[CPAP] Desperately Need Help

[jonoc99]

I have been struggling to find settings and a mask that work for me. The F20 medium is too small, the F20 large is too big. Both cause leaks.

In CPAP automode (airsense 10) I have had a few good nights, average pressure is 14.2. I am not overweight but have obstructions and deviated septum, large tonsils, etc., so i know that i need a substantial amount of pressure to have a chance of a decent night.

I recently also purchased the Aircurve 11 and used it for the first time last night in S mode. It didn't work very well, I dont think. Ended up changing back to CPAP mode and fixed pressure of 14.

First image is when I started in Bipap S mode with IPAP 14 and EPAP 10. Woke up after 2 hours, changed to CPAP mode bec didnt feel right, set pressure of 14, since 14.2 is my avg CPAP pressure in Auto mode on Airsense 10.

Best sleep so far, and it is hit and miss, is CPAP on airsense 10 with Max pressure 15 and Min pressure 13. Masks leaks are an issue though and every morning I wake up with a red sore spot on bridge of my nose from having the mask cranked down. I think it is bec. I am between a Med. and Large size. Long narrow face.

Bipap S Mode - 14/10 IPAP/EPAP, T1 Range 1-4.0s, Med. Trigger and Cycle

[dharris01]

With a V-com, do you need to turn off EPR?

[UnicornRider]

Welcome Jonoc, First impressions is Positional Apnea specifically "Chin Tuck", Read this:  https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...onal_Apnea

Using a thinner pillow and or a Soft cervical Collar (SCC) has proven to help people:  https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...cal_Collar

For future postings please remove the calendar and the pie chart, that will provide our forum members more useable information contained in the left side bar: https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...ganization

CPAPfriend, a forum member has some YT videos that show how to work with OSCAR, they are worth viewing:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32JwMc6dphQ

Here is part two of OSCAR introduction:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujaoKvBnP00

His other videos offer some good insight into *PAP therapy.

If you have had a sleep study it would help to post it here, after you redact all personal information. Our members can read and interpret that information for therapy recommendations.

Your Event Flags are clustered very close which is an indicator of Chin Tuck, that first article should remove most of your Event Flags.

How did you come up with your AirSense 10 AutoSet?

Post back with more results, question or concerns.

[jonoc99]

With a V-com, do you need to turn off EPR?

Im sorry, I don't know. Im still a noob and trying to get up to speed.

[jonoc99]

Dear Unicorn Rider,

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. After reading the link and trying the two test methods, I snore when awake and have trouble breathing letting my head fall forward. I sleep on a pile of pillows too because it was recommended to me by my doc -- to elevate. Even applying some pressure in front of my throat creates a substantial blockage, so I think your theory is at least partly the issue. I also have a neck collar but was incredulous to believe it would help, so never really used it. I will go with one small pillow and the collar tonight. Thank you so much!

As to the resources, thank you for those. I will dig in. I did have a sleep study, but my reading of it and my doc's reaction suggested it was useless or not properly completed. Please find the highlights here. Next I will post more Oscar data with the calendar and pie chart removed.

AirSense 10 autoset was suggested to me by a doc. Without a titration, I had no better settings. But what I did notice was that as I increased pressure and the total range, ending at 15/12, I had better results than the lower pressures I started with.

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[jonoc99]

Unicorn Rider,

Thank you again for your help. Please find more of my data below without the side bars

*** Moderator Note: Corrupted image removed ***
Images can not be inserted directly into a post or hosted from a personal computer.
Please upload apnea related images (only) to the Apnea Board server or use an image hosting service for all others.
Please read this link for further information: "How to: Attaching Images and Files on Apnea Board" .