Help with CPAP settings

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
kahuna15146
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Help with CPAP settings

Post by kahuna15146 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:31 pm

Hello all,

My name is Nick and I am new to CPAP therapy. I have taken the adjustment of my pressure and UNIT settings into my own hands, and it hasn't worked too well so far. Can you please take a look at this data from SleepHead and let me know what I'm doing wrong. It looks like the nights I've had the best results have been on a set pressure of 10 and on the CFLEX setting of + 3 (Respironics System One Remstar).

Image

Can you please advise me on what you'd do next, settings wise?

Thanks,

Nick

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sc0ttt
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by sc0ttt » Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:46 pm

It looks like 10cm works pretty well for you so I suggest you leave it there for a couple weeks to get a feel for how much change you have from night to night, and then you can try bumping it up a little and see if you like those results better.

The CFlex thing probably won't affect your AHI, so treat that separately; maybe leave it on 1 until you get the perfect pressure figured out, and then see if you like it better with 2 or 3... it's usually more important for people who need higher pressures.

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grayghost4
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by grayghost4 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:10 pm

OP must have posted his image with invisible bits ... and I don't have the Magic Elixir in my computer to reveal it Or I am using the wrong browser, I don't see an image.
If you're not part of the solution you're just scumming up the bottom of the beaker!

Get the Clinicians manual here : http://apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-press ... tup-manual

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Pugsy
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by Pugsy » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:21 pm

grayghost4 wrote:I don't see an image.
Don't feel bad...I can't see it either. That happens to me sometimes when someone hosts the images on an usual web site and not imgur.com or photobucket.
As long as someone can see it and help the person...I don't worry about it.

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grayghost4
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by grayghost4 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:23 pm

Thank you for the response .... thought i needed a new computer
If you're not part of the solution you're just scumming up the bottom of the beaker!

Get the Clinicians manual here : http://apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-press ... tup-manual

kahuna15146
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Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:21 pm

Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by kahuna15146 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:29 pm

The only place I had the image posted online is from another forum, and the image reference must no longer be valid or something... I'll open a photo bucket account and add the photo.

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Pugsy
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by Pugsy » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:31 pm

You might also look at imgur.com...free and gives you the bbc code in an easy format so we can see the image without having to go through links.

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kahuna15146
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by kahuna15146 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:38 pm

I have basically tried multiple settings including the CFLEX, AFLEX, AutoPAP and pressures ranging from 8-15. I don't know why but my best results so far have been with the CFLEX on a set pressure of 10. The changes I've made have not been much different in range, however my AHI has varied from 1.5 to almost 8 with the tweaks I've been making. I am going to try sleeping on CFLEX +3 with a pressure of 10 tonight and work from there.

What would you guys suggest? Is it possible that I may need < 10 pressure setting? I know it doesn't seem very high but when I have any AHI > 5 I feel absolutely terrible.

Thanks,

Nick

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Pugsy
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by Pugsy » Wed Nov 19, 2014 7:10 pm

Pick a setting and stick with it for a week. Quit bouncing around so much. You can't really judge effectiveness on one or two nights. AHI can and will vary from night to night without ever changing anything.
If you like this 10 cm fixed with this CFlex...give it a week.

CFlex or AFlex...use whatever feels best in terms of comfortable breathing. If you like CFlex better...use it.
If AFlex feels better use it. There is a way to set your machine in apap mode so you can have AFlex available and still use single fixed pressure if that is what you think works better for you...just set minimum to equal maximum.

Whatever you choose to use...stick with it for a week unless the results are a disaster.

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kahuna15146
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by kahuna15146 » Wed Nov 19, 2014 7:22 pm

Ok I have it set to 10 now with CFLEX on +3. I will run with that for a week. It's just so tempting to change the settings after a poor nights sleep. Thanks for the help!

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Pugsy
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by Pugsy » Wed Nov 19, 2014 7:46 pm

kahuna15146 wrote: It's just so tempting to change the settings after a poor nights sleep.
I hear you but unless the results are horrible.....you could be chasing your tail forever by changing things based on last night's report. You aren't giving your body any chance to adjust and get used to the changes.

More importantly would be to look at the daily details and if you have a "bad" night then try to figure out why it was bad before changing things.

Question for you.......your average hours on the machine are good but is the sleep itself good?
Meaning are you sleeping soundly with minimal wake ups or are you having a lot of awake time on the machine? Lots of wake ups or difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep?
Could you explain in better detail what "poor nights sleep" consists of?

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kahuna15146
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by kahuna15146 » Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:48 am

So, a poor night sleep for me would described as whatever the sleep data results are when I wake up in the morning I feel like I have a heavy weight on my nasal region and head. No amount of coffee will clear that weight/foggyness and it gets much worse throughout the day. Ie) Monday nights sleep I slept soundly throughout the entire night (no waking up, no issues staying asleep). I didn't have much difficulty waking up at 6 am, so I thought I got a great night sleep. However, while in the shower I noticed that heavy feeling on my head and soon after realized (after looking at my sleep data ahi = > 7) my sleep quality was poor.

I've also had nights where I wake up in the morning almost effortlessly. I'm laying in my bed ready to get up without my alarm clock. In these instances I also assume I got a great night sleep because I'm not sluggish waking up. However that feel quickly subsides back into the foggy/heavy feeling on my mind and I realize it wasn't a good night sleep.

Last night was different. I have been having issues with irritation of my nose so I used one of the RemZZZ liners with my mask. It was much more comfortable on my skin but caused a slight leak into my eyes which I ignored. I had a difficulty falling asleep because of the tiny leak (whether it was mental or not I do not know). Once I did fall asleep I fell into these EXTREMELY lucid dreams (very vidid). I even woke up at one point because I thought I heard some noise in the living room so I came out to check what it was. I went back to sleep (eventually fell asleep because when I woke up I felt pretty up and alert). When I woke up this morning I felt more alert, so like always I assume I got a good nights sleep. My shower felt slightly better from the morning before (the foggyness not quite as bad). I checked my sleep data and my AHI went from 5.56 (pressure = 10 CPAP Mode NO CFLEX or AFLEX) to 4.46 (pressure = 10 CPAP Mode /w CFLEX +3).

I've heard people say if you can remember your dreams you probably didn't get a good night sleep. I have no idea if that is credible or not, but if that is true, I must have gotten very poor sleep because I remember all of my dreams vividly.

Thanks for the help everyone. I will leave my settings alone for 1 week and take a look at the data to see if I can make some correlation.

Here is my sleep stats for last night :

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e36/f ... c3654f.png

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Pugsy
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Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by Pugsy » Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:04 am

When you have time could you please post the daily detailed report from last night? Stats all by themselves are pretty much useless.

Here's what I would like to see...
On the left side where the AHI bar graphs are showing event categories...turn off the Pie chart (in Preferences) and hid the Calendar...that let's the Statistics and the AHI bar graphs all show in one image.
On the right side graphs..turn off AHI graph as it is not needed....I only need these graphs
Events
Flow Rate
Leak
(normally I ask for pressure graph but you are using cpap 10 cm so we know it is fixed and no need to see it).

One screen shot of the above.

One more question now...do you take any meds of any kind even OTC?

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Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

kahuna15146
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:21 pm

Re: Help with CPAP settings

Post by kahuna15146 » Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:42 pm

Hi Pugsy,

Here is the data you requested: URL:

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e36/f ... 73aeee.png

Also, no medications.

Nick