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+--- Thread: Flow curve shape - what does it say? (/Thread-Flow-curve-shape-what-does-it-say)
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Flow curve shape - what does it say? - pezhead99 - 10-09-2023
I was reading about flow shapes and was curious about mine. It seems unusual with a rise, plateau and then another rise. Anything I can learn from this?
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - PeaceLoveAndPizza - 10-09-2023
Looks like expiratory mouth breathing, maybe with a bit of snoring. See the attached…
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - pezhead99 - 10-09-2023
Thanks for the helpful chart! I was actually thinking mouth breathing so I tried mouth taping. To compare, here's the flow curve with mouth taping. It looks very similar to me...?
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - PeaceLoveAndPizza - 10-09-2023
It does look the same to me as well.
Hopefully someone more experienced will jump in with some thoughts.
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - gainerfull - 10-10-2023
Can you include the flow limit chart with the zoomed in view? Looks like flow limited breathing to me.
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - pezhead99 - 10-10-2023
I have some flow limitations but most of the time it's non-existent. Here's a zoomed out view with a mix of both. 95% flow limit last night was .08 which seems to be low/normal?
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - CPAPfriend - 10-10-2023
Keep in mind that the flow-limit chart is not as sensitive as the flowrate chart, and, in the pictures you shared, I observe several flattened and multi-peaked peaks in the waveforms. Theyre not perfect, by any means.
Some of them also look like the class 6 in pic attached, from the following study, which characterizes them as "marked tracheal traction during lung inflation": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4688581/
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - pezhead99 - 10-10-2023
Thanks for the reply! This is good information - I’ll admit I don’t really understand how to address the flow limitation. Any resources or suggested actions would be much appreciated!
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - CPAPfriend - 10-10-2023
Once obstructions are resolved, flow limit is best treated through increasing pressure differential, which is IPAP - EPAP or EPR, etc. It can also be resolved by increasing pressure.
RE: Flow curve shape - what does it say? - pezhead99 - 10-10-2023
Got it thanks! I have my EPR set to 3. Meeting with my sleep doc tomorrow and I have some good questions to ask. Thanks all!