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Here's a salute to better treatment and better sleep quality for all of us by participating here.
DaveL
compliant for 35 years /// Still trying!
I'm just a cpap user like you. I don't give medical advice. Seek the advice of a physician before seeking treatment for medical conditions including sleep apnea.
First, you're on a wonderful machine that works a lot better than any I've used. People here can help you get the most out of it.
A humidifier and a heated hose makes treatment more comfortable. I want to be able to wear my gear all night long. So I want it to be comfortable.
DaveL
compliant for 35 years /// Still trying!
I'm just a cpap user like you. I don't give medical advice. Seek the advice of a physician before seeking treatment for medical conditions including sleep apnea.
I felt much more comfortable. Thanks Big Guy for your suggestion.
DaveL
compliant for 35 years /// Still trying!
I'm just a cpap user like you. I don't give medical advice. Seek the advice of a physician before seeking treatment for medical conditions including sleep apnea.
DaveL, Apnea Board is like driver training...we show you how to drive, but you eventually take the wheel and brake control, and we just hold on for the ride. You've come a long way.
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.
Big Guy & Sleeprider my Garmin watch said I had twice as much deep sleep as usual. 2 hours 39 minutes. That's a big change. Due to using the hose reel to keep my hose from tugging my mask
Thank you
DaveL
compliant for 35 years /// Still trying!
I'm just a cpap user like you. I don't give medical advice. Seek the advice of a physician before seeking treatment for medical conditions including sleep apnea.
09-20-2019, 09:29 PM (This post was last modified: 09-20-2019, 09:30 PM by Big Guy.)
RE: Don't know what I don't know.... newbie...
(09-20-2019, 08:36 PM)DaveL Wrote: Big Guy & Sleeprider my Garmin watch said I had twice as much deep sleep as usual. 2 hours 39 minutes. That's a big change. Due to using the hose reel to keep my hose from tugging my mask
I'm just touching bases now that its been 6 months or so since my first tweaking based on the advise here. (and thank you). Overall all stats tend to be trending down. I am finding that I'm more clear in my thinking (after my morning coffee) and, what has been most notable is not falling asleep in the 3:00 to 3:30 PM in the afternoon while working at the keyboard.
I have found that I am now primarily sleeping on my back rolling to my side toward the morning... I tend to doze on my side and it is also typically in the morning shortly before I usually get up anyway.
I as you can see I've stepped up my lower pressure to 9 and have left the upper level at 20 based on privious advise here. I think this has helped quite a bit with respect to assisting me in lowering my numbers. The reasons I'm posting now was to first wish everyone a happy new year and secondly to get your thoughts on where my numbers look and suggestions on what I could do to further improve them.... In addition to upping the lower limit to 9 I've also rigged my nose hose to the headboard of my bed getting it out of the way, much more comfortable.
In looking over my stats the areas i've noted that the RERA index has not really changed over the last 6 months or so, and would be interested in everyone's thoughts on this, where it's coming from and what are suggestions to address it. I noted that I tend to have a couple Periodic Breathing episodes a night. I think I remember someone saying that is how the Phillips tracks RERA...
I truly appreciate everyone's help here. I don't have a specialist, had to switch to crappy insurance and have found more helpful advise here than anywhere else.
Jim, welcome back. Your progress is very encouraging, but if you really want to take it to the next level, it's going to take a different machine. RERA is related to flow limitation and the Philips Auto CPAP does not provide any useful tools to address it. The Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset and, better the Aircurve 10 Vauto do.
The RERA, flow limitation and hypopnea all arise from airway resistance that can be compensated or overcome by pressure support (the difference between inhale and exhale pressure). The Airsense 10 Autoset is an auto CPAP but has up to 3-cm of exhale pressure relief that we can leverage to treat these conditions. The Aircurve 10 Vauto has not pressure support limit, and additional timing tools to increase or decrease inspiration timing and trigger sensitivity. With either one, your AHI would improve, but more importantly, your comfort would increase to the point that therapy would become transparent. You have flow limitation, and if you zoom in on your flow rate chart, you will see you have a lot of flat-topped inspiration waves, and expiration is not comfortable. We can see it because of the ragged appearance of your flow-rate chart.
It's up to you, because insurance is unlikely to cover the upgrade given the fact your "numbers" show you are well treated and have no medical necessity to change. Lots of machines online at Craigslist, Offer-up or other market places, but if I could put you on a Vauto one day, you would not wonder why I'm such an advocate of those machine; you would know why.
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.
(07-18-2019, 02:23 PM)jimcaffey Wrote: I've been reading this board for the last several weeks and see folks that are taking as long as up to a year to tweak their systems... etc.
I've not read this thread, to know if others responded to this part, but I figured I'd respond to this.
I had immediate improvement with xPAP therapy! Then, after my body adapted to it, my needs slightly changed; so I tweaked my settings and my body adapted. Then my body adapted to that, and my needs changed again; so I tweaked again.
Our bodies are human, and change over time. So xPAP therapy should not be stagnant.
I assume a good/legitmate sleep doctor would check in with their patient periodically, and lead this tweaking as needed. I don't have such a doctor, so I try to check in on my data periodically (via OSCAR) to see how things are going.
