New to APAP & Need Advice

[APAP4ME]

The attached OSCAR report from last night is pretty bad. Any suggestions?

[APAP4ME]

I'm reloading my OSCAR data from this morning and also added in the O2Ring data. Hoping that someone can take a look at last night and provide some insight into why I'm having so many CA events. If it wasn't for the CA's, my AHI would be pretty good.

[Dormeo]

Oh, I'm sorry to see this. CAs are variable, and I had hoped you were done with these big clusters toward the end of the night. I recommend eliminating EPR and sticking with min = max = 6. Let's see how that goes.

I remain hopeful that your body will adjust and the CAs will settle down. If they don't, there are other options to consider, but one step at a time.

[APAP4ME]

Thanks for the reply.  I'm going to give it another night at the existing settings and report back tomorrow.  Hopefully tonight is better.  I have a follow-up in November with the pulmonologist who ordered the APAP and I'm expecting to get yelled at for taking it upon myself to change the settings.  From strictly a compliance and AHI standpoint, I probably did better on his original settings but I find it is more comfortable at max=min=6.

[APAP4ME]

I can't explain how my numbers were so good last night but terrible the prior night. I hope this continues.

[Crimson Nape]

You have good days and bad days in life. Apnea therapy follows the same rule. Enjoy the good days, forget the bad!

- Red

[Dormeo]

So glad to see such a good night! I'm hoping those clusters of CAs will soon be a thing of the past. Keep us posted.

[APAP4ME]

So last night was not as good as the prior (exceptional) night but I'll take it. I have attached the OSCAR report and you can see that the CA's are back. Any comments/suggestions are appreciated.

I didn't realize that my first follow-up appointment with the pulmonologist who ordered the APAP is next week. I'm expecting a pretty unpleasant conversation when he realizes that I've changed the settings on my own. How did you handle it?

[APAP4ME]

It's been a while since my last post and want to provide an update. This week, I met with the pulmonologist who is in charge of my CPAP therapy. Overall, he was impressed with my 100% compliance and therapy results. I discussed the aerophagia and the bouts of CA events that I have been experiencing. I expected to get lectured about changing the settings myself but he was OK with it. He was good with my current settings of max=min=6cm with EPR of 3 which essentially provides a pressure support of 2 (working as a 6 to 4). He said that I could try max=min=5cm with a pressure support of 1 and see how that goes. I told him that I'd keep the settings as-is for a while longer and see how it goes.

I have attached an OSCAR screenshot from last night and you will notice that I'm still struggling with the CA's. Most nights (if not every), the higher AHI numbers are driven by the number of CA events.

I'd appreciate any advice to get the CA's under control. Also, what do you think about the doctors suggestion about changing to max=min=5cm with a pressure support of 1?

[Dormeo]

I'm sorry I missed the post just before this last one. I'm glad the conversation with the pulmonologist went well. I imagine he's figuring that with less pressure and less EPR you might see a reduction in CAs without too big a risk of a lot of OAs. It's an experiment worth trying if and when you feel like it. If you want to stick with your current settings for now, though, I think that's fine too.

Did the doctor speculate about why you mostly see the CAs later in the night?