New to CPAP and New Member

[mecpapmike]

Hello All,

New to CPAP and struggling.  I have managed to download my information to Oscar and upload the screen shots.  Looking for some guidance on how to get a improve my sleep.  
Thank you all in advance!

Mike

[Melman]

Welcome to the forum. I suggest you turn on EPR full time at 3. It will reduce flow limitations, RERA, anf hypopnia and may reduce OA as well. It will also provide more comfort as exhale pressure will be reduced. We'll want to watch the CAs which may increase. Be sure to post again after making the change.

[clownbell]

Mecpapmike - I agree with Melman. Just one other point. One night is not a trend. Give it several nights, maybe even a week, before making a conclusion/decision.

Also, since you are new, you may want to know about "treatment-emergent central apneas." When you first go on CPAP, your body breathes more efficiently and blow off more CO2. In some cases (not all), this causes TECAs. If that is what is going on, it should resolve itself in a couple months. If you have a sleep study, look and see whether CAs were detected.

[mecpapmike]

Thank you very much!  I will make that change and try it out for a number of days.

What should I be looking in Oscar to see if there is a benefit with these new settings?

Thanks!

---

Thank you for your reply.  I did not know about TECAs.  I will do some reading.  Thank you for your advice and pointing this out.

[Brazen]

Re: what to look for to see if there is benefit

1. How do you feel? 
Are your pre-APAP symptoms improving? Comfortable with treatment?

It can take time (sometimes a really long time!) but the ultimate goal is improving health and well-being.
Don't focus too much on the numbers.

I'm not an expert and I'm definitely chasing good OSCAR charts but the more important thing is feeling better.

Things to look at in OSCAR:
AHI 2-3 ( lower if it comes easy)
95% Flow Limit less than 0.1 (ideally less than .03)
Few/no large leaks

The experts can look for patterns in events and other things to make recommendations based on their knowledge - this really is an amazing resource. 

Read the wiki articles and read lots of posts to learn.

[mecpapmike]

Thanks Brazen, Very helpful!

[mesenteria]

You can see that your highest peak in the pressure adjustments in your graph is very closely aligned with the timeframe when you had a concomitant spike in leakage.  Most often leakage comes from a deformation or a displacement of the mask sufficient for air to escape more freely around your face.  It might be an arm, a pillow, just general slippage as you turn two or three times, the headgear rotating around your scalp...these can all happen in concert or severally.

Also, although we have only one night to go on, it looks to me like there is a modest positional component to your events. Some of them come soon after previous ones, and this suggests a comfortable sleep position, which you are loath to leave, where you reduce flow by tucking your chin somewhat, although it could also be from nasal congestion (do you get one or both nostrils plugging up through the night or soon before you awaken in the morning?). If this turns out to be the case, we recommend trying a suitably sized soft foam cervical collar.

[pholynyk]

I noticed that you have Essentials set to ON in the Clinical menu. That actually minimises the information displayed on the front panel.

I would set Essentials to Plus so that your front panel will give you more complete data.

[mecpapmike]

Mesenteria 

Thank you for the valuable information.  I do actually wake up with stuffed up nostrils often.  I saw an article on this site about the cervical collar.  I will go buy one.  

What do people do to help with stuffed up nostrils during sleep?

Also curious what is the recommended sleeping position when wearing the collar?

Thanks!

Mike

[clownbell]

@ OP - Regarding stuffed nostrils.

Not all humans are the same. Some find increased humidity and/or temperature to relieve stuffiness. Others find just the opposite -- they need less humidity and/or temperature. If it were me, I would start by increasing humidity and/or temp by small increments and see what happens.

Some find flonase helps.

All this assumes you do not have deviated septum or problems with turbinates.