[Pressure] Cant find a good setting.

[James Jackovich]

Setting 6/8 ps 2. AHI usually 15. Tried a collar with results AHI 4 to 13.  Will try a flatter pillow. Am a side sleeper. I have dysphagia.

[staceyburke]

As you seem to know you have positional apnea.  PA can not be controlled with pressure changes.  You can only stop PA with changing the position you sleep.  AYou said you had a collar.  It is not doing anything to stop the PA.  The 2 sizes you need to look at is the height of the collar - you get that number from the measurement of the distance of your ching to your sternum.  The 2nd is of course the distance around the neck.

I would also change your pressures but again it will NOT help your PA.
Max 12
Ps4
min 5

Trigger set to high.

[James Jackovich]

Thank you.

[Sleepster]

Will try a flatter pillow. Am a side sleeper.

Do some searching on Amazon for CPAP pillows. This is the latest one I bought and it works great:

"Contour CPAPMax Pillow 2-in-1 Adjustable Memory Foam Pillow for Better Sleep with Pap Machine by Reducing Leaks, Dry Eyes, Red Lines for Side, Back or Stomach Sleeper - Includes White Pillowcase Cover
Contour"

I also purchased an extra pillowcase that's made especially for that pillow.

"Contour CPAPMax Pillowcase, White"

You can adjust the thickness of the pillow.

[Deborah K.]

I solved my positional apnea with a pretty flat gel pillow that has a raised front edge that tips my head black slightly.  PA solved!  My pillow is no longer made but I found one like it on Temu, whom I have never bought from.  Here's a link if you would like to see it:

https://www.temu.com/1pc--pvc-gel--non-f...e_sn=10032

[James Jackovich]

Cervical pillow did not help. Cervical collar helps sometimes. With collar 50% of the time AHI <5. Other wise AHI 15.
Pressure 6/8 ps 3. tigger normal. Hate to go higher than 8 do to aerophagia.

[Sleepster]

What about the pillow?

Aerophagia should start to subside. You might be able to raise pressure a notch, and your PS along with it. Pressure support is a remedy for aerophagia.

[SarcasticDave94]

Yes, PS of 3 probably should be trialed. This comes from my time on ASV: your base exhale pressure is there the majority of the time with the mask on. PS however is of short duration in contrast.

EPAP/exhale to adding PS to get IPAP looks like this more or less
_/\_

Sorry it's kinda crude looking, but hopefully the idea conveys that inhale is roughly half the exhale pressure. And exhale pressure is always on. PS to IPAP that's added to EPAP is brief.

[mawaw1992]

I started having positional apneas years ago and thanks to posters here, they all advised me to get a neck collar to wear. It helped me instantly to where my AHI average dropped from around 7 to where my yearly average was 0.9. I thought everything was good until a little over a year ago when my AHI went back up to around 6 for no apparent reason and the collar didn't seem to be working any longer. Went to see a nurse practitioner who did not work in sleep medicine who suggested using either a wedge pillow under my back or raising the head of  my bed about 6 inches. Since I am a side sleeper, I knew the wedge pillow probably wouldn't work for me so I gave the bed risers a shot. Low and behold my AHI instantly came back down to where I am back to averaging 1.0. I had bought me an extra set of bed risers to travel with and so a few months ago I went on vacation and placed them under the bed. The first night I couldn't find my neck collar to wear and so I slept without it and my AHI the next morning was low. The next day I found the collar but decided not to wear it again to see what would happened the next night and again it was low. I have not worn my collar since then and am still averaging around 1.0 AHI. I know neck collars can be hard to get use to and very uncomfortable to wear, so maybe bed risers or a wedge pillow might be an alternative to see if that might work for you.