Learning to interpret OSCAR data

[Schnoozer]

Hello,

I am about 2 weeks in with good results, but still trying to learn OSCAR and how to dial in the settings optimally.  I had the following questions and hopefully one of you might give me some guidance:

- Last night, my chart (attached) shows 'CA - Clear Airway'. I saw the definition on this but still unsure how to interpret it. 

- I think i'm also seeing a pattern where my FL starts to increase shortly before the pressure goes up. I don't always see an event occurring before the pressure goes up but at least once I see an OA right after the FL rises and before the pressure increases. Would a pattern like that mean that the min pressure is potentially a bit too low? I see a similar pattern with snoring - a couple of times snoring begins right before the pressure increase. I would assume that snoring and FL correlate, since snoring is the beginning of airway collapse and obviously blocks the airway. So, if there is increased FL then there is not enough pressure to keep it open.  Am i understanding this correctly?

- Leak rate keep changing for me, some nights low some night higher. It seems like a 20+ leak rate results in a noisy, distracting situation that wakes me up. So, obviously too much leak is bad. But, how low does it need to be? Last night I don't remember being woken up by it. A I do recall adjusting the mask a few times, like every night, but that's becoming habit whenever I roll over to the other side I quickly get the mask into position. How much do i care about these leak numbers and is the goal to get it near zero?

- Oh, also: is this the way people should share the charts? I also setup SleepHQ if that's easier.

thank you!!

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

In order...

1. Clear airway/Central apnoea https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...pnea_(CSA)

2. A slightly higher min pressure helps maintain the airway.

3. 95% leak rates <= 5 are preferred. Above that can be sleep disturbing. 

4. Most prefer OSCAR charts, but some do not mind using SleepHQ. I only use OSCAR charts.

[Deborah K.]

Most of us much prefer Oscar, and you did a good job on yours. I suggest you raise your starting pressure to 7 and leave the rest alone.

[Schnoozer]

I have been bumping up the pressure a bit each night, and now it's up to 6.6. I do see that the sawtooth pattern and is reduced with less disturbances. I'll keep bumping it up until I get to 7 and see how that goes.

I continue to wonder if the leak rate could be lower. The p30i is easily knocked out of position and I roll over from time to time, but all I can remember is occasionally re-seating the pillows in the right spot a couple of times and I never feel/hear any significant leaks.

Should I be working to reduce this leak rate even more? It seem to be relatively under control but perhaps it could be better. Or maybe I should leave it alone.

Also, I currently have EPR set to 2. I did that because I turned on EPR on after the first night, when I felt resistance to exhalation.  As usual, I went slow starting with setting 1, then 2. At 2, I completely forgot about the resistance and it felt perfect. Is there any reason to go to 3, or does that just make the machine work harder and bring more fluctuation? It feels very comfortable at 2.

Last nights data attached.

[Schnoozer]

Improved result with that increase in pressure, but the leaks still concern me. I am pretty used to the p30i mask, and I don't notice a lot of leaks, but clearly it's happening. 

It looks like last night, there was a gap in the data - perhaps the mask slipped off completely? What does it mean? Im not sure what else I can do to get a good seal on the p30i, if it's tighter it gets uncomfortable.