[Pressure] Pressures over 20?

[retired_guy]

Last night I had an AHI of 6.04. I had it set at 12-20 in auto. Median pressure was 15.14 and 95% pressure was 19.98. I suppose I will just try this for a while to see where it wants to be.

Yes, I agree. Try this for awhile and see how you do. The median pressure suggests that the machine thinks you can be managed most of the time at something other than 20. So that's good, because now you can focus on leaks.

Keep an eye on your snoring graph, and your flow limit graph. You want these two to calm down. Focus on doing whatever you need to do to keep your mouth closed & comfortably inhale/exhale through your nose.

[Sleepster]

TiredToo, are you seeing chunks of time on your leak graph where the leak rate is rising? If so, you may need a chin strap or a different mask, or both.

If you want a better indicator of your progress you could get an oximeter and see if you're no longer experiencing those oxygen desats. That's a good way to gain confidence that your therapy is working for you.

If you want to keep the pressure settings where they are, that's fine. Just don't go changing them a lot. It makes it too hard to see if things are working for you. Coming from a AHI of 30 down to 6 is huge. Just remember that if your AHI were below 5 there would be no need to give you a machine. An AHI of 5 is considered "normal" so in that sense the machine is working for you.

There are lots of experienced CPAPers who can't get their AHI below 4 consistently despite years of success.

[TiredToo]

I had been having chunks of time with "large leaks" and that was with a nasal mask or nasal pillows in addition to a chin strap. Initially (first week or so) I assumed these were mask leaks but eventually found that it was more likely to be mouth leaks. At that time I purchased a Simplus FFM but had major mask leaks. As mentioned a few posts back though, I finally seem to have had success with the Simplus FFM after trying trying medium then large then finally small. Small is too small for me according to their sizing chart but since using it I haven't really had any "large leaks" and they seem to be within ResMed's acceptable level. If not for my mouth leaks, I'd absolutely be using the P10 pillows... they are very comfortable and don't interfere with the pillow on my bed when lying down. However, since the FFM has stopped the mouth and mask leaks, that is what I am using now.

I actually want to get an oximeter but I'm hesitating because I haven't done enough research yet. From what little I've read so far, it seems that some people have issues importing the data into SleepyHead and I want to be sure that I get one that will definitely work with it. It would also be nice if it could just plug into the oximeter port on the machine and record onto the SD card along with the rest of the data but I don't know yet if that is possible or not. I think ResMed makes one but I'm not sure if it is compatible with SH. I assume their official attachment would record to the SD though. I am retrieving my data wirelessly (using a FlashAir SD card in the machine) and would prefer to keep it all wireless and easy if possible.

As a side note: I just wanted to say to all of those who have chimed in here. I feel like I'm heading in the right direction with my CPAP therapy and have learned a lot since being diagnosed with OSA, but I also know that I'm far from an expert on this so it is nice to get some help and feedback.