I seem close but yet so far away

[REMChaser]

Do you sleep on your back / are you an active sleeper? Your charts and CAs look like mine and I have positional apnea. Wondering if a soft cervical collar might help. Pretty cheap solution to try for ~$20. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

[super7pilot]

Rem chaser,
No back sleeping. I sleep mostly on my sides and 3/4 (not fully) on my tummy. I have 2 CPAP pillows, a soft collar and a Ruby style chin strap being delivered today.

I do have a bit of neuralgia in my left foot from my back (according to my GP and Podiatrist) and had nerve ablation on my left middle toes and they are now numb but still move fine. So I move my feet/legs quite a bit. And that along with my nose and over thinking/worrying about my CA's on my oscar chart could all be issues.

Part of my frustration is that 23 years ago when I was 43. I had UPPP surgery on my throat to "cure" my OSA's. And it seemed to work. But it was VERY painful surgery. And I was told that it would prevent apnea's from returning.  NOT!!!

As my OA's are and have been low since getting my machine. I look at those CA's a lot. And to be honest, they scared me WAY more than OA's. Because in my mind (such as it is) OA's can be stopped with pressure. But CA's (again in my mind) are "respiratory failure". And that is hella scary.

But with the help of this forum. I'm understanding that it is more likely just breathing so deeply that my C02 gets low and I don't need to breath 'according to my brain'

I realize that the oscar data can be a great help in getting ones treatment dialed in as far too many sleep MD's/labs seem to treat sleep patients persona non grata after the sleep study. 

But those charts can also be a source of chasing ones own tail and pretty scary if one (like me) starts to over analyze the data.   Def a case of TMI being both helpful and detrimental at the same time.

[super7pilot]

Well, I likely changed too much in one go. put on the P10 nose pillows, taped my mouth, put on a soft collar (Caldera Releaf) and a new sleeping pillow (Homby's buckwheat pillow) https://www.amazon.com/HOMBYS-Adjustable...B0CL4F1LV8

Left my pressure at 11.4 but lowered the EPR to 1.

I was pretty comfortable in spite of being wrapped up like a mummy. But after just laying there for nearly three hours not sleeping. I removed everything but the new buckwheat pillow and left my mouth taped. Then I was able to sleep.

Going back to my priors nights setting of 11.4 & EPR 2 and leave it there as my AHI was 3.66. And I'll monitor the CA's to see if they abate over time.

[super7pilot]

Good results with my adjustments.
which were,
F40 mask
CPAP mode @ 11.4cm
EPR @ 1
Caldera cervical collar
thin buckwheat pillow
78F tube temp
Auto humidity
the break was for bathroom and drink of water.

This resulted in an AHI of 0.17, 1 RERA & 1 clear airway.

Still searching for a more restful night though. But I'm happy with these results.

[Old Steve]

If you can handle the EPR at 1 OK you may want to try lowering your minimum pressure and see what happens.

[katbrat]

Using a soft cervical collar solved my issue with having clusters of apneas as long as I don't have it on too tight. I use the Goldilocks approach, not too loose, not too tight, just right! I see it looks like it's helping you too.

[super7pilot]

If you can handle the EPR at 1 OK you may want to try lowering your minimum pressure and see what happens.

Yes, my intention is to now nibble around the edges to get the treatment and comfort as close as possible.  

The chart from last night shows my machine/results in cpap mode. So no min pressure beyond the EPR setting 1. I will leave the settings alone for a few nights. Then i will drop to 11cm on the pressure. 

Forgot to mention. I did take a dose of Magnesium Glycinate and Melatonin an hour before bed. That seemed to settle down my legs so I could get over that initial bump of relaxing enough to nod off. 

It is nice to be on the right track though.

[super7pilot]

Using a soft cervical collar solved my issue with having clusters of apneas as long as I don't have it on too tight. I use the Goldilocks approach, not too loose, not too tight, just right! I see it looks like it's helping you too.

With that collar. feels like i’m getting ready to go on stage in a Shakespearian play or in an episode of the twilight zone. 

If someone broke into our home. They might run away in fear after catching sight of me in bed in my costume.

But it seems to work.

[super7pilot]

With out your sleep test it is hard to tell for sure if they are actually Central Apneas or just Clear Airway events being caused by treatment and EPR washing out too much CO2.  What I would try first would be to turn the EPR off and see if you have less CA events. 

Finally got a phone appointment with the VA's sleep Dr. on Nov 13th. So have to wait until then for the studies info.

[Old Steve]

Glad to hear that the VA finally has you scheduled for one...