New User Seeking Advice - Thanks!

[Newbee2016]

Hello all! I was just diagnosed with OSA (AHI 17 officially but may have been a bit higher as I was awake during part of the study). I have been on therapy for one week but have not got below AHI of 5 yet (best was 5.35 but started out over 11). Seems to be going in the right direction. Interestingly, almost everything is "Hypopnea" with little or no Clear Airway or Obstructive, at least for the last 3 days.  I saw something about the Philips APAP being slow to respond to Hypopneas. Could this be an issue? Will it self-correct over time?

Separately, I'm using the AirFit nasal pillows and find myself leaking a little from my mouth at times. Is this a problem? I have no large leaks and no time over leak redline.  What is an acceptable number for leak rate and total leaks in SleepyHead?

I'm a little frustrated, but the doc says to not focus on the AHI and just get used to wearing the equipment.

I look forward to your thoughts and help!

Welcome Wantosleep,

It's still early days yet and contrary to the Philips Apap being slow, it actually has advantages for newbies starting on Apap treatment and is a good machine. The surge of air pressure can be difficult for some people and the gentler pressure change with the Philips actually makes it easier to get used to treatment. AHI around 5 during the 1st 2 weeks is still ok. Your doc will probably adjust the range in due course. No Clear Airway with a pressure cap of 15 cmH2O is good news.

Took me more than a month to get used to wearing the mask and not waking up at night from pressure surges.

Took 3x as long not to feel tired waking up in the morning. I actually had mild cramps in the rib cage area due to breathing under pressure 1-2 months into treatment. Was very tired waking up in the morning, like I was exercising during the night - the lungs and chest muscles probably were to some extent. 

No time over the leak red line is good for now, but you should try to get it as low as practicable. Once your charts are up, folks here will be more than happy to help you fine tune your treatment.

So hang in there!

[Gideon]

Here is the data
https://1drv.ms/i/s!ApNE0Bn0eR2lgYFRVRxs3_BktL0q3A

[quiescence at last]

Snapshot is enlightening. I have not seen so good a result at such low pressure. Great for now, I think. Just learn some of the techniques for handling the mouth leakage.

Oh, the leakage will probably not make the machine stumble until the lower line on leak graph is above about 30. But leaks can cause other things like "I don't like that breezy feeling", or "Momma, the noises you makin' are scaring me".

QAL

[ajack]

If it was my chart, I would be raising the minimum pressure up to 5 to 5.5 and see it that knocks out the H.
I'd even be tempted to use 6 as a minimum and see how it goes. That pressure flow seems to stop any shortness of breath feelings when falling asleep and is often recommended. Your maximum pressure is less than most minimums you will see on the charts here.

[Sleeprider]

If it was my chart, I would be raising the minimum pressure up to 5 to 5.5 and see it that knocks out the H.
I'd even be tempted to use 6 as a minimum and see how it goes. That pressure flow seems to stop any shortness of breath feelings when falling asleep and is often recommended. Your maximum pressure is less than most minimums you will see on the charts here.

Exactly. Minimum pressure of 6.0 should help with the hypopnea.  Still very low pressure, but the current minimum of 4.0 almost induces H events.

[WantoSleep]

 Thank you all - what a great resource!!!

WantoSleep

[WantoSleep]

Thanks again for all the help and advice! I raised the minimum to 4.5, which seemed to help a bit.  Last night was my best so far (two weeks).  Please help me interpret the data from yesterday.  Link below has a space in it so I could post 

https:// 1drv.ms/i/s!ApNE0Bn0eR2lgYFe9YnO7yy0565J9w

WantoSleep

[Marillion]

Hi there, I would recommend that you remove the pie chart, uncheck the VS2 statistic so that it does not show up as well as replace the AHI chart at the bottom with the Flow Limit chart.

But from what I can see, the recommendation that you set your minimum to 6 is what I would strongly suggest as well to reduce those Hypopneas. I would also reduce your max setting to 12 since you are not even getting close to the current max and tightening up the settings a bit might result in a more efficient algorithm. Also, it would be helpful to know what your flex settings (exhale pressure relief) is set at. Removing the pie chart should reveal those numbers.

[WantoSleep]

I don't seem to have a Flow Limit Chart, and I can't figure out how to hide the Pie Chart on the left (I was able to hide the calendar). I'm using a Mac. My Flex is set at "2". Any thoughts?

Thanks,

WantoSleep

[WantoSleep]

One more thing. You suggest I set the minimum to 6 to get rid of the Hypopnea, but 95% of the time I am at or below 5.5, with a max of 6.  I would basically be setting the min at the nightly max. I that okay?