[Treatment] A beginner, HELP

[Horst900]

This should include a screenshot

[OpalRose]

If you want to change to Auto Mode, you might want to try a minimum of 8 and max setting of 15.

Use this way for a few days to determine where your 90% pressure reading falls and if this change makes a difference in the hypopneas.

With that said, it appears from your graph that the hypopneas could be a positional problem. Do you sleep on your back?

What has helped many here is using a soft cervical collar to keep the head and neck better aligned, and prevent chin tucking. It should not fit tight, but should be able to move a little. It should also not be too tall. Measure your neck, then try Amazon if you want to buy one.

[Horst900]

Thanks Opalrose, I made the changes and will see. I had a problem with the humidifier and did a check with the preheat and that portion worked. I had very low AHI less then one for the first three weeks and now this hypopnea problem. My AHI was 30 a couple of nights ago. I will look into the cervical collar, I am still tossing and turning a lot.

[ajack]

It looks like some of the clusters were when you were awake around 11:45 and stopped the machine. you disregard events when you are awake. You only count the stuff when you are asleep and some would be positional, given you were better before. As opal said, an easy way to tell if it's chin tucking is to use a soft foam cervical collar.

[HalfAsleep]

I had problems with congestion when I had my humidifier too high. I got lung rattle and I lost my voice in Week #2. I had to experiment with the moisture setting and the temperature. Even though I thought I'd like warm air, it seems that didn't keep me clear, either. It turns out, for the purposes of APAP, I do better with cooler air.

I use two other tricks: either taking an antihistamine OR spraying my upper chest with IcyHot. The latter is my genius new discovery. It wafts Vicks aroma into my system without IcyHot-ting up my mask, hose, or machine. And I don't have to take my mask off to do it.

[Horst900]

Thanks, I have not used the hose heater yet, And the humidifier set on 5 the highest setting the water lasts 4 days. I turned the preheat on today and it got warm, I will leave it on and see if there is any difference. There is no condensation in the mask or hose. I am going to turn the hose heater on and see what happend, I like to breath cool air, so I have not tried it who knows maybe its wired backwards or I still cant tell which is which but I did look at that carefully, Lol. I may look into the chest spray, Also this will be night two with the eucalyptis drops. I want to try everything before I go to a full face, I don't mind the nasal mask at all until I stuff up.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Horst900,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck with CPAP therapy and getting used to it, as it can take a bit of time, but just stick with it, it does get better.

[Reznik]

Hi everyone and happy Thanksgiving.

This is my first day on the forum, and just installed Sleepyhead and downloaded my data. I have been using my CPAP for 4 weeks. My sleep study showed an API of 65 and my machine is set on 8 in CPAP mode. My first question is I have my first follow up Dr Appointment in three weeks should I wait to make changes?  Do physicians get upset about patients taking control?

My first two weeks showed below 1 API, but I still tossed and turned and woke up a lot. I am using a nose mask and I am having trouble with stuffiness, I have the humidifier set on Max and the water still lasts up 4 or 5 days? So I have concerns if its working? Sinus rinse helps, and last night I used three drops of eucalyptus oil in the water. I think that helped a bit.

My concern is that hypopneas have gone way up causing the API to hit almost 30 a couple of days ago. I think I should set the machine to Auto and maybe raise the setting to 10 and the max to 15, of course I am new to all this and want advice, I am not sure how to capture the data that is most useful to share with the forum from Sleepyhead.

Some physicians do get upset and some don't.  There's only one way to find out...

Regarding nasal congestion:  I find that too much humidity causes nasal congestion.  I initially set my humidity level and tube temperature to Auto.  Within an hour, my nose would become extremely congested.  So, I turned off the heated tube altogether and turned off the humidity and found that my nasal congestion went away.  Of course, I got a dry throat and so I turned the humidity up to 1.  I may turn it up a little more, but haven't decided.  In my case, the nasal congestion was definitely caused by either the heat or the humidity.  It turns out that I prefer cold, dry air.  It took me a week to figure this out...

The amount of water that evaporates from the humidifier chamber is related to (1) the level of heat on the heater plate and (2) the amount of humidity that is already in the air.  If you're in the desert, you're going to use more water than if you live in the Pacific NW.  As long as the heater plate is working (be careful - it might be hot enough to burn you), then the humidifier is working.  I'd try measuring it with an Infrared Thermometer.  You can buy one from many online retailers for about $20.00.  

Also, you should be changing the water every day to prevent mold growth.

[HalfAsleep]

Thanks, I have not used the hose heater yet, And the humidifier set on 5 the highest setting the water lasts 4 days. I turned the preheat on today and it got warm, I will leave it on and see if there is any difference. There is no condensation in the mask or hose. I am going to turn the hose heater on and see what happend, I like to breath cool air, so I have not tried it who knows maybe its wired backwards or I still cant tell which is which but I did look at that carefully, Lol. I may look into the chest spray, Also this will be night two with the eucalyptis drops. I want to try everything before I go to a full face, I don't mind the nasal mask at all until I stuff up.

Oops, I misread the N20 as an F20.