Well the sad part is that my AHI was only 6.6 yet my symptoms were so severe and my oxygen was dropping to 89% at night. It leads me to believe i have UARS which is perhaps why i have flow limitations? Honestly my airway is narrow, even when excersizing i have been known to breath like a machine. I was heavy into strength training for 15 years and this condition has brought me to my knees and messed up my cardiovascular system. I had anxiety, depression, fibromalyiga pains and symptoms (That seem to be going away) Walking up a flight of stairs impacts me now, and im only 32! A far cry from the 400 deadlifts I use to do.Miss Emerita wrote: ↑Tue Feb 27, 2024 5:46 pmYour chart looks good! Very nice AHI (bracketing the awake events), excellent leak control, and no snores. You do have some flow limitations off and on, but I wouldn't worry about them if I were you.
I think you've put your finger on something important. As you get more and more used to the mask and the machine, it'll be easier and easier for you to fall right back asleep when you wake up during the night. That's a process of acclimation, and it takes a different amount of time for different people. If you're patient with it, you'll see positive changes over time.
Your body was taking a beating for quite a while, and your recovery probably won't happen in any dramatic fashion. You seem to be on the lookout for small improvements, which is exactly the right frame of mind. As time goes by, you can test out pushing your body a little bit more, so you can make gains in strength and stamina.
Don't forget to get exposure to sunlight during the day, even if that means just sitting on a park bench. It helps to improve sleep. And of course stay off your devices for roughly an hour before bedtime.
Still Waking up at night
Re: Still Waking up at night
Re: Still Waking up at night
So I actually noticed the higher pressure was the problem with all the CA events when tossing and turning and trying to sleep. I was able to basically eliminate all those events last night by just resetting the machine so it starts off at 4 again. It seems the higher pressure when trying to fall asleep can cause central apnea events for me right now, but it's just when trying to fall asleep.
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Miss Emerita
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Re: Still Waking up at night
How are you feeling today?Trivium91 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 9:28 amSo I actually noticed the higher pressure was the problem with all the CA events when tossing and turning and trying to sleep. I was able to basically eliminate all those events last night by just resetting the machine so it starts off at 4 again. It seems the higher pressure when trying to fall asleep can cause central apnea events for me right now, but it's just when trying to fall asleep.
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution |
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
Re: Still Waking up at night
Pretty good today compared to before, likely my best night so far, thanks for asking. Still waking up but it was much easier to fall back to sleep when i reset the machine after each time i wakeup, I had about 1.4 AHI, it says 1.19 just because i use the machine before bed which I didn’t include in the screenshot. The CA events the other night were due to me falling asleep with the high pressure. Apparently high pressure when trying to fall asleep can cause these. I eliminated those CA events by resetting the machine each time i wakeup, so i just need to remember to do that. You can see the mask pressure drop off on the graph, that’s where i reset the breathing cycle. I also engaged auto ramp rather than 45 minutes so it can cover me throughout the night. Once again though the periods of wakefulness don’t line up with the events.My OSA events increased and it’s likely due to the ashwaganda earlier in the day i had, and excersize, both contributing to a deeper sleep and more obstructive events i guess. Had some leaks aswell according to the charts but they were temporary. I seem to have some flow limits though, not sure what that means.Miss Emerita wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 12:03 pmHow are you feeling today?Trivium91 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 28, 2024 9:28 amSo I actually noticed the higher pressure was the problem with all the CA events when tossing and turning and trying to sleep. I was able to basically eliminate all those events last night by just resetting the machine so it starts off at 4 again. It seems the higher pressure when trying to fall asleep can cause central apnea events for me right now, but it's just when trying to fall asleep.
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Miss Emerita
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Re: Still Waking up at night
You've mentioned flow limitations a couple of times. Yours are not by any means horrible, but let me write a little bit about this subject.
Some people have their sleep disrupted by FLs, and others don't.
Some FLs originate in the nose, and there's not much the machine can do about those, since the nasal airway is relatively rigid. Other originate further down, in the pharynx, where the tissues lining the airway can sag during sleep. FLs show up on the flow-rate graph on the tops of the inhalation trace. They commonly look like a bump or a dent; you can see them if you zoom in. Either way, they represent effort on your part to inhale smoothly.
In some cases, FLs can be reduced to some extent by using higher pressure, but the number-one setting to help with FLs is EPR. As you know, it drops your pressure by 1, 2, or 3 when you exhale. By the same token, it increases your pressure when you inhale. That increase supports your inhalation to make it smoother.
The machine can go no lower than 4. To get the full benefit of your EPR of 3, your pressure needs to be at least 7. I know you're worried about pressures that feel too high, but I wonder whether you might try a minimum of 7. What do you think?
Some people have their sleep disrupted by FLs, and others don't.
Some FLs originate in the nose, and there's not much the machine can do about those, since the nasal airway is relatively rigid. Other originate further down, in the pharynx, where the tissues lining the airway can sag during sleep. FLs show up on the flow-rate graph on the tops of the inhalation trace. They commonly look like a bump or a dent; you can see them if you zoom in. Either way, they represent effort on your part to inhale smoothly.
In some cases, FLs can be reduced to some extent by using higher pressure, but the number-one setting to help with FLs is EPR. As you know, it drops your pressure by 1, 2, or 3 when you exhale. By the same token, it increases your pressure when you inhale. That increase supports your inhalation to make it smoother.
The machine can go no lower than 4. To get the full benefit of your EPR of 3, your pressure needs to be at least 7. I know you're worried about pressures that feel too high, but I wonder whether you might try a minimum of 7. What do you think?
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution |
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
Re: Still Waking up at night
Miss Emerita wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 12:55 pmYou've mentioned flow limitations a couple of times. Yours are not by any means horrible, but let me write a little bit about this subject.
Some people have their sleep disrupted by FLs, and others don't.
Some FLs originate in the nose, and there's not much the machine can do about those, since the nasal airway is relatively rigid. Other originate further down, in the pharynx, where the tissues lining the airway can sag during sleep. FLs show up on the flow-rate graph on the tops of the inhalation trace. They commonly look like a bump or a dent; you can see them if you zoom in. Either way, they represent effort on your part to inhale smoothly.
In some cases, FLs can be reduced to some extent by using higher pressure, but the number-one setting to help with FLs is EPR. As you know, it drops your pressure by 1, 2, or 3 when you exhale. By the same token, it increases your pressure when you inhale. That increase supports your inhalation to make it smoother.
The machine can go no lower than 4. To get the full benefit of your EPR of 3, your pressure needs to be at least 7. I know you're worried about pressures that feel too high, but I wonder whether you might try a minimum of 7. What do you think?
I guess im just wondering if it's an issue as someone on here mentioned about the flow limits and was wondering if it could be waking me up. It's worth a try, I will have to talk to the sleep clinician as they locked down the machine for me. They check in from time to time, though perhaps they will set the minimum perimeters once they have enough data? She is supposed to call me in a week to check in again so I can ask her than.
EDIT: I found if you hold the two onscreen buttons you can get into the menu, hopefully she doesn't say anything. I changed the minimum to 6, we'll see how that is.
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Miss Emerita
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Re: Still Waking up at night
Well done! Many of us change our own settings, based on our Oscar data and advice from experienced people here. Good doctors and technicians will be supportive, especially when they see good results and understand that your changes are data-driven.
One general recommendation: unless a change proves to be disastrous, give it at least a week before you try to evaluate it. This is because sleep is by its nature so variable from one night to the next.
One general recommendation: unless a change proves to be disastrous, give it at least a week before you try to evaluate it. This is because sleep is by its nature so variable from one night to the next.
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution |
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
Re: Still Waking up at night
That's fair, so i increased it to 6 as a minimum and I had alot more deep sleep according to my Apple Watch, feel pretty good today actually. I also woke up less last night, though I had more events, specifically central apnea events. Ill leave it for a week though since im happy I didn't wakeup as much. It also could have been unrelated. If I do increase it more over 6, I'll likely do increments of 0.5 in a week. The increase in central apneas could just be getting used to the higher baseline pressure. It's funny though as the OSA have reduced down to a few but the central ones have increased, I had 8 CA's over the night. Majority of the CA's happened in the last few hours during REM sleep.Miss Emerita wrote: ↑Thu Feb 29, 2024 6:34 pmWell done! Many of us change our own settings, based on our Oscar data and advice from experienced people here. Good doctors and technicians will be supportive, especially when they see good results and understand that your changes are data-driven.
One general recommendation: unless a change proves to be disastrous, give it at least a week before you try to evaluate it. This is because sleep is by its nature so variable from one night to the next.
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Miss Emerita
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Re: Still Waking up at night
I think you're right to disregard the CAs and stick with your current settings. How you feel is a very important datum in making these decisions.
_________________
| Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier |
| Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution |
Oscar software is available at https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/
Re: Still Waking up at night
Miss Emerita wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2024 12:22 pmI think you're right to disregard the CAs and stick with your current settings. How you feel is a very important datum in making these decisions.
We’ll see how it goes, I’ll give it a week and increase the pressure a bit if needed. It’s possible I’m waking up aswell so to a huge pressure swing so increasing it closer to the 95% would even that out.