Big Change when switching mask Help

[quote="Jay Aitchsee"]Yes, Interesting. Let's see what happens. Does your sleep seem any different subjectively since switching masks, i.e, do you feel any better or worse? BTW, it looks like your graphs in the first posts off this thread are missing again.

I can for sure feel the difference switching to a FFM... Im finally starting to feel refreshed in the moorings. After 20 yrs of being on a Nasal mask and chin strap.....I suppose all those (mouth) leaks I was loosing a tremendous amount of therapy. I need several more night with the FFM if not weeks to claim victory. Right now I need to narrow down the minimum and maximum.
Not sure about the graphs...

It's been 4 days in a row hitting the Maximum....I realize it wasn't all that long but the 2nd session looks kinda crazy for 30 minutes or so.

Is it time for an ajustment of the Minimum and Maximum yet, even thought about lowering the EPR from 2 to 1...if I can tolerate it for a night or 2......Thoughts? Waiting to exhale!

Thanks for the advice.

BTW, No Chin Strap

FDW, First, I think I'd ditch the EPR. Many folks find it to be disturbing. EPR effectively lowers the average therapy pressure, so doing away with it is the same as raising the pressure slightly. I'd try a few nights without EPR and see what happens.
Remember, the goal here is to feel better, not necessarily to hit a particular set of numbers. From your previous posts, it seems you are heading in that direction. Just realize, one night does not establish a trend. I recommend several nights to properly asses the results of any changes. It seems to take a while for the body/brain to become accustomed to changes. So, don't get too anxious to see overnight results.

Jay Aitchsee wrote:FDW, First, I think I'd ditch the EPR. Many folks find it to be disturbing. EPR effectively lowers the average therapy pressure, so doing away with it is the same as raising the pressure slightly. I'd try a few nights without EPR and see what happens.
Remember, the goal here is to feel better, not necessarily to hit a particular set of numbers. From your previous posts, it seems you are heading in that direction. Just realize, one night does not establish a trend. I recommend several nights to properly asses the results of any changes. It seems to take a while for the body/brain to become accustomed to changes. So, don't get too anxious to see overnight results.

EPR at 2 is the best feeling for me.....as far as breathing goes. On 0 I feel a little smothered. I'll try EPR at 1 tonight and see how it goes without any other changes.

Thanks for following my A-CPAP saga, and your comments!

How is this even possible, check out the 0 AHI

Maybe it's because:

1. Lowered my EPR from 2 to 1
2. I made a concious decision to NOT tuck my chin, instead lift my head as I fell asleep at the beginning of each of the 3 sessions. If so I need a neck collar, brace what ever you call them to keep my chin from tucking.
3. The machine just failed to record properly.

fdw wrote:How is this even possible, check out the 0 AHI

Maybe it's because:

1. Lowered my EPR from 2 to 1
2. I made a concious decision to NOT tuck my chin, instead lift my head as I fell asleep at the beginning of each of the 3 sessions. If so I need a neck collar, brace what ever you call them to keep my chin from tucking.
3. The machine just failed to record properly.

you can zoom in on the flow waveform and see how you were breathing, you likely had some small events that were too short to count, but without looking carefully, you won't know

are you feeling good?

fdw wrote:How is this even possible, check out the 0 AHI

Maybe it's because:

1. Lowered my EPR from 2 to 1
2. I made a concious decision to NOT tuck my chin, instead lift my head as I fell asleep at the beginning of each of the 3 sessions. If so I need a neck collar, brace what ever you call them to keep my chin from tucking.
3. The machine just failed to record properly.

Good Job!
But remember, one night does not make a trend and, as PR inferred, how you feel is more important than the absolute number. I suspect your results may be from a combination of the first 2, lower EPR and not tucking the chin. See my previous thread about the benefits of a cervical collar viewtopic.php?f=1&t=100497&p=936719#p936719
Again, the advice is to continue without making any significant changes to establish a norm.

I did read your post about the collar.....and that's what got me thinking as to why my pressures are so high. Im heading to the Walgreens to pick up a soft collar to test out tonight. Evidently I did a pretty good job keeping my airway open by NOT tucking my chin..last night.

BTW.....really feeling pretty good. Probably the best in several weeks.

fdw wrote:BTW.....really feeling pretty good. Probably the best in several weeks.

That's really good news!

My advice when looking for a collar is "less is more". I found the "one size fits all" to be too big, wrapped too far around the back of my neck and was uncomfortable for back sleeping. Also, look out for those that extend too far up the side of the neck, I presume they might be good for keeping the head stable while awake, standing or sitting, but can be uncomfortable for side sleeping. This was the most comfortable commercial collar I tried, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FZ ... UTF8&psc=1 I thought 2.5 inches tall would be too short, but it wasn't. It still keeps the head erect, but fits under the jaw line at the ear and is comfortable for side sleeping. It is sized for circumference as men's shirt sizes.

My most comfortable collar is one I made myself from a piece of 1 inch foam about 3 inches tall and long enough to wrap around my neck just past my ears. I covered it by wrapping in a bandana and held it closed by placing two large safety pins, one near each end, and threading a piece of that stick-to-itself ace bandage from one safety pin through the other and back. This left no bulk at the back of my neck when sleeping on my back and filled the indentation in my neck from under ear to shoulder. Hopefully, this description makes some sense

Not quite as impressive as yesterday, but not to shabby either.

During the first session I used the neck brace I bought from Walgreens and the AHI during that session was 0.87. Waking after the 1st session my head and neck both was hurting so I took off the brace....neck still kinda hurts this morning. I did try not to tuck my chin in the other 2 sessions and I think I did pretty good, considering my overall AHI was 1.08.

my head and neck both was hurting so I took off the brace

You need to use a flat pillow. Hubby has been wearing a soft spinal collar for years and never a neck or head pain. I occasionally wear one to relieve a neck pain.

ChicagoGranny wrote:

my head and neck both was hurting so I took off the brace

You need to use a flat pillow. Hubby has been wearing a soft spinal collar for years and never a neck or head pain. I occasionally wear one to relieve a neck pain.

I need more information as to what a flat pillow is, seriously. I even Googled "flat pillow".

I'm not sure what CG's definition of a flat pillow is but I can tell you my favorite pillow is a cheap one from Dollar General. It costs about $8 and in no time it is "flatter than a pancake". Perfect to scrunch up and form so it doesn't interfere with my mask.

FDW, your charts are looking good, your numbers are good, you say you are feeling better than you have in a long time. Be careful not to obsess. I think obsession with sleep data can ruin sleep fairly easily. Some of our forum "experts" have warned about it, though right now I can't find their posts.

I really think it's time for you to leave things as they are and enjoy the good sleep you getting. Let things ride for a while and your sleep might actually improve some more as your system becomes acclimated.

I'm just sayin'

J

Jay Aitchsee wrote:I'm not sure what CG's definition of a flat pillow is but I can tell you my favorite pillow is a cheap one from Dollar General. It costs about $8 and in no time it is "flatter than a pancake". Perfect to scrunch up and form so it doesn't interfere with my mask.

FDW, your charts are looking good, your numbers are good, you say you are feeling better than you have in a long time. Be careful not to obsess. I think obsession with sleep data can ruin sleep fairly easily. Some of our forum "experts" have warned about it, though right now I can't find their posts.

I really think it's time for you to leave things as they are and enjoy the good sleep you getting. Let things ride for a while and your sleep might actually improve some more as your system becomes acclimated.

I'm just sayin'

J

I say I feel better than I have in a several weeks, but for only the last few days....Im by no means where I want or need to be.

I agree about obsessing....now that Im almost there the obsession is reducing.

Thanks