One month with PR Dreamstation: high pressure wakes me up

[spacewrench]

Raised low limit to 5.5 (heading to match high limit of 6.5).  8 hours of sleep, AHI 5.7 (not the best, but better than my average).  I'll have to see if this is a New Normal, or just the penumbra of a giant French-restaurant birthday dinner yesterday evening.
   

[mesenteria]

I see clusters of events.  Have you fitted yourself for a soft foam collar yet?  Or, adjusted that fit to keep your chin above the collar?  When you see groupings of obstructive events, it generally means head position, more specifically tilted toward your chest and the airpipe gets closed off, or at least pinched some.  This would also cause more hypopneas.

[mesenteria]

You also have some substantial leaking going on, and an increase in pressure is just going to raise that rate.  So, while you're fiddling with settings to get the best AHI next morning, you might want to figure out why, and where, you are getting leaks.  These are not so bad that your report says 'large leaks' with a number there other than '00'.  But your chart for leakage says you're getting quite a bit of it at times. 

Maybe you need a different fit, maybe a different mask, maybe have to adjust the way you use them when sleeping.  Pillows sometimes cause problems, but so can forearms and wrists folded up under the chin when side-sleeping or around the mask.

This is incorrect, and an easy mistake to make without the chart. The user has a Dreamstation which reports the full leak rate (Resmed reports the net leak rate).  A leak rate of 24-26 L/min in that machine is essentially zero, and even the 95% leak rate is below the large leak threshold.  It would help to include the leak chart with the graphs for events, flow rate, pressure, snore, leaks.

Thanks for correcting me, Sleeprider.  I'll file that away right up front in the top drawer.

[spacewrench]

I see clusters of events.  Have you fitted yourself for a soft foam collar yet?

I got one, but have only worn it once.  (I think I got one that's too tall!)  I've mostly been fiddling with pillows, trying to get a position that keeps my head tilted back but doesn't shove my headgear sideways and break the seal on my mask.

[ragtopcircus]

I stopped using a collar for a week at my RT's request, and now I'm having trouble getting used to it again. However, I've had pretty good luck with the Pur-Sleep FaceFit pillow from Amazon. It is filled with mostly buckwheat hulls, with some shredded foam added to the mix. I'm not sure how it compares to 100% buckwheat. I can mold it to a shape that supports my head well on my side, clears the mask, and with a swell between my chin and neck that at least discourages chin tucking.

The collar I was using before was The Eliminator, basically identical to the Dr Dakota I think. It has a firm wedge/collar that goes under your chin, and a strap that goes around the back of your neck. It's a lot cooler than a cervical collar. The foam is pretty firm though, bit it is removable, so I'm toying with the idea of taking it out and and replacing it with some of the extra buckwheat hulls that came with the pillow.

[spacewrench]

Yeah, I'm actually using a buckwheat pillow myself -- once you get it in the shape you want, it doesn't spring back or change very much.