Pressure Changes

[Aussiemum]

Today marks my 1st year anniversary with my CPAP machine. I have the Phillips Dream Station Auto and I love it. Never had any trouble sleeping with the mask EXCEPT that as a belly sleeper I get lots of creases on my face from the mask. But that's unimportant.

My Dr ordered a sleep test for me as I fell off the seat on the bus because I'd fallen asleep. And I would doze off every time I sat down, which means I couldn't drive, but when I started dozing while walking around at work I knew I had to do something. The home sleep test showed I would stop breathing 95 times an hour. The hospital sleep test showed it was 93 times an hour.

My pressure limits are 8-20 and a few times I have maxed it out but it used to sit on about 18. I loved the high pressure, I would wake up totally refreshed every morning. But lately, say the last month or so, the pressure doesn't rise much above 12 and I'm waking up tired and am sleepy all day and I have no energy. I normally sleep 9 hours a night, down from 11 before I got the machine. Not as bad as I was before the machine came into my life. I've woken a few times to hear myself snoring and I get that familiar sore mouth and nose that snoring caused me before.

My question is, why would the pressure be less now? I think I need it higher as I felt fabulous when it was 18-20 and I needed less sleep. Could the machine be faulty?

Has this happened to anyone else and if so how did you fix the problem?

Thanks!

[silversnore]

If you are not using a reporting software like Sleepyhead, (downloadable from the above link) you are sort of flying blind and having to wait until you get a doctors report. I use sleepyhead and monitor it every morning, I know exactly how my therapy is going. Using sleepyhead allows you to also post questions with the sleepyhead reports to this site and ask questions like above, and you will be able to get informed opinions from the members. You know what they say, try it you'll like it!!

[Aussiemum]

I just check with the built in software, my sleep dr never mentioned Sleepyhead or any other programme. As he costs $300 for a 5 minute chat I probably don't go as often as I should.

[Margali]

Sleepyhead is a FREE software you can download from this site. It let's you pull a lot of data from your machine. The reports will let people advise you. There is a sleepyhead link on top banner to download program.

[DeepBreathing]

G'day Aussiemum, welcome to Apnea Board.

Doctors and technicians often don't know about #SleepyHead as they use the software provided by the machine manufacturers. SleepyHead is free and fairly easy to use. (It's free but a donation to the author would be greatly appreciated).

If you can post some charts here we may be able to give some detailed advice on your situation, for a lot less than your specialist charges.

[Sleep2Snore]

You could change the setting to CPAP for a couple of nights to see if you feel better.
Set it for 18.
However, check your filters are clean.

The Clinician settings are in the manual which is on here somewhere.

[silversnore]

This is what a Sleepyhead report looks like::

[Hojo]

This is what a Sleepyhead report looks like::

Silversnore:  The link didn't work.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Aussiemum,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you as you continue CPAP therapy and gett it fine-tuned to better meet your needs, you have come to the right place for guidance to do just that.

[st8800]

Hi Aussiemum

Welcome! See the links below on how to download and post Sleepyhead charts. It will provide data for us to determine how best to adjust your Dreamstation.

Useful Links:
[url=http://OSCAR Official Download Page ----> CLICK HERE ./]Download SleepyHead[/url]
Organize SleepyHead Charts
Post Charts From Imgur
Robysue's Beginner's Guide to SleepyHead
Mask Primer

Here's a sample of my own Sleepyhead chart from last night: