Please help with treatment review

[DaveL]

Thanks 2sleepbetta.

I've had lots of help. I think that I'm making real progress. Time will tell.

sheepless was the most recent to help.

I've used exercise bands and watches for years to have a sleep report. First chore....sleep hygiene. Accurate ? records of how long I actually slept.

sheepless the watch does show movement. It also shows noise (snoring, which I don't do now, and any noise in moving? or planes flying overhead...) It shows blood oxygen levels of limited accuracy. I look at the "awake" periods and then move to OSCAR and see what the S10 said about what happened then. I'm crippled by lack of OSCAR interpretation skill.

Gideon has helped by telling me not to chase numbers, but chase feeling better. And take the time to establish new trends. I have a tendancy to download my SD card committing the results to OSCAR. And if the numbers are wrong I work hard to improve them.

I never planned to be a hoser. My Father had sleep apnea. However, they hadn't invented it during his time alive. He passed in '93 at 76. His breathing while asleep sounded exactly like mine if I don't have the S10 turned on, and mask on.

I tried to take aphoto of me the other night. Dakota wedge on (first time in a couple of years; strap is worn out.) Knightsbridge Dual Band cap on...a fashion item for sure. I put my Large N20 mask with Large headgear on. It's a chore to do, because of the shape of the Knightsbridge. Take the mask off for a washroom break and it takes so long to put it back on I'm up for the day. Yes, I know that the hose disconnects. I didn't tape that night. All that gear solved (most) of my leaking problem. And there were times when the Knightsbridge did it all on its own and I reported that here.

If I applied all the tools I have as an engineer and project manager I would have declared OSA treatment a lost cause a long time ago. Diagnosis almost 35 years ago. Compliant since I got my first gear. Being compliant isn't easy.

If I have to wear all this c-ap it had better work.

(Lanky Lefty has a new-to-me video out. Watched it yesterday. He declares and shows how a soft cervical collar solves problems for those of us who wear full face masks. I wear a nasal mask (resmed N20) and he should add mouthbreathers to the list. Youtube, somewhere.)

I've had 4 machines, and maybe 70? or more masks in 35 years of compliance. You'd think I'd have gotten this right by now.

DaveL
Toronto

[DaveL]

Looking at this thread I have some reactions.
* I'm so thankful for the people that have helped me here. God knows that the sleep docs haven't since I was diagnosed.
* I'm embarrassed at how many times I've posted. How many screenshots I've taken.
* My computer hates me.

DaveL

[DaveL]

it's great you feel rested!

what do you attribute the good night to?

does the report tell you anything about movement?

how does your oscar chart look for the same time period?

Hi sheepless,

the good night: 
* I listened to you!
* you recommended a soft cervical collar.  I used my Dakota wedge under my chin. I put my Medium N20 mask on.  (no tape; no knightsbridge dual strap)

movement I answered above...yes the iWatch 6 app reports movement in the sleep report.

OSCAR chart
I tried. I don't have the skill to read the OSCAR chart.  The awake period was somewhere about 5:00 am.  Slightly after

[quiescence at last]

one of the cool things I did was used my wrist and finger type oximeter as a time stamp as well as a recorder of SpO2 and pulse.  Whenever I noted that I had awakened, I would slip my finger sleeve off, and then seconds later slide it back on.  That left a momentary blank in the record.  It was really keen.  Getting that data into OSCAR (or rather - sleepyhead) and comparing against the flow patterns allowed me to see how flow changed at some points where I indeed was awake.  This increased my experience level looking at other patient's detailed flow rate graphs.  It also informed my recognition of REM sleep and dreaming norms as relates to respiration and tachometer readings.  I will post a little dreamy REM sleep flow for you in a day or two.

QAL

   it lightens the load when we engineers get to spin up a little supposing and tinkering.

[DaveL]

I woke up many times during the night.  Feel tired/braing fog....

* Dakota wedge under my chin
* ResMed N20 mask, medium insert.

Night before was similar. Night before that was perfect.

[DaveL]

It's a long road....compliant for over 35 years.

[sheepless]

your max pressure barely exceeded your min setting of 15 with no oa or h and only a few ca's at the end of the night that may be swj.

waking could be caused by many things. if it's related to pap, leaks are obviously a problem. the other potential culprit is the leg movement you've mentioned.

I really think you should try reducing your min pressure. it should make leaks less likely. either way, the results could be instructive. if obstructives don't get out of hand, it's liable to be more comfortable as well. reducing leaks and increasing comfort may help reduce sleep interruptions.

while lower pressure make leaks less likely, you may still be prone to mouth leaks. if you can't find a way to keep your mouth closed in sleep, you may be stuck with trying to acclimate to a ffm as a last resort, assuming you can find one that fits well.

[DaveL]

Thanks sheepless.
Came back to see what the source of leaks is.(I don't know what I'm talking about). Going to go reading in the OSCAR wiki. I'll reduce the min pressure. Thanks for your patience.

Dave

edit: P(min) adjusted to 11 cm HtwoO

[DaveL]

I don't know...MyAir says adjust my mask.

Mouthbreathing?
Mask Leaking?

Please help.

[sheepless]

myair doesn't know whether your leaks are from the mask or mouth.

the current conventional wisdom on this site is that spikey leak rate graph lines are mask leaks and the flat topped ones are mouth leaks. if this is true, you have a lot of very low (negligible) mask leaks and a lot of very high mouth leaks.

I haven't tried one yet but video cameras are pretty inexpensive these days. pick one up and you might learn something about your leaks and movement.

looking forward to learning what happens with the reduced pressure. fingers crossed!