[CPAP] TPoc's Therapy Thread

[TPoc]

Thanks for the feedback Sleeprider. I felt okay this morning, not amazing but it felt better sticking with a lower pressure. I’ll try 9 tonight, make sure I have my neck positioned right and set the EPR to 3. If my numbers get worse I’ll go back to 9 min and 11 max. The only reason I’d go through with titration is for the Bipap, which unfortunately I have to do for insurance to cover the bipap.

[TPoc]

Hi everyone, sorry for the lapse in my check ins.

My numbers have been consistently below 2 AHI each night with a continuous pressure of 8. I'm going to post them up now. I also had another interesting night where I bumped it up to 9 with an AHI of 0.63, the lowest number I've had so far. I wasn't falling asleep though after about 1.5 hours though, so I turned it off and decided to stick to 8 for a while for compliance and to compare results when I switch to 9 (hoping to get lower numbers). I'll be honest with you all - my energy is through the roof right now. I've never had so much drive in my day (consistently) and felt refreshed in the morning! I'm actually excited to use it at night now whereas before I dreaded it. I was actually afraid to use it because I thought it would make me miss things at work or worse, even more tired than I would be without it.

Anyways, I'll stop ranting. TLDR; I MUCH feel better and think I'm on the right track here. Let me know what you all think!

[TPoc]

This was the night I had the lowest AHI with the bump to 9 (continuous pressure) but mind you this wasn't even two hours. Still curious to hear your feedback - maybe I would benefit from the increase?

[Phaleronic]

Hi TPoc, the last chart looks good, you were having flow limits on your others with the machine set to 8cm-the bump to 9cm is looking great. I've had the same experience moving to constant pressure mode (cpap)-I sleep better, have less arousals and have better numbers overall than I ever did in APAP mode or on my autoBipap.

I can't see if you have EPR enabled or not. I use Dreamstations exclusively and use Cflex+ with great affect, so if you don't have it enabled I'd try it set to 1 (for comfort) as you're not getting much in the way of flow limits at 9cm

[Sleeprider]

We really can't compare a short 1.5 hour sessions where you didn't sleep with your normal full-night of use, so the AHI being lower is kind of meaningless. Most users use the Autoset mode with a range of pressure, it may not be your preference, but it may be worth trying Autoset mode with minimum pressure 7.0, maximum pressure 10.0 and EPR at 3. That would give you a more valid comparison and decision point of whether to stick with the fixed pressure or not. Your results at 8.0 with EPR 3 continue to look good.

[TPoc]

Yeah, I actually have not used 9 continuously yet other than that night so what Sleeprider is saying is valid. There needs to be a longer period of use to make a judgement. I’m going to switch it over tonight since I’ve been using 8 with an EPR of 2 for about a week now. Thanks for checking back in.

[TPoc]

My apologies Sleeprider. I did not bring the panel view down enough to show EPR is at 2 with the setting on 8 cm continuously. When I bump it to 9, I’m probably going to set it to 3 and see what my numbers look like, then bump the EPR down from 3 to 2, then 1.

As far as the other pressures you’re suggesting I try, I’ve have nothing but bad nights around those pressures. Maybe it could be dialed in better but I seem to do way better with the CPAP mode.

[TPoc]

Happy Sunday everyone.

Alright so, still doing well overall with my new settings but I still can't get through an entire night without waking up due to a leak or a high frequency of RE arousal after reviewing the reports. I'm going to put my best night on here, a night with high RE and last night. Overall, still feel more energized than before overall but it's not quite there. I also caught myself drinking caffeine too late in the afternoon, so I'd imagine that may be the culprit some of these nights too (not the ones shown). Do you all suggest doing another sleep study at this point just to get it dialed in perfectly and to make sure I have the right machine? I have the script to do it - just need to make the appointment, but I've been holding on until the beginning of this month for compliance and more days to compare results. The only thing that seems to help is intense exercise because I have a stressful job. Suggestions or feedback?

Same settings - 9 in CPAP mode and 3 EPR

[Sleeprider]

RERA is always related to flow limitation, and while your FL is generally low, there are clusters of higher airway resistance. That inconsistency is generally positional. https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...onal_Apnea Sporadic chin-tucking might be resolved by simply being aware of it and avoiding positions that intermittently obstruct your airway.

[TPoc]

Thanks for the tips. Looks like the cervical collar would help me. Do you recommend any specific CPAP pillows?