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New Guy With Lots Of Questions - eddiememphis - 08-31-2022
I was diagnosed mid July AHI 38.5.
I tried to be a patient patient and wait for insurance and doctor and supplier to get their ducks in a row but gave up and started doing my own research.
I purchased an AirSense 11 Autoset with the ClimateLine and a P30i mask.
I have had it four days and have been glued to the data. I use both Oscar and SleepHQ to try to figure out how best to set the machine.
My research has been reading as much as I can, along with many videos.
As I am getting used to the process, I have seen a lot of improvement, in only four days. Sunday's AHI was 34, Tuesday's was 4.48.
I realize four days is a ridiculously small sample size.
I have read here and elsewhere it can take up to four weeks to learn how to breathe properly with the machine.
On to the questions!
How much data, days or weeks, should I gather before making any conclusions about... anything?
Where can I find more in-depth guides about analyzing the results? Things like when my mouth pops open, when I turn over and different stages of sleep?
I have read the Oscar guide and learned a lot but want to know more.
I always want to know more.
Thanks for your help and guidance.
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - Sleeprider - 08-31-2022
Eddie, post a chart and maybe we can accelerate your progress. Hard to believe you had a treated AHI of 34, and 4.5 is still on the high-side. Let's take a look at what's going on. Daily detail chart as described in the Organizing Your Oscar Chart linked in my signature links.
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - Gideon - 08-31-2022
+1. Looking at the data is where it's at
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - eddiememphis - 08-31-2022
(08-31-2022, 08:29 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: Eddie, post a chart and maybe we can accelerate your progress. Hard to believe you had a treated AHI of 34, and 4.5 is still on the high-side. Let's take a look at what's going on. Daily detail chart as described in the Organizing Your Oscar Chart linked in my signature links.
I appreciate the quick response, but which chart? Sunday when I was getting used to the whole thing and showed a 34? Or last night when I had a 4.48?
That is one of my main questions. The numbers have fluctuated greatly in the four days I have used the unit.
What is an appropriate time to wait before I can be confident that the data is correct?
To put it a different way, how long to establish a baseline?
I told you I had a lot of questions!
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - eddiememphis - 08-31-2022
uploadtry1
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - Sleeprider - 09-01-2022
Eddie, the above chart looks okay, but you need to turn off the ramp function. We don't get good therapy information in ramp, and the pressure is too low at 4.0 to make the EPR work. Current settings are 4.0 min, 12.0 max with EPR 1 and Ramp on Auto. I'd like to see minimum pressure at 6.0, max pressure 10.0 EPR 1 Ramp off.
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - Sleepster - 09-01-2022
(08-31-2022, 11:11 PM)eddiememphis Wrote: What is an appropriate time to wait before I can be confident that the data is correct?
To put it a different way, how long to establish a baseline?
What you are really waiting for is your body to adapt. Follow Sleeprider's advice about adjusting the pressure. You can report back in a few days or so and show us your data.
You seem to be doing quite well. I wish you continued success. Once you get adapted and get your settings dialed in you'll be feeling better than you have in years.
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - pholynyk - 09-01-2022
I would differ from Sleeprider in the matter of the ramp. When ramp is Auto, events are detected and the ramp is terminated. In your case, ramp is not terminated until half an hour, which is the the limit for Auto Ramp. This means that you have not relaxed into the steady breathing that the Auto ramp feature uses as in indicator of sleep. This is useful, as it suggests that you need more time to get used to the mask and machine.
I suggest you spend some time wearing the mask and machine before bedtime, either reading or watching TV, for a couple of days. Be sure to turn off the machine for a couple of minutes before you roll over to sleep, so that we can disable that non-sleep session from the calculations in OSCAR.
I would also suggest changing your minimum to 6, both to give EPR some space to work and to minimise the dips after the peaks. This should make sleeping more comfortable.
After a couple of weeks with ramp on Auto, you should notice that it isn't keeping the pressure low for nearly as long, and then you can turn it off.
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - eddiememphis - 09-05-2022
I changed the settings to 6 and 10. I was hitting the upper limit a few times so upped it to 10.4.
Per pholynyk, I left ramp on but set it for a fixed 15 minutes.
My AHI is high but looking at the early morning, most of them seem to occuring then. I have frequently found myself holding my breath as I wake up. I have done this since I was a little kid.
I zoomed in on the middle of the night, 2am hour to show the irregular flow pattern.
Also figured out to add SpO2 to the charts.
The episodes have increased since raising the pressure limits.
How long does it take for most people to get used to new settings?
Do changes happen overnight?
Am I too deep in the trees to see the forest? Relax, give it a week and see what happens? I stare at that chart every morning, trying to read it correctly.
RE: New Guy With Lots Of Questions - clownbell - 09-05-2022
@ Eddie - You have centrals, which may decrease in time. Centrals occur when the brain doesn't send out the signal to inhale. The inhale signal is driven by the amount of CO2. When newly on PAP, a person blows off more CO2 than before. So the cycle is -- blow off more CO2 > less CO2 remains > less urge to inhale. If there is no inhale in 10 seconds AND the airway is not obstructed, that meets the criteria to earn a Central Apnea flag. The good news -- when your body adjusts, the "treatment emergent" centrals will go away. That period of time is highly variable.
After treatment-emergent centrals have gone away, some centrals may remain and that is not abnormal. Think about it. When you watch a suspenseful movie, read a suspenseful book, or concentrate intensely on a tricky project or hobby, you may stop breathing for 10 seconds -- happens every day and no big deal. In the CPAP world, the only problem is that if the centrals last for a long time or are very frequent.