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Can you tell whats going on with this CA?
#1
Can you tell whats going on with this CA?
just trying to figure things out.  Wondering what more experienced eyes see in this data.  
I am supposed to have mild OSA (sleep study was all hypopneas and 1 apnea) so im curious what it means if CA starts to show up.  does this one look related to leaks?  or is it more likely from EPR 2?  (im using it because i still have trouble breathing out against pressure and have no idea how people exhale against higher pressures)

-also is there a specific place to learn how to interpret Oscar data? i looked in the wiki but i often miss things.
-and is there a way to switch oscar display to standard time instead of military time?


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#2
RE: Can you tell whats going on with this CA?
What you'll need to consider is all people have a few Central Apnea of varying degrees. Your 1 CA I'm seeing is really nothing to be concerned over. Non condescending, if I had an AutoSet I could certainly give a big purple blob of CA events to really make you concerned. CA are/were my big Apnea issue. As in my 2017 sleep study over 8 hours had 124 CA to 24 OA.

Anyway, as I said, CA can happen to any person at any time, the difference now is you can see them on OSCAR. Unless you had a lot of these CA on the sleep study prior to wearing a CPAP mask, assuming you did a Titration, this CA is nothing more than a breath pause or hold most likely.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#3
RE: Can you tell whats going on with this CA?
The one CA is nothing to worry over.  As Dave states, unless you see lots of them on a consistent basis, it's not a problem.
It's not caused by using EPR 2, as in your case with low pressures, EPR doesn't kick in until your pressure reaches 6cm.

Also, even though your overall leak rate is not that high, it seems consistent throughout the night.  It looks like a combination of mouth breathing and mask movement.  Visibly line of the leak graph with the time of the CA.  Do you notice the higher leak rate at that particular time?  That single CA is probably related to leaking or movement.  Again, don't fret over that, instead concentrate on mask fit and possible mouth breathing/leaking.  

Eventually, please consider a slight pressure adjustment to be able to utilize EPR better. (This will help you breathe out easier against the pressure.)  

Try this experiment.... Stay with the Auto Pressure mode, but set the minimum pressure to 6.4 and the maximum pressure to 6.4.  Set EPR to 2.  (Work you way up to 7-7 with EPR 2)  Your apnea is mild, and this should prove very comfortable.  

The next time you post a chart, include these graphs:  Events, Flow rate, Pressure, Flow Limitation and Leak rate.

In answer to your question...  "is there a way to switch oscar display to standard time instead of military time?"  No

At your leisure, start reading through the OSCAR Guide.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



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.
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#4
RE: Can you tell whats going on with this CA?
Thanks for the tips.  I guess I jumped the gun posting.  I wasnt worried about the CA just wondering what it meant.   I guess it doesn't mean much at all.

I am going off very little guidance with my CPAP.  It was initially set to 4-20 with nothing else and I immediately hated it and started messing with all the settings.   It's only almost 2 weeks into starting.  I've settled around 6 avg pressure (either CPAP or a tight range like I posted).

Last few nights im getting 0 events but still lots lot leaking like you saw.  It's confusing because I don't feel much leaking at all from the nasal mask. I correct any that I notice immediately.  I switched to size small as I realized the medium may be too large and I thought the small had an even better seal but the leak data looks similar.

How can opening your mouth cause leaks?  I'm never a mouth breather.  My tongue stays against the roof of my mouth all night and I never breathe from my mouth.  The only thing I've occasionally noticed since getting CPAP is I may at times awake to my lips parted slightly.  Still no mouth breathing though and tongue is always still against roof of mouth.

I tried taping my mouth but took it off each time because it freaks me out.  Last night I had the mask on and mouth tape before falling asleep just reading.  All of a sudden my mouth became extremely dry and I struggled to take a breath in.  I felt panicky, sat up and concentrated on breathing and forced myself to build saliva quickly so I could swallow and breathe normally again. Shortly after that I took the tape off.

I don't think that's the first time it's happened.  I'm very confused when it happens and I don't know if it's only when using CPAP or if it has happened previously.   Because CPAP forces me to focus on breathing all the time I can't help but notice that at times (maybe not every night) I suddenly think I can't breathe.  But i don't know the cause.  Last night was the first time it happened when I was wide awake.   It makes me afraid to mouth tape because even if it only happens once in a night it's very freaky suddenly not breathing AND not being able to just open your mouth to quick take in some air. It's probably what I dislike most about CPAP overall.  You literally can't talk or yawn or cough while it's running because if you do, all this air just blasts out of your throat.

Sometimes I think I may need more air than 6 but when I got up closer to 7 few days ago I started getting really bad aerophagia.  It's a bit better closer to 6 but still kind of a problem.  My stomach burns too when I use the machine.   I wake up constantly through the night but it isn't just from discomforts from the machine.  Part of my disordered sleeping seems to be that I wake up tons of times and immediately (usually) fall back asleep.   I was hoping that I was waking from events and that the machine would let me finally sleep the night through. But now I'm getting 0 detected events and still waking up tons.  I know it's early days but very discouraging.re
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#5
RE: Can you tell whats going on with this CA?
I agree that taping takes alot to get used to.  Due to being claustrophobic, sometimes I have to talk myself into it. Smile

I never recommend taping unless you can breathe well through your nose.  If you decide to use tape, try bending a corner of the tape under, so that you can remove it quickly if need be.

Also, consider that sometime during the night, your jaw/mouth may open and air may escape.   Maybe not be actual mouth breathing, but the effect is the same.  Escaped air isn't going where it needs to go.  

Take another look at the leak rate graph... do you see the flat tops?  That's either mouth breathing or air escaping.  Line that up with the flow rate graph which looks like a roller coaster.  Notice the affect of the leaks.  This can be disturbing to sleep.

The bottom line is that a low AHI doesn't always equal restful sleep.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

_______________________
OSCAR Chart Organization
How to Attach Images and Files.
OSCAR - The Guide
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing therapy
OSCAR supported machines
Mask Primer



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.
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