First OSCAR data - lots of leaks and hardly any improvement :-(

[p123]

Am hating the CPAP so much - can't breathe its choking me. The mask is so uncomfortable, I just cannot sleep.
Its at the point know where I'm not using every night - I need to sleep sometime and this is way worse.

Seriously, considering canning the whole thing - I really can't cope with this. Someone please tell me that I have no choice with such a high rate.

Anyway heres my chart for one night.

Please can someone take a look....

   

[staceyburke]

You are having a huge amount of positional apnea. You can see positional apnea where either H or Oa events are clustered together. There are not a huge amount but getting rid of as many as you can will lower your AHI.

Positional apnea can NOT be controlled by pressure changes. You have to find out what position you are getting into and cutting off your own airway. Have you changed your sleep position? Sleeping on your back? Using more (or new) pillows? These things can cause positional apnea by chin dropping to your sternum and cutting your airway. Think of it of a kinked hose – nothing can get through – you have to unkink the hose…

IF you can’t make a simple change like changing to a flatter pillow helps then you will need a collar. I have a link to collars in my signature at the bottom of the page. It shows people who are not wearing a collar and the SAME person wearing a collar. There is a huge difference between the two. With the huge amount of positional apnea you have you almost certainly are going to need a collar.

I would also raise the min to 8 to give you more air

[p123]

You are having a huge amount of positional apnea.  You can see positional apnea where either H or Oa events are clustered together.  There are not a huge amount but getting rid of as many as you can will lower your AHI.

Positional apnea can NOT be controlled by pressure changes.  You have to find out what position you are getting into and cutting off your own airway.  Have you changed your sleep position?  Sleeping on your back?  Using more (or new) pillows?  These things can cause positional apnea by chin dropping to your sternum and cutting your airway.  Think of it of a kinked hose – nothing can get through – you have to unkink the hose…

IF you can’t make a simple change like changing to a flatter pillow helps then you will need a collar.  I have a link to collars in my signature at the bottom of the page.  It shows people who are not wearing a collar and the SAME person wearing a collar.  There is a huge difference between the two.  With the huge amount of positional apnea you have you almost certainly are going to need a collar.

I would also raise the min to 8 to give you more air

Thanks Stacey - I almost always sleep on my back which I guess is the problem.....
My BMI  is pretty high which I guess doesn't help.

So in terms of pillows - is lying flatter or more upright better?

Thanks for the info about the collar - guess I better look at that.
And yes for the min value thing.

[staceyburke]

The whole thing about pillows is it can’t promote chin tucking - the chin going down the sternum. That is one place where the airway is kinked.

The measurement you need for a collar is to measure the distance between your chin and your sternum. And of course it is large enough to fit around your neck.

[p123]

The whole thing about pillows is it can’t promote chin tucking - the chin going down the sternum. That is one place where the airway is kinked.  

The measurement you need for a collar is to measure the distance between your chin and your sternum. And of course it is large enough to fit around your neck.

Right I get it so chin tucking is the prob so I guess higher is worse (because your upper body is not flat). So head back is ideal.....

Yeh my next size is LARGE so I think I've got to get the biggest they do.

Thanks make sense why my stats are the same with the CPAP if all I'm doing is blocking my breathing. Now, shouldnt get my hopes up, but that would be a result if ONLY a collar was needed and not a CPAP.

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Stacey is very knowledgeable, so please listen to him. Here are a few other observations…

First, I suggest you keep everything in your therapy thread. Much easier for folks to find the information needed to help.

Second, you have a lot of leaks. You need to get those under control as half the nights therapy is lost due to significant leaks. I don’t know what kind of full face mask you have, but look up some videos on YouTube to see how to properly fit it. LankyLefty27 does a lot of good videos on mask fitting that may help. Rather than a cloth full face mask consider trying a Resmed F20, F30, or other FFM. It may help.

Third, Something is wonky with your pressure. I’ll leave it to Stacey and others to recommend what pressures to try, but it seems that you need more pressure to handle the H and OA events. When you have a higher pressure H are not very present and the bulk are OA. My guess would be you need a min of 8 or 9 and max of 15 with flex of 3, but lets hear from others far more experienced.

Finally attached is a chart that may help with your collar sizing.

Good luck!

[p123]

Stacey is very knowledgeable, so please listen to him. Here are a few other observations…

First, I suggest you keep everything in your therapy thread. Much easier for folks to find the information needed to help.

Second, you have a lot of leaks. You need to get those under control as half the nights therapy is lost due to significant leaks. I don’t know what kind of full face mask you have, but look up some videos on YouTube to see how to properly fit it. LankyLefty27 does a lot of good videos on mask fitting that may help. Rather than a cloth full face mask consider trying a Resmed F20, F30, or other FFM. It may help.

Third, Something is wonky with your pressure. I’ll leave it to Stacey and others to recommend what pressures to try, but it seems that you need more pressure to handle the H and OA events. When you have a higher pressure H are not very present and the bulk are OA. My guess would be you need a min of 8 or 9 and max of 15 with flex of 3, but lets hear from others far more experienced.

Finally attached is a chart that may help with your collar sizing.

Good luck!

Thanks.....

Facemask I have is DreamWear Full Face Mask 

OK. thanks for the pressure recommendations. (Wow its complicated)

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Please update your profile so folks know what specific mask you use. I looked at your other threads and you mentioned using a cloth mask. 

If you have the time, reading threads is quite useful. You can search for specific keywords either here or using a search engine (specify “site:apneaboard.com <keywords>” e.g. site:apneaboard.com full face mask leaks).

I’ve been on CPAP about 4 years now and am still learning every day reading the smart kids like SleepRider, CrimsonNape, StaceyBurke, et.al. There is a method to the madness that those folks have explained regarding how they use IPAP and EPAP. Quite enlightening…

Regarding your pressure, I’m only now starting to really understand how things work. My suggestion is based on the one chart I saw. Others will jump in and correct me if I am misreading things…

[p123]

Please update your profile so folks know what specific mask you use. I looked at your other threads and you mentioned using a cloth mask. 

If you have the time, reading threads is quite useful. You can search for specific keywords either here or using a search engine (specify “site:apneaboard.com <keywords>” e.g. site:apneaboard.com full face mask leaks).

I’ve been on CPAP about 4 years now and am still learning every day reading the smart kids like SleepRider, CrimsonNape, StaceyBurke, et.al. There is a method to the madness that those folks have explained regarding how they use IPAP and EPAP. Quite enlightening…

Regarding your pressure, I’m only now starting to really understand how things work. My suggestion is based on the one chart I saw. Others will jump in and correct me if I am misreading things…

Many thanks for your help so far its much appreciated.

Profile updated now. I started off with a cloth mask but I've swapped that one out now.