High Tidal Volume

[Bartman66]

    HI, New board member. 

I've been on CPAP for a year now and just discovered and installed OSCAR. I seem to have high Tidal volume spikes. is this something to be concerned about ?

A bit of history. I have had 3 lung surgeries to remove tumors (Bowel cancer ) in 2015 & 2017. I have reduced lung functionality having had my lower left lung lobe removed, then a segment taken out of that, and also a wedge segment taken out of my right lung. I have allergic rhinitis, and undergoing Prostate cancer treatment. I have a lot going on.

I've read the online help guide but am still a bit lost interpreting the result of last night's data.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

[BoxcarPete]

Variations in TV like that are very common in REM sleep, which the early part of your night is consistent with.

What's not typical are the green bar segments which appear later in the night, that can be a sign of cardio-pulmonary insufficiency. The pattern is typical of CO2 washout instability: a period of apnea allows CO2 to build up in the system, which drives recovery breathing at a greater rate and depth, and this excess breathing washes out enough CO2 to cause another apnea because the body no longer feels the urge to breathe. I would discuss this pattern with a pulmonologist and maybe also a cardiologist since you have reason to suspect a possible insufficiency in your case. It may also be related to the Prostate cancer treatment, but I'd say it's definitely worth looking into.

[Sleeprider]

Bartman, have you ever tried using EPR?

[Bartman66]

No, not even aware of it at this moment.  Will need to do some research.

[Sleeprider]

Let me save you the trouble. EPR is exhale pressure relief on all Resmed CPAPs. It can drop the exhale pressure from 1 to 3 cm during exhale, and restore that pressure during inhale. That makes your Resmed Airsense 10, a bilevel (BiPAP) machine in disguise. The reason I asked is because you have high flow limitations through the night and the EPR function can treat and minimize that problem. Flow limitation is a an obstructive condition in the airway that responds best to bilevel or EPR, because the increasing pressure during inhale help overcome that airway resistance. If you look at a zoom of your flow rate, you will see what should be inspiratory peaks are all flattened. EPR can fix that. So I want to suggest you change your settings to minimum pressure 6.0, Maximum pressure 10.0 with EPR on full-time at setting 2. Sleep with more comfort and better results. Let's see it! Here is a quick tutorial on how to access the settings. https://www.apneaboard.com/resmed-airsen...setup-info