Question on chart info

[ruthcatrin]

I'm on my ipad and don't have SH handy, but is there a way to tell, looking at my SH info, when I'm waking up during the night?  I know I'm still waking up multiple times a night.  Its way better than it was, but I'm still waking up more often than I'd like, and I'm trying to figure out if theres a rhyme or reason.

[Gideon]

Ruth,  Take a look at this arousal at the end of this RERA,  This is the kind of thing you are looking for.

Arousal

[ruthcatrin]

Thanks! I'll post charts tomorrow to see if I'm getting the right idea, though I'm back on my computer again so I can do logo work.

[Gideon]

[sheepless]

someone suggested spiking a quick large leak to draw your attention to the time in the flow you were awake, if awake enough to do so, by briefly pulling the mask away from your face. that'll get you an approximate frequency but not duration. I'd guess my own many awakenings consist in more or less equal numbers: a) quick rouse-and-turn-overs and b) full awakenings with mask and machine off. the latter is a sure fire way to know when you're fully awake and for how long.

[ruthcatrin]

someone suggested spiking a quick large leak to draw your attention to the time in the flow you were awake, if awake enough to do so, by briefly pulling the mask away from your face.  that'll get you an approximate frequency but not duration.  I'd guess my own many awakenings consist in more or less equal numbers: a) quick rouse-and-turn-overs and b) full awakenings with mask and machine off.  the latter is a sure fire way to know when you're fully awake and for how long.

Well, to some degree thats already happening, I suspect part of my problem is my mask, and those I can generally spot.  But I'm also waking up enough to roll over and go back to sleep, and I'm trying to see if I can get a handle on.  My AHI is nice and low, and I feel great sleeping with the cpap machine, but I'm still waking up several times a night for no obvious reason.  But its hard to quantify for the doctor to try to help me with, without more data.

[Dormeo]

In addition to spiking a leak, you can exhale sharply and deeply. That usually shows up pretty clearly on SH.

[ruthcatrin]

Ok, so I had an interesting discovery.

A large percentage of my wake-ups were corresponding pretty closely with a "pressure pulse" in my charts. Infact, almost all of my wakeups where I end up getting out of bed briefly (to use the bathroom or get a drink) were within a minute or two after a pressure pulse.

And those pressure pulses were all following some rather funky breathing patterns, not all of which are getting flagged as apneas. I'm unsure if the wakeups are the result of the funky breathing, or the result of pressure pulse to fix the funky breathing, but one follows the other.

So, I turned my pressure up a step to 11 (from 10) for the last three nights. Prior to turning up my pressure I was having at least 3 pressure pulses a night, and often upwards of 10 or more. In the three nights since I turned up my pressure I've had exactly 1 pressure pulse, and THAT was at almost the exact same time as my alarm clock would have gone off so I'm thinking I jumped when my alarm went off that morning. In addition, since stepping up my pressure I've had fewer wake ups in the middle of the night. Plus I'm not seeing any of that funky breathing issue in those three nights' data.

Now, 3 nights isn't absolute proof that I fixed the problem, but it appears to be a step in the right direction at least!

(additional interesting note, I'm also getting fewer wake ups due to a tickle in my nose. Now I'm wondering if that tickle was a response to a pressure pulse.)

[Dormeo]

Wonderful news!  Thanks for sharing it.

[ruthcatrin]

Wonderful news!  Thanks for sharing it.

The exhale trick works pretty well for me btw, so thank you.  I don't ALWAYS remember to do it, but it helped pinpoint alot of my wakeups.