Brand New and Troubled by last nights Data

Okay, well here's a quick background. I just turned 33 yesterday. I'm probably below average weight (5'-9" 135 pound male). I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea and just got the resmed airsense 10 auto with a heated hose and humidifier. I was told in my sleep study that a pressure of 6 corrected my obstructive sleep apnea and that I did not have Central Sleep apnea.

here's what I experienced last night.

1. Lot's of awakening to adjust tighness on full face mask.
2. awakened once to gurgling. Had water in my heated hose so I adjusted the humidity down and the heat down. seemed to have fixed it but i didn't think this hose was supposed to do that? Is the heated hose and the humidifier working?
3. Here's the really troubling part:
a. It said I had 5.6 Events per hour
b. Total AI: 5.2
c. Central AI: 5.1

That's what really scares me. I read that Central Sleep Apnea is often a result of other more serious diseases. So I'm terrified and confused. How could the sleep study not have shown any central sleep apnea but now this machine is basically saying that's mostly what I have? Could the machine be wrong? Can someone talk me down from this ledge? Thank you in advance...

Couple of things - first make sure your machine (humidifier) sits below your head so you don't get constant rainout. Second, 5 centrals is nothing - it's common to have some on going to sleep and on waking. Only if you had very many throughout the night would it be a concern. I think right now you need to worry about the mask fit, which is why trying it on lying down (your face changes a lot then) is always best, but in any case, overtightening to get a seal is also not good - the thin little cushion needs to inflate once the mask is on to be effective. I think you may be misreading the stats - are you seeing 5 events all night, or per hour? What is your overall AHI (vs AI) and what are your pressure settings?

Thank you so much for your quick reply Julie. I'm VERY new to this and I don't have (nor know where to get) the software to read all the data on my computer yet. All I can access is the screen on the machine. My pressure is set at 6. not auto or adjusting. It said 5.6 events per hour, AHI 5.6, Total AI 5.2, and Central AI 5.1. So I'm guessing all those numbers were per hour???

Look at the 1st 'Announcement' on the main pg - it'll tell you how to DL 'Sleepyhead' software and post it in this thread (via Imgur.com).

Like Julie said being new and awakened by your mask, and new sounds probably caused events that we call sleep/wake/junk. First task is to get comfortable with the alien on your face. Here is the clinical manual for your machine. https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf
And here is where you can learn about how to download Sleepyhead and read your SD card. https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead
Krevlin a member here made this helpful site and there are lots of other helpful links. https://sleep.tnet.com/main

Thank you all so much! As you all know, this can be scary/troubling when first starting out. especially for someone that's an anxious personality and whose first night didn't go magically like some of the lucky ones. So the constant awakening from a mask that's too tight or "rainout" or just getting used to it in general could throw some central sleep apnea codes? I'm trying to download sleepyhead now.

Thanks again!

Two things occur to me to ask:

1. Did you check the water level in your humidifier tank? I got the symptoms you described when I overfilled mine.
2. Why a FFM - do you have a deviated septum or anything like it? FFMs are so much harder to fit than pillows (big P10 fan here) so try and use them instead. That saved me from giving up over 1 1/2 years ago. Nasal rinsing can help as can Flonase type sprays.

Good luck...

I filled it to just under the Max fill level so that should have been ok. I went with the ffm because I have allergies and sinus congestion and often cannot breathe through my nose. Which reminds me, last night while my hose was wet inside my mouth and nose were so uncomfortably dry. any idea what that might be?

And the reason I'm so scared about the central apneas is that I read on hear somewhere that they are often caused by heart and/or neurological problems. I am low in vitamin D and magnesium and am addressing that now and heard that those two deficiencies can cause apnea. anyone concur with that???

If I had a heart problem, wouldn't they have caught that in at least one of the sleep studies? I was hooked to an EKG in both I think...?... Also, I just downloaded sleepy head and am going to best buy for a card reader. I will upload both sleep studies and last night's report and maybe some of you pros could look at it for me???

Apnea can cause cardiac problems, and a couple of types of apnea are thought to have neurological origins, but having apnea diagnosed does not mean you're at death's door, it means you've caught it before it can cause trouble (or more trouble depending on who you are). Your MD should be checking your total picture (not just sleep) for any problems, but again, depending on many factors and how early apnea was diagnosed, you may have few, if any issues at all.

Don't be alarmed by one night's data. What to look for is trends after using the machine over several days, or a week or so. We all have bad nights. You can get central apnea flags when you are awake fidgeting with the mask.

I had some trouble with rainout until I switched humidity and temperature to Auto. Since then I've had no problems.

Lots of us use Snuggle Hose Covers. supposed to help with the rainout. I use it because it improves comfort of laying against a plastic tube. The ones with a zipper are easier to get on and off.

First thing.....calm thyself! This is just a fairly complex process of tweaking multiple factors.....mask, machine, humidity, etc.......to get to the right combination that maximized your therapy. A lucky few I call plug and play. The settings they initially receive from their sleep doc magically resolve their problem and they are on their happy way. Then there is the rest of us. I don't think there is anything to be afraid of, pretty sure the machine won't kill you. But sleep apnea will.

Fortunately you have come to the right place for help. Take some time to educate yourself about the condition. Read up on the tutorials and other threads here. Hopefully you can download Sleepyhead and post some images here so folks can help you. Be patient, it is going to get better.

Mudrock is right - focus on a long term solution, expect it to take a few WEEKS to get there. You have a great machine BTW

The biggest factor will be your mask and all I can say is - try as many as you can. I too thought I had too much congestion to use anything other than a FFM but I was wrong and it gave me a lot more flexibility and led me to the P10. PM me if you'd like a copy of my rinsing and spray procedure that fixed it for me. Now the mask actually opens my sinuses when I have allergies and I've only had one mild cold in 18 months.

The second thing is your fairly low pressure (6) which may be good enough for your apnea but may feel a little "starving" to your senses. Single pressures are also less common nowadays so you might want to look into the clinician's manual for your machine and try setting it to range of 6 - 20. That'll tell you if you ever need higher pressures. Going up to 8 or even 10 purely for comfort is not going to lower the efficacy of your treatment in any way, either.

Thirdly as so many people have said, learn how to download and look at your numbers over a few nights and what they mean. Once you get stable mask wise you'll see lower leaks and AHI and start to feel at home under the mask.

It is a crying shame that the support mechanisms are so weak for this treatment but with this group you will get there. I owe them my life, so will you... Good luck and keep on breathing deep and long.