Help noob fine tune settings

[Pugsy]

Are you saying that sometimes you sleep and not use the machine?

I can't promise that reducing the "clutter" will give you that well rested feeling that we all yearn for but it would be something that could be tried and sure wouldn't hurt to try.

Sometimes it isn't all about the AHI or even what we see or don't see on these reports and we can't always fix all our problems with picture perfect reports. I wish it were that easy.

If you aren't using the machine every time you sleep the of course we can't expect to feel well rested or if you are taking the mask off for the last couple of hours in the night to get some "real sleep" then the body is going to remember the crappy last 2 hours no matter how good the previous hours on the machine might have been.

Since there is something on your reports that could possibly impact sleep quality then by all means try to fix it because it might help.
If that doesn't work out then we have to look at other potential culprits out there that can impact how we feel and the list is long.
I usually suggest looking at hours of sleep (5 to 6 hours isn't enough)...and are those hours of sleep fragmented for any reason and if so try to fix it.
I also suggest looking at any meds we might take because often our meds come with some unwanted side effects that not only mess with our sleep but also mess with how we feel during the day.
Look at overall general health....look at bed comfort....look at mask comfort....and the list goes on and on.
Try to figure out just what it is that you feel is lacking in how you want to feel.
Is it fatigue or is it daytime drowsiness? They aren't the same thing.

It's possible that you just need time but while you are giving it time...like you have any choice in the matter....use that time to take a hard look at any other potential factors in not feeling as good as you would like to feel.
When I first started therapy (and it took a couple of weeks to get pressures optimized) I mainly saw 2 improvements that I could put my finger on....the absence of the nocturia (that in itself was worth the price of the treatment) and the absence of the daily killer headaches that I would wake up with. That was pretty much it for several months...no miracle energy levels but then my hours of sleep were sub optimal (other issues unrelated to sleep apnea) and it took months and months to slowly improve that aspect of my sleep.
Then one night I had to sleep without my machine (had used it 100% of the time up until then) and I got a real rude awakening as to just how bad things were and I realized that I had experienced a very gradual improvement in general and it was just hard to see because it was so gradual. The one night without the machine showed me just how bad things had been.
Do I wake up now feeling like running a marathon...no...but at least I don't wake up feeling like I just ran a marathon.
I have to accept the fact that at my age and with other health issues that the machine can't fix the things that are wrong with me that are unrelated to sleep apnea.

[mrrsquared79]

Yes there are some nights i don't sleep with it on, a brand new biological alarm clock(newborn baby-who I am a stay home dad for...)

[Pugsy]

Ahhhh...a new baby. Well, you have a great sleep disruptor right there. Do the best you can and realize that even non OSA parents of newborns have the usual sleep challenges that just comes with the job of caring for the little ones.
Sometimes it's challenging enough to feel better without the added disruption that comes from the babies.

Anytime our sleep is disturbed so that we can't get the normal progression of the needed sleep cycles we are going to feel it the next day. Whether it be babies or whatever. Fragmented sleep for any reason will trash the restorative powers of sleep.

You can at least try to optimize what sleep you do get...at that includes avoiding sleeping without the machine because that's a bad habit to get into and you know about bad habits....they are real easy to make and notoriously difficult to break.

Congratulations on the new baby.

[mrrsquared79]

Thanks for the well wishes, baby is sick and for the last two nights baby and I have slept in my chair with the machine on.

[Sleeprider]

Nothing that Pugsy has not already covered, but your graph results clearly show that a higher minimum pressure would help. I would recommend at least 6.0.

What else is keeping you from being comfortable and getting needed rest. Is the mask okay? If you tolerate nasal therapy, you might be happier with a nasal pillows mask like the Resmed Airfit P10. They are relatively easy to keep a low leak rate, quiet and very unobtrusive compared to the nasal mask. If you're within 30 days of receiving equipment you probably have a trial period in which you can try a different mask.

[mrrsquared79]

Nothing that Pugsy has not already covered, but your graph results clearly show that a higher minimum pressure would help. I would recommend at least 6.0.

What else is keeping you from being comfortable and getting needed rest. Is the mask okay? If you tolerate nasal therapy, you might be happier with a nasal pillows mask like the Resmed Airfit P10. They are relatively easy to keep a low leak rate, quiet and very unobtrusive compared to the nasal mask. If you're within 30 days of receiving equipment you probably have a trial period in which you can try a different mask.

I tried the nasal pillows in the past, this isn't my first go around with a CPAP. I had a CPAP(DS550) machine in 2008, had gastric bypass and lost a LOT of weight and I made the decision that I didn't need the CPAP machine anymore...bad decision...during that time I used nasal pillows and they made my nostrils sore and never stayed in place as I am a stomach/side sleeper. I also had a nasal mask but can't recall which one it was exactly, all I remember is it was a gel one.

I now have a new APAP(DS560TS) machine with the Wisp nasal mask and I like it better than the previous two masks I used but now I find that I am waking up lately with sore spots on my nose, one on the bridge of my nose and sore spots on each side of my nose. Given those facts, I am wondering if I need some sort of barrier between the nasal mask and my skin.

I just returned from a trip out of state to Las Vegas for a hockey tournament and two out of the three nights I didn't sleep with the machine on and by the third night, I was really really missing my sleep with the APAP.

[mrrsquared79]

Last night's data with minimum pressure raised to 5.5

[mrrsquared79]

Ok fellow hoseheads, here is last nights(2/26-27) data:

[Sleeprider]

Therapy is moving in the right direction. I still think increased minimum pressure will avoid some snore H/OA events and flow limitations. The move to 5.5 helped. I think you have another 1 cm to go.