General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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GumbyCT
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by GumbyCT » Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:34 am
Lastnite my AHI was zero. This is why I now add FL's to figure out where I'm at & how I slept.
Adding lastnites FL's to AHI's I get 1.1
You can tell I was sleeping by the snores here
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!
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RipVW
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by RipVW » Thu Apr 03, 2008 11:13 am
Wow! Never seen a zero before. I think I'd frame it and display it proudly :<). I see what you mean, though, about considering the FL as well. Thanks for pointing this out!

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xyz
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by xyz » Thu Apr 03, 2008 12:10 pm
> This is why I now add FL's to figure out where I'm at & how I slept.
When you figure out exactly what flow limitation is let me know. I've often wondered.
The Encore Viewer help button defines an apnea (80% reduction in air flow for 10 seconds), a hypopnea (40% reduction), and vibratory snore, sorta but not completely ("the pressure signal is evaluated for the possibility of vibratory snore when the patient is inhaling", whatever that means). But it doesn't define flow limitation. Does Encore Pro software define FL?
This is kind of interesting/puzzling. I plot my numbers in an Excel spreadsheet so I can see trends.
When I had my Auto M bipap set for _fixed_ bipap, vibratory snore was very low (avg 0.7) and flow limitation was always zero. Literally zero.
When I changed it to apap, vibratory snore increased a lot (avg 7.0) and flow limitation moved off of zero (avg 1.0).
Because it's always 0 in fixed mode, I wonder whether the Auto M has a defect in its detection of flow limitation. And then that got me wondering exactly what it is, since they don't say.
> This is why I now add FL's to figure out where I'm at & how I slept.
I do the opposite. When I get up I try to estimate how I slept. Later when I read my card I see what the numbers were and then compare them to how I feel. I don't really see any correlation between VS and FL and how I slept. If anything, some nights when I sleep good my VS is high.
I did notice that when I raised my min epap by one that VS dropped a little. When I wrapped the mask elbow with tape it dropped pretty good. And when I started using Breathe Right strips it dropped a little bit more. This is all in apap mode. But FL didn't change much at all.
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GumbyCT
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by GumbyCT » Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:58 pm
RipVW wrote:Wow! Never seen a zero before.

Yea, I think I had my Repti Heater dialed right in. Those that have heated hoses know the difference it will make.
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!
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deglorious
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- Location: Texas, USA
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by deglorious » Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:53 pm
Great job, Gumby! You have a formula that is working for you. Keep it up!
Deglorious not in Houston
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GumbyCT
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by GumbyCT » Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:20 pm
My 90% pressures have been running 18/15 - last nite I decided to bump up my EPAP from 13 to 14 to start a little closer to my 15 EPAP. Even the snores are better, ha.
Maybe now you can understand why I add the FL's to my AHI's
I doubt this had anything to do with the Repti Heater -
Or the Fire Controller
[quote="GumbyCT"]Lastnite my AHI was zero. This is why I now add FL's to figure out where I'm at & how I slept.
Adding lastnites FL's to AHI's I get 1.1
You can tell I was sleeping by the snores here
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!
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dsm
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by dsm » Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:48 pm
Gumby,
Great result - just goes to show what smart monitoring of data can do.
I was trying for a 0.0 last night but just don't seem able to get there
You can claim to be a member of the 0 AHI club. Maybe we should create a thread where people who have managed a 0.0 & have the data to prove it can post a brief line about it.
It would be interesting to me to see how many folk can hit that 0.0 target.
DSM
xPAP and Quattro std mask (plus a pad-a-cheek anti-leak strap)
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GumbyCT
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by GumbyCT » Thu Apr 24, 2008 7:53 pm
Personally, I think it is just a blip in the software- Encore went to sleep too.
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!
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Guest
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by Guest » Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:35 am
Hi GumCT,
Good results as it seems. I have few suggestion here for you as opinion fro the grapevines. Please dont feel any setback this is just some wisdom learnt as we march on.
0) NR=0 very important and make sure is zero (no alcohol and food 2hrs prior).
1) VS is too high for you and not good and you need to eliminate to VS=0.
2) The IPA need to be in the 90%tile to 95% tile range to get the Pahralyngeal open during inhelation. In this case you still need to set from range 16 to 21 (adjust until you have VS=0 NR=0).
3) Most importantly now EPA need to be in 90%tile to 95%tile range to prevent the UARS open so it wont collapse very important.
Get the above setting correct so long as your AHI=<4 or 5 is ok.
4) Sleep on your left (get the V-shape pillow to set on back so you can sleep n you left).
5) Execise to loss BMI if you are some more to loss.
6) Contril leaks and you had done a good job.
7) Humidity control....what do you use then?
How do you feel after lunch?
Hope it helps and god bless.
Mckooi
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GumbyCT
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by GumbyCT » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:25 am
OK so the software did take a break too - recording compliance data ONLY lastnite - Surprise!!!
viewtopic.php?p=262219#262219
BeganCPAP31Jan2007;AHI<0.5
I have no doubt, how I sleep affects every waking moment.
I am making progress-NOW I remember that I can't remember
If this isn’t rocket science why are there so many spaceshots?
Be your own healthcare advocate!
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NightHawkeye
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- Location: Iowa - The Hawkeye State
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by NightHawkeye » Fri Apr 25, 2008 5:33 am
GumbyCT wrote:OK so the software did take a break too - recording compliance data ONLY lastnite - Surprise!!!
It's a nice "feature" of the software/firmware. Kinda like comic relief. Keeps one from getting too intense. Don't worry. Be happy!
BTW, How'd ya sleep?
Regards,
Bill