First time therapy, settings and progress

[Schernenk]

Thanks for checking in!  Sleep has not been great of late, I thought I was getting it dialed but I have really struggled over the last 2-3 weeks BUT there has been lots of other stressors in my life which can affect sleep too, so I am trying to figure out whether my early morning waking's and not being able to get back to sleep are APNEA related or traditional insomnia.  I need to remember to do all the other sleep hygiene things that one should so and not put everything in the APNEA basket, long story short I haven't had the break through I was hoping for.  

I am ingesting a bit of air so I think I may dial back the pressure relief a bit and I have moved the trigger sensitivity to Very High, charts look ok to me I think.  I am going to do one more in person consult with CPAP Friend later this week to get some more input.  

I'm at work so don't have access to my Oscars, so these aren't laid out as per usual when I post but here are some screen shots I had sent to CPAP Friend as a primer before we chat, these are from Tuesday and I would say are pretty typical.

[Schernenk]

Two more screen shots as I can't post more then 3 at a time

[UnicornRider]

Tell CPAPfriend hello for me.

  Sorting out the outside influences and stressors that affect our sleep quality can be difficult at times.
Keep good documentation in the Notes Tab of your OSCAR Daily View, you can also Bookmark and later Search for the topic or title you gave Bookmarks.

For Aerophagia, either reducing PS or Min EPAP, but your machine will increase pressure to meet your needs while in an auto mode unless you restrict Max IPAP.  You could try running like I do effectively CPAP. Where (Min EPAP + PS) = Max IPAP.

Let us know how it works out with CPAPfriend.

Have you talked your Dad into giving PAP therapy a try again?

Stay in touch,

[Schernenk]

CPAPFriend is a real asset, PAP therapy has been challenging and I am really not where I had hoped I would be so his hands on help as been really good for me. I continue to play with settings but am still really struggling to get a good amount of REM sleep while on the machine. I may be trying to get a consult with a private sleep physician in the U.S. to explore what else may be going on with me, CPAPFriend is suspicious I may have more going on the meets the eye. Sadly there isn't much professional support up here in the Great White North.

For the time being I am going to continue playing with EPAP min and Pressure Support setting to try and resolve the REM sleep issue.

My dad...he tried for a few days and the machine definitely registers some events but was extra tired just because he wasn't used to being on a machine, so he really hasn't given it much of a chance. Realistically he needs to get at least an in home to have some sort of baseline. I can only badger him so much though LOL.

Will keep you posted!

[chuck29]

Hello All,

I'm a BiPAP user of many years. Pressure is 18/10. My machine was going bad (it was very old) so my AHI was 60 for several months, I later found out. Needless to say, I have been exhausted. I have new BiPAP that I started using last week. AHI is around 7 or 8. I feel worse than I did on old machine getting 60 AHI. I just found out from prescriber today that I was not supposed to be using VAuto mode, so today they changed it to Spontaneous. We'll see how things go starting tonight. I have used VAuto years back and it was ok.

I am HOPING that the reason for feeling so awful is 1) catching up on sleep debt, now that I have a functioning machine and 2) VAuto was not sufficient.

I am curious to hear ANY thoughts/inputs anyone has regarding this. Does VAuto not do a sufficient job in providing the correct pressure?

Thank you!!

[Schernenk]

Hello All,

I'm a BiPAP user of many years. Pressure is 18/10. My machine was going bad (it was very old) so my AHI was 60 for several months, I later found out. Needless to say, I have been exhausted. I have new BiPAP that I started using last week. AHI is around 7 or 8. I feel worse than I did on old machine getting 60 AHI. I just found out from prescriber today that I was not supposed to be using VAuto mode, so today they changed it to Spontaneous. We'll see how things go starting tonight. I have used VAuto years back and it was ok.

I am HOPING that the reason for feeling so awful is 1) catching up on sleep debt, now that I have a functioning machine and 2) VAuto was not sufficient.

I am curious to hear ANY thoughts/inputs anyone has regarding this. Does VAuto not do a sufficient job in providing the correct pressure?

Thank you!!

Hello and welcome.  

First off, I would suggest starting a new thread regarding your question.  I don't mean this in a negative way, but this is sort of "my thread" pertaining to all of my issues and progress.  I think you will get better feedback and information if you start a new thread for your questions/journey, that way you can really keep it specific to your information.  When you start your own thread everyone (some of the more experienced contributors on here) are going to ask to see your OSCAR data.  I'm guessing you are just going by what your prescriber says and you haven't gotten into the clinical settings....if that's the case there is a huge rabbit hole you are about to go down.  I have educated myself a great deal with the help of the folks on here, I have a long way to go still but it is a journey.  Don't be scared off by trying to get your OSCAR data and look into these settings yourself, it is really not difficult and is very worth it.  I have found some "professionals" out there who sell this stuff like to maintain some smoke and mirrors so that they can keep getting paid.  What are your settings now?  What is the Pressure Support? What machine?  These are all questions you will need to provide when you start a thread so that help can be rendered! 

Second, and I am still a bit of a newb, but there should be absolutely no reason that VAuto shouldn't work for you, to say "your not supposed to be using VAuto" is suspect.  My understanding is that VAuto is effectively the Bipap version of an APAP machine.  You set your pressure support, the IPAP max and the EPAP min and the pressure support moves up and down within that range, hence Auto.  Using S mode is effectively the Bipap version of a CPAP machine, the difference between IPAP and EPAP is the pressure support, and it is fixed, it doesn't move.  I found a great video by "the lanky lefty" on YouTube that goes into a bit of detail on explaining the VAuto settings as I am likely over simplifying it is worth a watch.  I don't think that there is any way that VAuto wouldn't be sufficient, provided the settings are correct.  S mode and VAuto are two sides of the same coin but neither would be effective if the settings are not right.  I doubt you'd feel worse because you are catching up on a sleep deficit. 

At the end of the day there are many MANY reasons you may be feeling crappy, folks here can really help out but you need to get those OSCARS and start a thread so we can all chime in and help specifically for you.  There are tons of resources, this will get sorted out.

Copy and paste these links and have a watch.

https://youtu.be/ts9lNJ2g1IE?si=kQhhz1CjC6k1qaHx 

https://youtu.be/32JwMc6dphQ?si=Dn3zwYTvV3GUaYFl

[chuck29]

Hello! 

I appreciate the reply and the details, thank you. Actually I am very familiar with how VAuto works, and have spent considerable time in OSCAR. I will create a new post with my concerns and will certainly share those details. I didn't means to tread on yours. However, the issue was that I did not see how I could create a new post. Actually, while typing this out, I was able to figure that out. Thank you!

[Schernenk]

All good, you are well on your way then.  I wasn't worried about you treading, just figured you would get better results if you start your own thread.

I'm still uncertain why they would have said VAuto wouldn't work or be unsuitable, unless the pressure swings through the night are causing issue with your quality of sleep, which could be.  I continue to struggle with quality of sleep while on PAP therapy myself and will have an night with less then 1 AHI and feel like absolute garbage the next day because I am not hitting any REM.

Best of luck

[chuck29]

Thanks much! Amazing how the body can do that, have AHI of 1, but still be unable to enter REM then consequently feel horrible. I hope you get that figured out!

[UnicornRider]

Hey thanks for guiding the new member to start his own thread, I will get back to you later tonight.


I am currently pretending to be a HVAC tech. It is hot here in the Columbia Basin.


Amazon sent the wrong condenser motor.        


Hang in there. I'll be back.