Picking up where I left off - My CPAP Therapy Thread

[Sleeprider]

Easybreathe is very easy to see in your charts if you look at the mask pressure. I would not recommend S-Mode with Easybreathe disabled. Easybreathe cannot be disabled in Vauto mode and is also used in CPAP mode with EPR. Include mask pressure in your next chart zoom, and I'll explain it to you.

[SwirlySauce]

Easy-Breathe is enabled when it is Vauto mode.   Having it on, is very uncomfortable.

- Red

Thanks Crimson Nape, did not know it was enabled by default in Vauto!  Did you mean having it 'off' is uncomfortable?  Seems like a feature you'd want enabled.

[SwirlySauce]

Sleeprider,

Makes sense!  I wasn't aware that Easybreathe was enabled by default in Vauto mode - I initially thought it was only available in S Mode.  Will definitely stick to Vauto mode.

I have some charts attached from the last couple of nights.  I got my F&P Brevida in the mail last week and have been trialing that for a few nights, with some minor tweaks to settings (Cycle back to Medium) My event numbers are still looking better than ever (AHI 0.0!).

The only thing I'm having issues with is getting more than a few hours of sleep consistently without taking my mask off and the feeling of high IPAP in my sinuses.  Going from a low EPAP to a much higher IPAP makes it feel like my nose and sinuses are being filled to the brim.  Its not painful in any way but I'm very much aware of the feeling of this pressure in my nose and sinuses.  Oddly enough I never felt this was an issue on my Dreamstation.  I think the constant pressure maybe just made it less noticeable.


And with that, some more questions that I hope you can chime in on


1)  I dropped down my EPAP to 7.4cmw for increased comfort and to see if OAs were present at a lower level.  I haven't seen any OAs show up but since my IPAP is lower now, do I need to increase my PS to have the same preventative effect on Flow Limitations?

2) I'm still seeing a lot of Period Breathing patterns, and in those patterns there are quite a few erratic flow shapes.  Flat tops, double-peaked tops, some weird looking exhales.  Do you wager these PB patterns/flow patterns would have any affect on sleep quality?  (See '_PeriodicBreathing' screenshot)

Thanks!

[SwirlySauce]

One more that I had written down from last week.

3) I've been reading about Barry Krakow's work with treating UARS and his goal to round the airflow curve (by eliminating FLs) in patients. I believe in an article on the Wiki he stated that the average PS for his clients is in the 5cmw - 6cmw range. However, I wasn't able to find what number of Flow Limitations he considers acceptable from a treatment standpoint.

My 95% number has been great, but as mentioned in my prior posts I still see Flow Limitations throughout the night. Some of these don't seem to get flagged by the machine either, as shown in the attached screenshot.

You had mentioned that you, and other members of the forum, aim for a 95% score of less than 0.1. Do you know where that target came from? I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile chasing those unflagged FLs in spite of my numbers looking good.

[Crimson Nape]

It may not be the correct way, but I used my Flow Rate waveform to set my PS. I first kept increasing my EPAP pressure to eliminate the hypopneas and OAs, then set the PS. I increased the PS until my waveform had rounded tops. This has become my "sweet-spot".

- Red

[SwirlySauce]

It may not be the correct way, but I used my Flow Rate waveform to set my PS.  I first kept increasing my EPAP pressure to eliminate the hypopneas and OAs, then set the PS.  I increased the PS until my waveform had rounded tops.  This has become my "sweet-spot".

- Red

I think that would be a good approach.  Do you still get remaining flat-tops now?

[SwirlySauce]

Would these be considered Flow Limitations?  They don't look as bad as some the examples in the Wiki, but they do have a flat top.  They also don't get flagged by the AirCurve as FLs.

https://imgur.com/ddo5Ckg
https://imgur.com/ddo5Ckg

[SwirlySauce]

Bumping

[SwirlySauce]

Just wanted to provide a quick update.  I'm still frequently seeing ragged flow curves that don't seem to be getting flagged as FLs.  There are nights where I barely see any of them - I wonder if these could be related to nasal congestion on certain nights.