Falling asleep holding breath

[onetwothree]

I'm a few weeks into my CPAP therapy. At home sleep test indicated ahi of 28. I have the airsense 11 with nasal pillows. Started with pressure 8-20 and then had it changed to a fixed 8 after reporting my initial troubles. EPR started at 3, now 2.


I initially couldn't fall asleep with it on. After a week I got past that hurdle. But now every time I fall asleep I immediately wake up feeling like I'm holding my breath. So, I start the night with it on for 45-60 mins while I lay in bed reading, so I can get used to the feeling. Then I attempt to fall asleep. So far it seems like I haven't made it past 20 mins having woken up not breathing multiple times. Will this go away or do I need a different approach?

Further context: I just started looking at OSCAR data. I called into the sleep clinic to discuss this and they said, well it doesn't look too bad, I show AHI of 3.7, but you're only using it for about an hour. We need at least four hours to have reliable data. I responded with, of the 1 hr and 4 mins, I was only attempting to sleep for 7 mins. It flagged 4 CAs, but when I look at the OSCAR data, It looks like it was actually 7. So, 7 out of 7 mins is an AHI of 60. That point didn't seem to register, and all I got was the OSCAR data is not reliable, try to sleep with it on for 4 hours. If I fall asleep and immediately hold my breath, wake up for 30 seconds and then repeat, I'm not going to do that for 4 hours. My day will be significantly worse.


Anyone have anything to consider here? OSCAR snapshot attached of that 7 mins I tried to sleep.

[Dodies]

I would personally turn on the machine in autoset mode and make the minimum 7 and the max 15. Turn off the ramp feature and turn on EPR to 3 and then see if that helps. 

Also, there's a better way to format the OSCAR data so we can see all the relevant data points, you can find info here https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...ganization

Do you normally breathe thru your mouth or nose? Or a bit of both?

Also, better not to post zooms of the chart unless people request, as its more helpful to see it all.

[Dodies]

Also, I wouldnt worry about the CA's just yet, I get loads when I drift off to sleep. Setting EPR to 2 removed most of them for me, but if theyre just happening when youre drifting in and out of sleep, theyre probably just junk readings.

[onetwothree]

Thanks for the tips on posting. I'll do that next time. 

I don't mind changing the EPR, but I don't want to p*** off the people at the VA by changing the pressure. 

Okay, so the CAs falling asleep are normal? That's good to know. But the thing is I can't fall asleep and stay asleep. I don't know if it's a mental thing if I'm waking up after the first breathe or two after falling asleep. I'm really starting to wonder if I need to try a different mask. The large pillows seemed more comfortable and like they might be better overall, but they can start leaking air if I move too much. Maybe my nose just isn't ideal for that type? Idk.

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Oh, and I normally breath through my nose.