Question Pugsy

[Pugsy]

I wouldn't worry about that leak unless it starts plateauing well over the 24 L/min line and staying up there for prolonged periods of time....or if it wakes you up.

Oh...I did the tape thing too for a short while but didn't use duct tape...that stuff is nasty to get off the skin.
I quit because it was just another chore to do and I was doing okay with only occasional mouth breathing that was big enough to make much of a difference.
I didn't hate the tape thing but it was another thing to do and it sort of impacted my sleep quality...same thing with chin straps...they bugged me and since they bugged me more than the mouth breathing was a problem I decided not to worry about it unless I started mouth breathing a lot.

[fdw]

The leak looks like it settled back to what it has been... Take a look at my latest results and please comment. Looks really good hu??????

Thanks

[Pugsy]

I don't see an image....I get only the word "image"...is it me or your link didn't work right?
My internet connection has been a on the blink lately and some images won't load.

Though I trust you to know if things look good. I think you have a really good understanding now for what to leak for.

[fdw]

I don't see an image....I get only the word "image"...is it me or your link didn't work right?
My internet connection has been a on the blink lately and some images won't load.

Though I trust you to know if things look good. I think you have a really good understanding now for what to leak for.

The image shows up fine on my end.

I have a better understanding thanks to you Pugsy . I really apprecieate your confidence but I am far, far away from many of the statics in SH.

For instance, I have NO idea about knowing whether Im in REM sleep of something else nightly.

Thank you

[Pugsy]

I still can't see the image but there's another thread where I am having similar difficulties...so it's probably on my end.
Not a big deal.

For REM stage sleep estimates we have to go by a normal pattern since we have no way to know for sure.
At this link below there's a little hypnogram (scroll down a bit and it's on the right side) that shows typical sleep stages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep
REM normally starts around 90 minutes after sleep onset and as the night goes on it becomes more frequent and lasts longer with the greatest amount of REM being in those wee hours of the morning right before we wake up.
For someone like me whose sleep study documented that my OSA was much worse in REM it has been fairly easy to spot probable REM stages on my Sleepyhead reports....I will see pressure increases during those probably time frames and maybe a little clustering of events with nothing going on in between them.

With some time and a bit of studying you should be able to get reasonably close with approx time frames for REM stage sleep.
The main monkey wrench in things is if someone gets some clustering when they sleep on their backs. It's not perfect...but it gets us close...close enough for what we need to know anyway.

[fdw]

Pugsy,

Information from last night has changed and not sure why.

The AHI is the lowest I've recorded . I actually recorded NO (zero) OA's. and CAA, however the Hypopnea events were 3 (0.44) which has been zero? Other graphs kinda correlates with the events.....thoughts?

Also the Pressure line Pressure/EPAP lines seem to have merged to make a Blue line, and don't understand that either other than the Minimum Pressure setting is to high???

[Pugsy]

Did you change EPR? On the pressure line with SleepyHead it looks like you used EPR only during the ramp?
Did you change something in the menu about when EPR is to be used? There's a choice for "ramp only" I think.
The bottom line on the pressure graph for EPAP is nothing more than the line that shows the reduction that EPR offers.

Oh..slight differences between numbers of OAs one night and/or maybe hyponeas the next night...probably related to the definition difference.
Hyponea definitions aren't quite as stringent as OA definition. Maybe these hyponeas just couldn't quite grow up to be OAs.
Maybe because of the tiny pressure change from no EPR drop.

[fdw]

Did you change EPR? On the pressure line with SleepyHead it looks like you used EPR only during the ramp?
Did you change something in the menu about when EPR is to be used? There's a choice for "ramp only" I think.
The bottom line on the pressure graph for EPAP is nothing more than the line that shows the reduction that EPR offers.

Oh..slight differences between numbers of OAs one night and/or maybe hyponeas the next night...probably related to the definition difference.
Hyponea definitions aren't quite as stringent as OA definition. Maybe these hyponeas just couldn't quite grow up to be OAs.
Maybe because of the tiny pressure change from no EPR drop.

You are exactly correct....I did change the EPR to RAMP only (great explanation BTW). So in your opinion should I leave the EPR to RAMP only?

[Pugsy]

If you slept well you can leave EPR to ramp only if you wish. That little drop in exhale during EPR might have been allowing an occasional OA to materialize and now that slight OA is only a hyponea. Too soon to really know with just one night under our belt but it's possible.

The main goal is to sleep well and feel decent.....and to heck with whatever we have to use to attain that goal or even what the AHI is if we attain that goal. If EPR helps a person sleep well...then we use it and maybe adjust the pressure up a tiny bit if EPR is allowing a few events to slip past the defenses.
If a person sleeps well and feels good without EPR full time...then that's fine too.

This cpap stuff isn't about perfect numbers...it's about sleeping good and feeling good. And IMHO we do anything and everything to attain that goal and if nice perfect numbers happen on the way...that's just a side bonus so we can pat ourselves on the back.
Night before last I had AHI 0.0...but slept horribly and felt horrible all day yesterday (storms and all that)...so nice perfect numbers don't mean squat if we don't sleep well.

[fdw]

Agreed.....how we feel is the goal, I like to look at it this way "feeling refreshed in the morning and throughout the day". My problem has been I loose power early and regain a little, and the loose it again.

If I lay down (not sleep) for 45-60 minutes in the afternoon (2-3 PM) I regain some of my power back. I think a lot of my problem is I simply need MORE sleep, 6 to 7 hours every night is simply not enough (for me).

[Pugsy]

If I lay down (not sleep) for 45-60 minutes in the afternoon (2-3 PM) I regain some of my power back. I think a lot of my problem is I simply need MORE sleep, 6 to 7 hours every night is simply not enough (for me).

Totally agree.... if I don't get 7 1/2 hours of decent sleep...I can pretty much guarantee I will want to take a nap in the afternoon. My witching time is around 4 PM when it hits me.

Sometimes getting those needed hours is taken out of our control though...it's not always related to sleep apnea either.
My back might hurt real bad...or the dogs are barking because they see imaginary boogers...or the dog on the bed gets pissed off because the cat jumps on the bed...or my mind races 100 MPH and I can't get it to slow down...or whatever.
Life is never perfect...no matter how much we wish it to be.