Sander's therapy thread

[Phaleronic]

Hi Sander, I would move back to CPAP mode and raise it to 14cm with EPR set to 3 and see if that will knock down your OA events.

[Sander]

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I last used apneaboard. Honestly, I was in a bit of a sleep apnea dip again. @Phaleronic I tried your suggestion, however I immediately was met with a much higher AHI (6/7) with my CA events being much higher. It didn't really help for the obstructive events. 

My score currently is avg. 5.32, with a fixed pressure of 11 and EPR at 3. I'm still not feeling well-rested. I'm still having so many clear airway events during the last part of the night. It's just horrible how I've been trying so long, yet haven't seen any results in terms of subjective sleep quality unfortunately. I will not quit, because I know objectively it already massively helps (coming from AHI 49), but does anyone know what I can do to improve my results?

Attached you'll find an overview of the changes and the results and daily statistics from two recent days.

[Sander]

I've also read something about AirBreak. I read that it's not an ideal option, but in the Netherlands ASV's are rarely given out. They'd rather have you suffer than help you, so an ASV will likely never be an option for me. Can I use airbreak?

[Crimson Nape]

Not with a series 11. The demonstration code was for a 10 series.
- Red

[Sander]

Ah okay. Would anyone be able to help me optimize my therapy to make it at least a little more efficient? I've attached the OSCAR statistics for the last few days.

[Deborah K.]

You do show some positional apnea, not a ton but probably enough to try fixing. This is caused by dropping your chin towards your chest. No setting can fix this. If a flatter pillow doesn't work for you, then you probably need a soft cervical collar. If it fits correctly it should stop the PA, resulting in a lower AHI, which we all like.

[Sander]

Hello all,

I'm still in the same unfortunate situation of feeling extremely fatigued when waking up. I have not been able to try a soft cervical collar yet, but am definitely willing to do so because I also still have some leaks. Does anyone have any recommendations for soft cervical collars?

Moreover, is there anything I can still do to optimize my therapy in terms of settings? I've attached the 3 most recent nights.

[Deborah K.]

Your flow limits are quite high, even with EPR 3.  This was happening to me, so I asked for advice.  I was told I needed a bi-level machine, which I eventually convinced my doctor to prescribe for me.  It has made a wonderful difference in my treatment.  I have the ResMed AirCurve 10 Vauto.  If you go this route I suggest you get this exact machine.  The 10s have a long proven good track record, and the 11s have a smaller motor and more complaints.

In case you are interested, here's a link to my very long thread where we figured out how to get me the Vauto:

https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...t=bi-level

Best of luck!