'm seeing tight clusters of events like this. I always wake up in the morning flat on my back no matter how I attempt to go to sleep. It may be due to having a bad back (three herniated discs) and tight muscles. It is such a difficult issue to deal with multiple things. :
I will try the suggestions for sure.Interestingly while it didn't make me feel much better, my AHI number was under 1 almost every night before my doctor changed my pressures two nights ago. I had a min EPAP of 10.0. Min PS: 10.0; Max PS: 20.0 and a bit higher Target MV rate on my machine. Mask leaks were an issue often, but I've seen more success with the Vitera mask and careful fitting the last week. The lowering of pressure caused me to have a difficult night. I have really felt horrendous today. On the high pressures, my lungs felt more strained I believe from fighting against it. There were absolutely no clusters of apneas/hypopneas like last night though. Very different profile.
I originally used to be on the VAuto machine with a 16/8 pressure before I got the new machine. I rarely if ever saw AHI numbers under 5 on that. They were so low I assumed they were inaccurate honestly.