jarrod1893 - Therapy Thread

[OpalRose]

Your profile suggests that EPR is set at 1, ramp only. And yet, you have the ramp turned off.

If you really want to try EPR, set it to 2 (full time) and leave the ramp off. This will help you breathe out against the pressure and might actually result in less leaking.

If the EPR causes an increase in CA's, back off EPR to 1, but keep it at Full Time. Or if Obstructives occur, we can up the pressure a bit. Right now, I don't see a need for higher pressure, but let's gauge the effect of EPR first.

[jarrod1893]

Hi, all! I thought I had isolated tidal volume and flow limitations as issues and thus bumped up my pressure after 6 months of CPAP use with no positive impact. After three weeks of high pressure, I'm still not seeing benefits despite a lower AHI. Concerned that there's another issue that i cant figure out and I'm desperate.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Screenshots attached and I can share more data if it would be helpful. I also have another sleep dr. appt in November but I'm not optimistic they'll be very helpful...

[G. Szabo]

Now, your experience has been reported in three threads. It would be best if you kept it in a single one. 

You had good figures in your previous thread on July 24, when the minimum pressure was 10.6 cm. It is unclear why you increased it so much. You do not need it, and high pressure has side effects. 

You might want to try the standard response, which is more suitable for males than the current Soft one.

[staceyburke]

When you post please put the charts in the order I have in my signature.  I find the higher the pressure I use the more fragmented my sleep is.  I would suggest that you try to lower the Min pressure until you start to have more O or H events (not just one or 2 more but several more).

[jarrod1893]

Appreciate the response! I'm a newbie so I'll keep that in mind and have a single thread. 

And honestly, the pressure was purely out of desperation and throwing it all against the wall.

I was not aware of the soft/standard setting so I'll try that!

[OpalRose]

jarrod1893,

Your threads have been merged.  This makes it easier for those that are advising to see your history in one place.

Going forward, please use this thread for posting charts and any questions you may have.

Thanks!

[Dormeo]

Your median tidal volume and your flow limitations look fine in the most recent chart you posted. Why did you zero in on those two metrics?

And why did you include the zoomed-in chart? Was it the squiggles around the zero line in the flow rate graph? If so, those are perfectly unremarkable. They're called cardioballistic artifacts, which just means your heartbeat telegraphs itself a bit to your airway. (I have them, as do plenty of other people.)

Are you getting 7.5 to 8.5 hours of actual sleep per night? If you're not, can you work on your schedule to try to do that?

[jarrod1893]

Thanks for the response. I called out those two metrics as someone flagged them as possible issues. And yes, I get enough sleep typically. I am 40 and have had these fatigue and difficulty waking issues my entire life. And the CPAP hasn't seemed to help at all despite trying many variations of pressure/epr/etc. 

I have a new baby so i have a renewed need to try to fix this lifelong issue. I'm wondering if the CPAP is not the fix i need.