Pressure Increase ???

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
tlewis303
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Pressure Increase ???

Post by tlewis303 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:03 pm

If I'm getting lots of RERAs could a slight pressure increase help to reduce them?
Snores are high as well. Current pressure is at 6 with an avg AHI of 1.35 and RDI of 3.5
I have fragmented sleep night after night.

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SleepyToo2
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by SleepyToo2 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:12 pm

How do you feel with the pressure set at 6? Are you getting a lot of leaks? How comfortable are you with the mask that you have? A pressure increase may help, but you need to consider other things first. Are you under a lot of stress? Taking any medications? Eating late at night?

Do you know why you wake up? Do you need to use the bathroom? How many times a night do you wake? Do you fall asleep again soon after you wake?

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tlewis303
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by tlewis303 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:24 pm

I've had a foggy brain for 4yrs now, it got better 4-6 week when cpap started but leveled off and over the past month is heavy and I feel totally fatigued and not rested.
I probably toss and turn 6-10x a night, maybe one trip to bathroom sometimes. Taking 5-htp, melatonin, coq10, krill oil, aspirin, and finally L-theanine about 30min before bedtime. Don't eat late and not really stressed out. Sometime I wake from mask leaks but mostly re-positioning. I do wake completed but then fall right back to sleep. I don't think I'm gettting enough deep sleep and being pulled out and starting all over again. I wish I could measure how much quality sleep I'm getting other then the next day fatigue and just generally not feeling well. I increased my pressure to 8 and used nasal mask last night, not a good idea as I found I don't breath that good with that much pressure up my nose. I will try the face mask tonight and see how that goes. I'm almost to a point where I want to try no cpap for a couple of night just to see if the toss and turning is solely related to cpap and mask. I was diagnosed with mild OSA. I've got to get some solid sleep soon. I'm in IT for work and can't believe I'm actually able to do my job without errors. Any suggestions would be well appreciated. Oh I did stop smoking 4 months ago after 30yrs of smoking... Thanks.

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Pugsy
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by Pugsy » Thu Aug 21, 2014 2:39 pm

I don't remember if you have ever posted one of your detailed reports.
Could you please do that?
I may have forgotten but this is the first time I remember you mentioning lots of snores and RERAs. How about you give us a chance to see what you are seeing? Your idea of a "lot" may be different from our idea but if you really are having a "lot" then that means you need more pressure even if the AHI is nice and low. Snores are signs of airway floppiness.

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Julie
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by Julie » Thu Aug 21, 2014 3:25 pm

Six is an awfully low setting for an awful lot of people... certainly if I were you I'd bump it up in 1 cm increments over a few days each and see how things go. At that low level in general, it's highly unlikely you'll have any side effects!

hyperlexis
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by hyperlexis » Thu Aug 21, 2014 3:47 pm

Pressure increases don't necessarily help anything. Did you have a titration study and what were the results?

Do you have a 60-series machine? If so, turn on the Opti-Start option. It will adjust the start pressure based on your readings after thirty hours of use.

It may also be better to start using CPAP mode in a fixed pressure. The hunting and pecking of the PR one in auto-mode can trigger arousals. Trying a period in plain fixed cpap mode may be helpful. Or, if your machine has it, set the 'spit-night' option to on and see what your numbers show in cpap vs. auto mode.

Or perhaps there is just plain something else wrong with you unrelated to cpap therapy which is causing the problems.

tlewis303
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by tlewis303 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 5:39 pm

Stats for August

Details August
CPAP Usage
Average Hours per Night 6:52
Compliance 90%
Therapy Efficiacy
AHI 1.32
Obstructive Apnea Index 0.58
Hypopnea Index 0.64
Clear Airway Apnea Index 0.1
Respiratory Effort Related Arousal Index 1.35
% of time in Periodic Breathing 0.08%
Leak Statistics
Average Leak Rate 0.88
90% Leak Rate 3
% of time above Leak Rate threshold 0.00%
Pressure Statistics
Average Pressure 6.1
Min Pressure 4
Max Pressure 8
90% Pressure 6

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tlewis303
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Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:51 am

Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by tlewis303 » Thu Aug 21, 2014 5:40 pm

I increased pressure to 8 and will see what happens tonight with full mask. I tried it with a nasal mask last night and did a lot of tossing and turning.

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tmr
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Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by tmr » Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:58 pm

What is your humidifier setting? If it is too low or too high it can cause nasal congestion.

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tlewis303
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Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 9:51 am

Re: Pressure Increase ???

Post by tlewis303 » Fri Aug 22, 2014 8:07 am

I don't use the humidifier at the moment.

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