New to CPAP - Noticing big breath pattern during sleep.

[SnoozEm]

Hey everyone,
I'm new to CPAP (just shy of 2 months so far), and have been trying to figure out my data as I'm starting to suspect my sleep doctor is not very good.

Originally I complained to my PCP during my last physical that I wake up alot at night. So, one at home sleep test later (which was awful, I hardly slept bc the finger pulse oximeter was so tight and throbbing I really just stress tossed/turned and maybe only slept the last 2 hours of it ... if that) I'm deemed to have mild sleep apnea. 

I'm a mouth breather normally as nose breathing just seems like I never get enough air - I have an appointment with an ENT tomorrow to check that bit out.

However, despite this, with mouth tape and the Phillips Dreamwear nasal cushion I can sleep breathing only through my nose. And based on feedback from another forum I've been trying to move my min pressure up slowly to get closer to what I truly use during the majority of the night based on the data.

So the last two-three weeks with this new mask I've noticed some breathing patterns that I question. When zoomed out I can see that my breathing is not very consistent. It looks like every 2-5 min of normal pattern breathing I'll have one to two bigger breaths, then resume the pattern. This pattern doesn't seem to change the leak or flow rates at all. 

From reading it's my understanding that breathing should ideally be like it is at 00:10 to 00:25 - nice and steady up and down. But last night's graph (and all the previous ones too) seem to show I'm not doing that and I wonder if that could be the reason I wake up a lot or just don't feel as rested? Has anyone else experienced or seen this kind of pattern? 

My last visit with my sleep doctor made me really question if he's that invested in things as he only looked at my machine data screen during the visit and said since my AHI was now down to 2 and under that it's working... he also only heard and documented in my after care notes that "I'm sleeping better" when I was actually saying I was only able to tolerate and do cpap better with the nasal cushion from Phillips... (the F20 and Evora full face masks I could just not get used to...)

Regarding my awaking issue, he suggested I take magnesium and zinc (which, I tried and honestly I'd rather save myself from constant gas and fumigating my husband and child - thanks... lol) and seemed rather blase about things saying that mild sleep apnea patients generally dont feel much of a difference in their sleep when using cpap. (well fantastic!)

Thank you in advance to anyone who has some insight... I was totally fine with waking up all the time at night because I had a baby and it just worked out that way... now it's rather irritating, but I wonder if my random waking issue is separate from the apnea that was discovered.

[HalfAsleep]

Could you display some charts with the whole night and calendar removed? The Oscar protocols are in the menu. Often, there are macro issues, and it’s important to attend to those before we get to micro.

Most “sleep doctors”, I have discovered, only care to get your AHI below 5. That’s how they get paid. They don’t want to be bothered with detail.

[Sleeptechmaster]

Your results look great to me. Your max pressure is only reaching 8 which looks to be controlling everything very well. For people feeling that they are not getting enough air they will typically need a higher start pressure, for you around 7 might help.
If you like the dreamwear nasal, check out the dreamwear full face mask (hybrid). Same under the nose style while covering the mouth.
Even with full face masks, they aim to help hold your mouth shut by fitting under the lower lip. Some people's mouth still open during sleep slightly or a lot and these can help keep the pressure contained.
I would not worry about the big breaths you are noticing, your 95% inspiration and expiration times are equal which is good showing even and controlled breaths.
Those breaths might just be you transitioning in or out of certain sleep stages.

[G. Szabo]

I would not worry about the big breaths you are noticing, your 95% inspiration and expiration times are equal which is good showing even and controlled breaths.

Disagree. 
Ideally, the expiration time is two times longer than the inspiration. 
Your figures are about the same. The statistic the instrument calculates is often wrong because of the noise. 
Looking at your flow pattern (although it is limited and more samples with a shorter period, like 3 minutes, would be needed), the statistic is correct. But with this instrument, you cannot do much about it.  I do not believe that this issue is causing you too much discomfort.

[Deborah K.]

You are doing great with your nasal mask. Stick with it!