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Hi all - I've been on CPAP for 2 weeks. Started with nasal pillow mask and had bad aerophagia, switched to hybrid face mask which helped substantially. Started at the standard 5-20 pressure, upped the minimum pressure to 8 and again experienced aerophagia. Went back down to 7 where I am now. I have been feeling better throughout despite waking on average every 2 hours. I had one night early on with 3.5 hours of straight sleep which was amazing! I am now chasing my optimal settings and am looking for any and all help. I realize this will take time but I feel like I have wasted so much time as I have had glimpses of what life can be like with adequate sleep. I have attached my last 4 nights Oscar charts. I have so many questions not sure where to even start but any help would be appreciated. I am trying to figure out what is causing the events(when it is just bad sleep or actual sleep apnea events). I have a feeling it is more than just the mild obstructive sleep apnea I was diagnosed with. Could it be REM related? According to my fitbit(which I know cannot be relied upon) the events seem to occur during or right after REM. Way too soon to even tell? Any feedback would be welcome. I have a follow up with my sleep doc scheduled for December but have a call into him to get some answers. I am thinking an inlab study would be helpful, maybe required? I should say that original diagnosis was based on at home study. Thoughts?
Welcome, Mike291068, and congratulations on starting therapy for your sleep apnea. It sounds like you are off to a very good start!
You are right that you will need to be patient, but I also want you to know that you've come to a good place for help and are using the best tool for self-help available -- Oscar. I don't have the expertise to advise you about your settings, but others do and will be along soon I'm sure.
You're right to try to find the sweet spot where you minimize obstructive events with higher pressure without creating disruptive aerophagia. One thing to keep in mind is that often the body will adjust to a pressure increase and ease up on the aerophagia over time, often pretty quickly. One nice thing about your machine is that you can raise your pressures in very small increments. So once you have the aerophagia settle down at a given pressure, you can go up just .02 and then see how that goes.
In the meantime, if you're interested in learning something about how to understand your breathing at night, you might want to look at these two videos:
The same person has made a longer video that gets into much more detail, in case you want to google around and find it. To apply what you learn from the videos to your charts, you'll want to zoom in on your flow rate using the up arrow on your keyboard and then scroll along using the right arrow.
And the Forum Wiki is a treasure-trove of information. I hope you'll browse.
All of your numbers look good so let's focus on how you feel after a sleep session. Your starting pressure at 7 is probably a good idea; try not to drop it unless your aerophagia seriously becomes an issue. I understand 8 was too much and it didn't affect therapy by much in the drop to 7.
Something I did was to wear the mask with the machine on but sitting in an easy chair, whatever you choose but you may try it. Sit there reading, checking your email, TV shows, etc. This helps you get used to it. Try it a few minutes per session and increase to longer times as you progress. For me, it seemed to build a tolerance for the pressure and aerophagia gradually reduced.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
10-29-2019, 09:31 AM (This post was last modified: 10-29-2019, 09:31 AM by mike291068.)
RE: Newbie looking for a clue
I lowered pressure to 6 and slept relatively well. Had 2-4 wakeups which is normal for me but aerophagia seems to be ok. Does it make sense to lower max pressure at this point? Thanks!
Looking at the charts you've posted, you've never passed 12 on the high end of pressure. You could try 14 to have a bit more than what you currently need just in case. When you edit that, check your numbers and note how you feel to get an idea if it'll work out.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
Glad to hear you had a pretty good night with no aerophagia. In the fullness of time, you may be able to lower your AHI, but as Dave suggests, your numbers are good already so the focus now is on getting comfortable.
If it were me, I'd leave my settings alone for at least 3 days, preferably a week, to see how it goes. Sleep varies naturally from one night to another, plus you're still adjusting to all the strangeness, so letting things settle in makes sense.
Let me also welcome you to the apnea board. I am beerdujour on reddit.
8 is a better pressure for you, but take your time getting back there, your comfort, how you feel is far more important than your numbers at this stage. Your doctor will be extremely pleased with any of your charts.
Gideon - Project Manager Emeritus for OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
(10-29-2019, 11:54 AM)bonjour Wrote: Let me also welcome you to the apnea board. I am beerdujour on reddit.
8 is a better pressure for you, but take your time getting back there, your comfort, how you feel is far more important than your numbers at this stage. Your doctor will be extremely pleased with any of your charts.
Hey there! I thought that name looked familiar : So you think 8 would be better? I am curious as to why? It seems the aerophagia is my biggest issue which seems to be a bit better at 6 but I know this is going to be trial and error for a bit. And thank you!
Whichever number you choose, it will probably take a bit of time to get used to it. I do believe things should get better and more comfortable with more time. Best to ya on success.
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
So you think 8 would be better? I am curious as to why? It seems the aerophagia is my biggest issue which seems to be a bit better at 6 but I know this is going to be trial and error for a bit. And thank you!
