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I haven’t been able to use my machine for the past 2 1/2 months. I have nutcracker esophagus and swallowing air was really irritating my condition. I got Botox in my esophagus which has helped tremendously. I’m absolutely exhausted and need to start my bipap again. I’ve talked to my doc office but they aren’t very helpful. My old setting are just too much air for me. I think I was 11 and 5. I don’t remember the ps because I tried to adjust it. I want my settings to be the lowest so I’m not swallowing air. I’d rather start low and then build up from there. So I need to know what my ipap, epap, and ps should be set at? Please help!! ?
It will help if you download and install OSCAR on a laptop or computer. We are going to want to know the results and any issues with what we are going to do. Based on your description of the problem, I'm going to suggest we start with very low settings and see where the comfort threshold is. We may compromise optimal AHI in order not to exceed your esophageal threshold.
Recommended Settings:
Mode: Vauto
EPAP min 4.0
PS: 3.0
Max IPAP Pressure 9.0
We will attempt this one night and hopefully get a report from you on whether you remained comfortable and get some idea of what events may have occurred. This provides a range from 7//4 to 9/6 (IPAP/epap). Good luck!
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
These low settings did not result in obstructive events and I was surprised to see the CA. That could be sleep disturbances. My big question is how was the aerophagia?
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
CA is a pause in breathing for at least 10 seconds where the airway is not obstructed. It can occur for many benign reasons. Let’s continue with these settings and as you get more comfortable, I expect these events to diminish. If necessary we will take a closer look to see if there is anything we can or should do to reduce them.
You have a shallow breathing pattern of only 280 mL per breath. Are there any health conditions we should be aware of that required higher pressure support? It. Would be interesting to compare a chart from before we made the changes. Regardless I want to continue with the more comfortable settings for now.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Thank you for all this help. I truly appreciate it! I did have pretty bad asthma as a kid and grew out of it. I have rheumatoid arthritis, possibly another connective tissue disease that hasn’t been figured out yet. I have nutcracker esophagus and have to have Botox injected into my esophagus 2 months ago. I’m 45 years old, I’m 5’2” and weigh 115. Apnea was quite a surprise diagnosis for me! I’ll continue with these settings and I’ll see about getting some older Oscar Info when I return home. I’m away for a couple nights. Thanks again!?
