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I have two issues at this time one old one and one new. At sea level my numbers (AHI) are usually under 2.0 but at altitude (Reno, NV) my numbers are always higher. Between 5 and 10.0 AHI. No one has been able to explain this to me or whether a setting change on my AirSense 10 would alleviate this problem. New issue is with 8 to 9 hours of sleep I have very little or no water in my humidifier tank. Solutions? I will attach a Oscar read out if it would help.
Central apnea becomes much more common at high altitude in certain individuals than at sea level, and this can complicate treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. A big problem is, a lot of people get sleep tests or titrations at lower altitude, then have problems with the same settings at higher elevation. This is really a problem in Colorado where so many people go to Denver or Boulder, but live at 7000 to 9000 feet in the mountains. Read this https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22171199/
In Reno you are at the same elevation we were when we lived in Pollock Pines (4400 feet). I suspect you would have a lot more problems in Tahoe or at other higher elevation locations. If you took a sleep test in Sacramento, they would have no clue about this, but they see it frequently in Denver. If you dial back the EPR a bit, it might reduce the events. A better solution is actually to add some enhanced expiatory rebreathing space (EERS) which simply allows you to re-breathe some expired CO2. Diamox can work, but it's not a great solution long-term. Your biggest problem looks to be short therapy times.
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Your main events are clear airway events - There is no settings on your machine that will help this. There are much more expensive machines that do eliminate clear airway events. A clear airway event is your body just not breathing, it is normal like holding your breath. We all have some clear airway events when we turn over in bed, pull up the covers.. They are not a problem unless you have a number of them close together. Your machine is made to help obstructive apnea where the throat collapses and restricts air flow.
As far as water useage - it depends on the dryness of the air where you are. If you live near the sea you have more humidity than at altitude. If you want to have less humidity turn down the humidifier on your machine you will not use as much water.
