ResMed Air Sense if set to no ramp but EPR ramp only ? new user posting 1 week oscar

[REMmi]

well, I actually feel pretty good, though the late night arousals continue, maybe there were fewer, but the data of the AHIs is quite high 10, for the last year the Airsense 11 has said the AHIs were average of 1 , so here's from last night attached at the new settings, mask seemed to seal but I used a medium F20, left some nasal bridge marks, may just go back to my L F20 or the 1 new Airtouch I have. TIA

so many variables, sigh, I turned off smart stop and smart start, as was working on fitting /deciding on the night's mask, left it on, but , instead of turning the machine off, I just unclipped it from the mask and let it free flow a few times, getting up to turn off my fan, etc; does that show in the charts and/or effect the AHI numbers?

what I can recall, is that initially with mask on didn't sleep till about 0830 then awoke at 1130pm, then slept 1 hour, then 30 minutes, then couldn't get to sleep again, but kept mask on, laid there, then the rest of the night is a blur , likely of many short arousals. (which is particularly what I'd like to improve and find disturbing)

[SarcasticDave94]

Any run hours will be recorded in OSCAR.

Looks like there's a Positional Apnea pattern, clusters of events.

Here's a wiki link about it:

https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...onal_Apnea

[staceyburke]

I totally agree with Dave, You are having positional apnea.  You can see positional apnea where either H or Oa events are clustered together.  Getting rid of as many as you can will lower your AHI.  Positional apnea can NOT be controlled by pressure changes.  You have to find out what position you are getting into and cutting off your own airway.  Have you changed your sleep position?  Sleeping on your back?  Using more (or new) pillows?  These things can cause positional apnea by chin dropping to your sternum and cutting your airway.  Think of it of a kinked hose – nothing can get through – you have to unkink the hose…

IF you can’t make a simple change like changing to a flatter pillow helps then you will need a collar.  I have a link to collars in my signature at the bottom of the page.  It shows people who are not wearing a collar and the SAME person wearing a collar.  There is a huge difference between the two.

[Deborah K.]

When you get up for any reason you must turn the machine off.  Your last night's chart is pretty meaningless since you left the machine running each time you got up.

Also, your pressure settings are not working for you. You need to try 8 to 13, as your median pressure was 8.3, and you are bumping up against the 11 you have set. You showed even higher pressure last night, but I think we should ignore that for now because the machine was running without you attached to it.

[REMmi]

1) for the 2 charts posted, nothing with position changed, I sleep on both my left and right sides 100% ; last week I went to a less bulky memory pillow; it is quite hot and humid where I am;

2) I really appreciate you experienced , giving me ideas, and giving me some ideas what the charts may mean, may I ask are any posters trained in sleep labs?

3) I have a cervical collar ordered, thinking of ordering the specific one listed in the wiki pages here, also some generic Biotene, (last night humidity setting was 0, I changed it back to my usual 6 + now for tonight) . Mouth was dry off & on, I was making an effort to try to keep mouth closed, at times, also I was using the medium sized F20 , guess I'm also going back to Large F20 tonight

Maybe I should order a snore collar also? This was only the 2nd night I have worn a chinstrap , since I began in Nov 2023, maybe I should not wear it tonight, and/or order one that has no Velcro , as that can also cause arousals from discomfort side sleeping.

I'll leave the settings at 7-11 EPAP full, 3 ; I put it back on smart stop/start. Guess , mistakes are how I learn.

Lastly, I'm going to go back to the slimline hose instead of the Standard(I had thought the Standard was helping, but it creates some extra issues because of its bulk, I guess, and its hard to know what to believe improves what, bottom line is I felt not so bad this morning, but that may be cause the previous night was so bad, sigh)

MD is going to mail me my sleep study. Its tempting to put everything back to what it was last year when AHIs were always 1.0 , pressure 8-20 , EPAP 1, ramp only , ramp on, course I did have off and on brain fog , despite the AHIs so

[SarcasticDave94]

To explain about Positional Apnea patterns, it's not your whole body sleep position. This is when a thick pillow or other cause is pushing your chin towards your chest, kinking off your airway.

Being external, more pressure cannot fix it. Examine your pillow. Is it thick or a stack of several? Reduce thickness if applicable. If that doesn't apply, you'll need to look into a soft cervical collar to block the chin tuck.

If you haven't, please read the wiki on this.

[REMmi]

To explain about Positional Apnea patterns, it's not your whole body sleep position. This is when a thick pillow or other cause is pushing your chin towards your chest, kinking off your airway.

Being external, more pressure cannot fix it. Examine your pillow. Is it thick or a stack of several? Reduce thickness if applicable. If that doesn't apply, you'll need to look into a soft cervical collar to block the chin tuck.

If you haven't, please read the wiki on this.

yes, I've read it, as said have a collar being shipped, maybe I'll have the one listed shipped also , issue is just so many moving parts , we'll see, thanks as always

[SarcasticDave94]

OK copy. I missed the part about the order.

[REMmi]

well, doesn't look like it is trending well MyAir says 7:46 hours and 7.7 AHI ; I was off mask at 3am , trying another location to sleep again, which, didn't work so it was 2 sessions, 2nd session was the chart here AHI 14.45 for someone who was always near 1 or 2 ; I did switch to a slimline hose, which was much more comfortable to manage physically.
also did no chinstrap, and used the AirTouch F20, memory foam instead of usual AirFit F20; which felt perfect, no leaks, light on the face with the slimline. sigh


I know this is a process, but until I get a collar, to get the AHI back down maybe I should use the sleep-study's MD settings of 6-11 again, instead of 7-11 or I've no idea? turn EPAP back to "ramp only" and 1 , though I've ramp off ?

I've another concern that changing settings could lead to some problems I didn't think I had? is that a risk? best regards


PS: does being awake with the mask on, skew results at all?

[SarcasticDave94]

It is not a settings issue at all. You are still having lots of Positional Apnea.

The aspect of EPR set to Ramp only with no Ramp will always equal the same as EPR is off. Don't do this.

If you were awake, despite the mask and CPAP being on, this counts as no therapy. A CPAP is sleep therapy only.