RE: Ghastly Pressure Spikes - Please Help!
I'd love to answer, but I don't remember.
RE: Ghastly Pressure Spikes - Please Help!
About cognition. Above I wrote this;
Some people with heavy FLs aren't bothered by them; others are quite sensitive to FLs. So it's good to see what, if anything, can be done to address them. In my own case, I switched to a bi-level machine and now use pressure support of 5, which really cleaned up my FLs. Do I sleep better for that reason? It's hard to say, because I have other night-time problems, especially pain, and it can be hard to sort out what factors are in play. But I do get some good nights nowadays, and I didn't when my FLs were heavy.
When I get good nights, my cognition is unquestionably better.
RE: Ghastly Pressure Spikes - Please Help!
Should you be interested, I did a reply yesterday to another thread about my evolving understanding of flow limits. It includes a diagram like the one above but with the same scale on the y-axis for all the graphs (doh!). Flow limits can really get in the way of good sleep but don't show up in the AHI. You can have a rummage through your flow rate graphs and see if you can find evidence of "steady state flow limits" - waves with a flat top like the second and third graphs (Zoom in to one minute's of data and set the y-axis scale to a fixed value (right click to the left of the graph, select y-axis and set mode "override", min -40, max +40 or similar)). The steady state variety are given a low number in the flow limitation index and typically won't result in much action being taken.
https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...#pid541651
In that thread @sleeprider pointed to an old discussion about dealing with flow limits using a bilevel machine. You can have a look at the 'before' (CPAP) and 'after' (bilevel) here:
https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...#pid497142
Its worth reading the whole discussion.
At the end of the discussion the subject of the switch outlines what it felt like after the change and how long it took for the improvement:
https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...#pid531408
I've heard it said that for some people their brains have grown accustomed over years to their "bad sleep" and their sleep does not automatically improve. That requires "sleep restriction" / "sleep compression" (part of CBT-I) to give them a jolt into reprogramming themselves. I was put through CBT-I after starting CPAP and complaining that I was still asleep during the day. It only resulted in three weeks of being dog tired and a number of migraines. I wouldn't suggest trying it unless your are fairly confident things have improved greatly. It is, I understand, the exception rather than the rule.
