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+--- Thread: Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help (/Thread-Am-I-doing-this-right-OSCAR-Desperate-and-Need-help)
Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help - Psperez27 - 10-15-2023
LSS I’ve been tired as long as I can remember. I was gasping for breath in my sleep and having brain fog so I did an at home sleep study in Sept (w. sleep dr) because PCP said I was fine and labs were normal. AHI was only 1.9 but RDI was 7.3, she said no OSA. I was insistent and I have a lab sleep study but not till nov. I did another home test with lofta and they RX’d a Cpap based on REM RDI.
I’m still going to do the lab study but in the mean time am I doing this right??? I’ve been using it everyday for 2 weeks but I haven’t seen much of a change. Can someone please check my data?
-I’m using a Resmed f30i but ordered a F20 and N20 due to leaks.
Here is a zoom in on an event if that helps?
RE: Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help - gainerfull - 10-15-2023
With a low AHI but high RDI the key to feeling more rested is to minimize the amount of arousals or micro-awakenings you have that will fragment your sleep, specifically REM. Each of those leaks caused an arousal so it's good to read that you've already ordered a new mask. I believe that I have UARS much like yourself and the real game changer for me was trying a mild sedative called apigenin which is the active ingredient in chamomile tea. I take 50-100mg per night, this increases my arousal threshold and I wake up feeling incredible. This is, of course after getting my settings dialed in and my AHI low.
Another key is to keep your upper airway open by whatever means works for you. I do a nasal rinse 2x per day w/ a saline solution and use flonase before bed with pretty good results. The breathe right nasal strips (or generics) also help.
What your OSCAR data tells me is your leaks are too high, and your pressure minimum is likely too low considering it's going up to just under 13cmH20 to tame your flow limits.
RE: Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help - staceyburke - 10-15-2023
It looks like some of the leaks are mouth leaks not mask leaks. The other thing I see are flow limits- FL are apnea also like Oa and H events. So you are having many more FLs.
We treat flow limits using EPR. To use EPR you need to make a couple changes.
EPR set to FULL TIME
RPR SET TO 3
Min 7
RE: Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help - staceyburke - 10-15-2023
EPR SET TO 3. Not RPR. Sorry but I couldn’t edit the mistake.
RE: Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help - Psperez27 - 10-15-2023
Thank you so much. I also ordered a neck cervical pillow (as I have a tiny 9in neck) since I noticed my head leans down when I sleep. I’ll try a nasal rinse and increasing the pressure to see if it helps.
So I tried EPR at all 3 levels and I’ve noticed that I get more CAs when it’s on so I turned it off. I kept waking up because it was too easy to exhale but I had a hard time prompting my body to inhale if that makes sense? Any tips on this?
RE: Am I doing this right (OSCAR)? - Desperate and Need help - staceyburke - 10-15-2023
Instead of turning off try to set it to 1 and after a few nights you get use to it try 2 Same thing until you get to 3.