[Treatment] FryyourBacon - Therapy Thread

[FryyourBacon]

Hello all,

I'm trying to figure out what my settings should be on my ResMed AirSense 11. I have been doing therapy for about two months and haven't really found a good range that works for me yet. My machine was shipped to me with the default settings in place (4-20 for pressure). For a while I've been using a minimum of 7 and a high of 15. I've started having some moderate aerophagia and was wanting to increase my therapy's effectiveness at the same time so I tried out 8-16 since I saw that some nights I was staying at 15 for 10-20 minutes. The following day I had pretty bad aerophagia and also did not see a change in my AHI or OA, if anything it was worse. Last night I tried 10-14 and had very mild aerophagia symptoms, but still did not see a change in my AHI or OA. I only used my therapy for about 3 hours last night and am not able to pull the data from the card for last night but here is the past several days. I would be appreciative for any help or tips possible.

Thanks!

[Crimson Nape]

Hi FryyourBacon! -
Your chart for last night indicates a pressure range of 8-16. I think I would try setting the pressure range to 11-13, and leave everything else alone. This will reduce the pressure envelope in case you are being effected by its change. Also, it can take some time to adjust, so don't go dial winging.
- Red

[FryyourBacon]

Here is last night's sleep data. I still woke up with a lot of gas but it was not as painful as it has been.

[Sleeprider]

Although you responded to higher pressure, I see most of your apnea occur in clusters. The way to resolve that is to recognize that your sleep position, pillows or other factor may be influencing you ability to keep the airway open with lower pressure. Read the Positional Apnea Article in this wiki. https://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph...onal_Apnea

[FryyourBacon]

I typically sleep facing away from my machine on my side with the hose running up behind my pillows. I typically wake up on my back however. I do use two regular thickness pillows with one flat and the other propped up against it. I have had lower AHI nights in the past, specifically with a lower Min and higher Max setting. I have included them just in case they are relevant.

[Dodies]

Thanks, will give that a go.

[HalfAsleep]

Make sure the hose isn't getting kinked or obstructed behind your pillows. At some point, it also has to go uphill from the machine, otherwise you'll get a rain shower....

[FryyourBacon]

Ok so last night I slept facing the machine, one level pillow, and tried to sleep on my side. I woke up with minor gas, and still feel pretty tired.

[HalfAsleep]

Wow, you’re doing well with mask management. Look at that enviable vanishing leak graph! In my dreams….

Also, if you need to sleep on your back, you need to sleep on your back. You can make other adjustments to keep your airway straight, like using a loose cervical collar. I find LankyLefty’s YT videos on this kind of topic very helpful, since he demonstrates.

[FryyourBacon]

My only concerns are, (and I am asking because I do not know), isn't an AHI > 5 still a concern, and isn't my Min of 11 kind of high and my Max of 13 kind of low? It looks like since doing the pressure changes my OA has stayed roughly the same but my CA has increased.