Newbie to CPAP

[Guest]

Here is an update from last nights sleep. I did set up a sleep tracking app through resmed myAir, here is the data that came back.

9.26 hours of usage
34 Leak (L/min)
28.9 events per hour
2 times the mask came off my face
Total score was 74 out of 100 points.

Bottom line, the events per hour recorded by this machine are more than recorded during my sleep study. Question,how accurate are these machines with the data that is collected? Not sure where to go from here...

[Pugsy]

Pretty darn accurate if you slept.

Not sure where to go from here...

Back to the doctor...with your history of centrals I am not surprised with this result with this machine.

[Guest]

I guess 2 questions, should i continue to use the machine? I'm guessing all the data that can be collected over the weekend for the sleep doctor would be beneficial. And should i have any concerns with the machine doing more harm than good by continuing to use it?

One other thing. Did your doctors go over your sleep study results with you and explain everything in detail? I have had to do my own research to have any idea of what is going on. No doctors help except ordering the machine.

[OkyDoky]

I guess 2 questions, should i continue to use the machine? I'm guessing all the data that can be collected over the weekend for the sleep doctor would be beneficial. And should i have any concerns with the machine doing more harm than good by continuing to use it?

One other thing. Did your doctors go over your sleep study results with you and explain everything in detail? I have had to do my own research to have any idea of what is going on. No doctors help except ordering the machine.

Use the machine. Get SleepyHead and see what those events are. Even at 28.9 that is quite a decrease from your Sleep Study.

My doctor did go over the results but I had limited knowledge to understand what he was saying. Very little detail other than I needed the machine. Only by educating myself and understanding my machine and treatment was I able to know what was happening.

Get a copy of that Sleep Study if you don't already have it.

[Pugsy]

I would use the machine over the weekend at least. You may need verification that cpap/apap treatment fails to correct the problem so that insurance will pay for the other machine you will likely need to use...and it's real pricey.

[Guest]

Been awhile since I posted, but here's the update and I'm looking for as much help that anyone is willing to share. Had a cpap titration and the Doctor switched me to the Resmed Aircurve 10 VAUTO without backup. Pressure settings of 12/8. I used the machine for the first time last night and when I read the results this morning I had 53.1 events. When I called my doc this morning concerned, I was told not to worry that this is normal and it can take awhile to get used to using this machine. Was this a BS statement or is there truth to this?

[Pugsy]

this morning I had 53.1 events.

Where did you get this number? Off the machine's LCD screen which means an hourly index or average
or is it a total number of events that happened over the entire night (and if it was how many hours) and not an hourly average?
And what was the event breakdown into each category of the AHI?
Central index?
Obstructive Apnea Index?
Hyponea Index?

You really need to use SleepyHead so you can see all the details clearly.
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

I was told not to worry that this is normal and it can take awhile to get used to using this machine. Was this a BS statement or is there truth to this?

I don't know if it was BS or not...did you sleep soundly or did you have a lot of awake time spent using the mask and machine...sometimes awake events mess up the numbers because the machine mistakes awake breathing irregularities for some sort of apnea event. If you are awake...it doesn't count.

So it depends on what kind of events are flagged...how many per hour and were you awake or not for a good bit of the night.

Sometimes central apneas can be successfully dealt with using this type of machine...so it is worth trying but sometimes it doesn't work out so great and you have to move up another step.

[Guest]

Does sleepyhead work with the resmed equipment? If so how do I download this software?
And yes, the numbers are coming off the machines display. I felt like crap the entire day, headache, tired, lightheaded. So I'm pretty sure I didnt sleep much.

[Guest]

7.21 hours of usage
53.1 AHI
52.3 total AI
51.9 central AI
This is some of the info from last night

[Pugsy]

Yes, SleepyHead will work with your machine and work quite well. If you follow this link you can download it
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

Your AHI from last night...primarily central as I expected but you also said you didn't sleep well and there a chance a good bit of those centrals could simply be awake breathing pauses getting flagged as a central.
Hold your breath for 10 seconds...that qualifies as a 10 second central. When we are awake and tossing and turning in bed and having trouble going to sleep we will often pause our breathing for 10 seconds or even more and not even realize we are doing it.
So there's a chance some of that AHI could be awake breathing getting flagged by mistake.
There's a chance....now do I really think that all of your centrals can be blamed on awake breathing...not really but some of them could.

I have my doubts as to whether you will have much success with this machine without a back up rate but it could happen.

[Guest]

Why would the machine work so well during my titration study and not work now. The doc put in my sleep interpretation that at these pressures with this machine my AHI was 3.5.

[Pugsy]

I don't know...but you do have to get good solid sleep so that the validity of the data you are seeing can't come into question because of the possibility of awake breathing falsely elevating the AHI.

I once helped a man whose AHI was 30 something and had tons of centrals...ugly stuff.
We got to chatting and I found out he was having a horrible time actually getting good solid sleep and was spending the biggest part of the night tossing and turning and all that. Once he quit doing that tossing and turning and spending long blocks of time awake using the machine the AHI dropped down to a nice normal 2 something.

The bulk of his AHI was awake/semi awake breathing irregularities getting flagged.
The machine only measures air flow...it has no way to determine sleep status.

Now if you had told me you slept soundly all night...we talk a different discussion.

Also...download and use the software...you can see when the flagging happen. Often when it's awake breathing we see large numbers of events happen in dense clusters and then nothing much happens until the next awake time.
Let's see where and when those centrals are getting flagged.

[poppi2]

Events that happen when you are awake, don't count. With the head sensors, they know when you are sleeping and when you are not. Almost as good as Santa Claus. Good luck, Earl

[Guest]

I spoke with my sleep doctor today and he upped the pressures on my bipap machine from 12/8 to 14/10. I'm pretty skeptic on any positive results but we'll see what happens. I was able to download the sleepyhead app. and will post for help and advice. Has anyone here if willing to share had the same problem with central' s and if so, what are the steps of getting this under control.

[Okie bipap]

When my wife had her bipap titration study, she started having a large number of centrals when hey found a pressure that would control the obstructive apneas. They chose a pressure that cut her obstructives in half and had much less centrals. They set her pressure at 11 - 12 for thirty days to see if the centrals would decrease. The number came down quite a bit. Now, they have raised her pressure to 12 - 13 and the number of centrals have gone up. We will try this pressure for two months and see if the centrals come down to a reasonable number. If they cannot get the centrals down, they will do an ASV titration and order that machine for her. They try not to order the ASV machine unless absolutely necessary.