Brand New and Troubled by last nights Data

[OkyDoky]

That's a great report, especially for the 3rd night. You slept 9 hrs with an AHI of 0.76. 0.0 is an elusive goal, many have a few normal events so don't pin your hopes on 0.0 Just know your are helping your body get the oxygen it needs to allow the organs to work. Hopefully those little wake ups will also decrease.

[ArKiTeKt]

Thank you OkyDoky. so even "normal" people that don't "have" sleep apnea would probably have some events every night right? hence the elusive goal likely not being obtainable correct? Thanks again.

[OkyDoky]

Thank you OkyDoky. so even "normal" people that don't "have" sleep apnea would probably have some events every night right? hence the elusive goal likely not being obtainable correct? Thanks again.

Yes. While the diagnostic standard AHI of 5 leaves those with less than 5 considered normal. With that said I like my treated AHI below 2 and it is usually below 1. But many people have difficulty getting those scores and they do a happy dance when they rarely get a 0.

[Cardsfan]

Fabulous numbers you got there. The thing to really track is how you are feeling. BTW- I have only had 2 zero AHI NIGHTs in over a year.

[ArKiTeKt]

Yeah I think I'm going to be one of those that the "feeling better" is more gradual and will take more time thus others around me might notice the difference sooner and better than I will. But we'll see. I hope my numbers continue to improve but I'm sure I'll have some nights where they get worse instead of better.

Thanks again!

[alexander]

Edited out.

[SleepyVegas]

Those are great numbers for last night. Great start and keep at it.

[flightco]

I'm just so confused because they said I had obstructive SA and that I didn't show any signs of Central during either of my two studies.... man, what could have happened?

I have been trying to read to the end to see if anyone else said this but don't have that much time. S10 calls everything it cannot identify "CA's" and many do not fall under the true classification of Clear Airways. In my mind it is one of the downfalls of the machine, scares lots of people. Let your doctor determine if you have CA's, the S10 is not up to the task.

[palerider]

S10 calls everything it cannot identify "CA's" and many do not fall under the true classification of Clear Airways. In my mind it is one of the downfalls of the machine, scares lots of people. Let your doctor determine if you have CA's, the S10 is not up to the task.

this is completely and utterly untrue.

if the machine cannot classify an apnea, it reports them as UA, Undetermined, and that normally only happens when leaks are completely out of control.

[ArKiTeKt]

Well, whatever the Clear Airway (Centrals) are, they're coming down at a drastic rate. I'll post last nights chart below and let me know how you think I'm doing (It's my fourth night).

I do have a few questions though:

1. what are RERA's?
2. Is there a way to see how much time is spent in REM and/or stage 3? Those two were almost nonexistent during my sleep studies.
3. It seems though I had my best numbers last night, I also had my most large leaks. Do I need to tighten the mask or did it just so "happen" last night?
4. It seems the skin on my face around the edge of the mask is beginning to get chafed or maybe a slight rash. Any help on how to fix this?

Thanks again everyone!

[ArKiTeKt]

Sorry, one more question:

5: On sleepyheads welcome page it says "VERY IMPORTANT WARNING, ALWAYS write protect CPAP SDCards before inserting them into your computer." I just noticed this so obviously haven't done it. Is it really important to do and if so, do you just slide the lever into the lock position before putting it into the card reader than unlocking it before putting it back into the cpap machine?

[Cardsfan]

#4- chaffing-- look at http://www.padacheek.com comfort padding for masks. I order from them all the time. Great place to do business with. Look at mask liners. If you call them, they will be very helpful.

[OkyDoky]

Well, whatever the Clear Airway (Centrals) are, they're coming down at a drastic rate. I'll post last nights chart below and let me know how you think I'm doing (It's my fourth night).

I do have a few questions though:

1. what are RERA's?
Respiratory Event Related Arousal... a sequence of breaths characterized by increasing respiratory effort leading to an arousal from sleep, but which does not meet criteria for an apnea or hypopnea.”

RERA Detection in the Respironics System One data..Respiratory effort-related arousal..defined as an arousal from sleep that follows a 10 second or longer sequence of breaths that are characterized by increasing respiratory effort, but which does not meet criteria for an apenea or hypopnea. Snoring, though usually associated with this condition need not be present. The RERA algorithm monitors for a sequence of breaths that exhibit both a subtle reduction in airflow and progressive flow limitation. If this breath sequence is terminated by a sudden increase in airflow along with the absence of flow limitation, and the event does not meet the conditions for an apnea or hypopnea, a RERA is indicated. Here is a glossary http://sleepyhead.sourceforge.net/wiki/ ... p/Glossary

2. Is there a way to see how much time is spent in REM and/or stage 3? Those two were almost nonexistent during my sleep studies. You can't really tell without EEG but some people can look closely at the breathing patterns and time intervals and guess. I'm not one of them yet.

3. It seems though I had my best numbers last night, I also had my most large leaks. Do I need to tighten the mask or did it just so "happen" last night?
Your leaks aren't bad at all, probably just short moving of mask. If you look at you time over leak redline it is 0.138% of the time you were asleep.

4. It seems the skin on my face around the edge of the mask is beginning to get chafed or maybe a slight rash. Any help on how to fix this? Two things that help, Lansinoh found in the baby area of the store. It will help heal and prevent this. Also, a liner might make it more comfortable. http://padacheek.com/

As far as the reminder to lock the SD card it is always a good idea. Some OS write something on the card sometimes that the machines don't like. If you have a problem with this the CPAP machine will tell you there is a problem and reformat the card. And yes you just slide the lock and then slide it back when you put it back into your machine.

[ArKiTeKt]

Thank you CardsFan and OkyDoky! so don't worry about RERA's? even normal people likely have some of this right? and I'll look into the pads and the baby stuff. I have to do presentations a lot and don't want to present stuff with a nice case of chapped face!

[Cardsfan]

Another comfort item, very popular, is the Snuggle Hose cover. It makes your long hose much more comfortable when you lay against it. Also keeps it from making noise when it moves across the furniture. The one with the zipper is easier to get on and off.