New User With Concerns

[Pugsy]

Under the events tab you will find listings for each category event and the total number in each category.

ClearAirway is a cessation of breathing and the airway is open (not blocked by saggy airway tissues).
Central apnea...hold your breath for 10 seconds....that is essentially a central apnea as the airway is open but there is no effort to breathe.

Respironics call these open airway cessation of breathing clear airway apneas.
ResMed calls these open airway cessation of breathing central apneas.
OSCAR/SleepyHead was originally designed for a Respironics machine so clear airway was used. It stuck even when SleepyHead became compatible with other brands that called CAs by the name Central.

It's normal to see a few centrals flagged each night. Some won't be real asleep centrals but minor pausing in breathing while we are still awake (we do it all the time and not realize it) but some will be real asleep centrals that are normal to have. They aren't a big deal unless present in really large numbers, causing sleep disruptions or desats.

[zonker]

Happy to report that my AHI is decreasing each night.

could you please post your oscar charts for peer review?

*I* am not an expert, but the experts can give you more accurate advice if they can see what's going on.

good luck!

[palerider]

The formula for AHI is number of events divided by hours of sleep. Where on the daily report does it mention total number of events?
What does the "Clear Airway" designation mean? For instance, mine today was 1.01.

It doesn't mention the total, because the total is unhelpful in determining how you're doing.

"Clear airway" is a made up term by respironics, the rest of the industry calls them "centrals" and 1.01 is "ignore that" territory.

[jawone]

Thanks for your responses. Sorry, I can't figure out how to post the png files of my daily reports.

[palerider]

Simple instructions on how to post:
wiki/index.php/Sleepyhead:Organize

With pictures, even.

[zonker]

Thanks for your responses. Sorry, I can't figure out how to post the png files of my daily reports.

please follow palerider's link.

also, when you post here, do you see the two tabs at the bottom of your text box? i mean, below the "submit" button?

you want to use "Attachments" tab and follow the instructions there. it took me an incredibly long time to get graphs posted here, but definitely worth it in the end.

good luck!

[jawone]

I will attempt to post my Daily Report from yesterday: Note that I am using Snipping Tool instead of screenshots.

11-7-19.PNG (112.61 KiB) Viewed 876 times

[Jas_williams]

That looks a great night any night where the ahi is less than 2 is good. Keep at it.


What medications are you taking ? As not always the problem is sleep apnoea something else may be causing your issues

[jawone]

Jas: Thanks for your reply. I did go over my various medications with my physician (who is the prescriber on all of them) and he assured me that none of them are at issue. He said that normally, any prescription drug that contains a sedative could cause a problem. None of mine are in that category. I have changed to a nasal mask and am having a pressure increase in my machine today. My doctor wants me to run with this for 2-3 weeks and get back to him with the results.

[jawone]

To palerider: Thanks for your explicit and simple instructions on how to set up the page. It took me awhile, but it finally got through my somewhat sleep deprived brain. I was able to post my most recent daily in the thread. My only remaining question deals with the fact that I cannot seem to print the entire page (landscape view) on a standard letter size sheet. Do you have any suggestions there? Thanks again...Jeff

[palerider]

To palerider: Thanks for your explicit and simple instructions on how to set up the page. It took me awhile, but it finally got through my somewhat sleep deprived brain. I was able to post my most recent daily in the thread. My only remaining question deals with the fact that I cannot seem to print the entire page (landscape view) on a standard letter size sheet. Do you have any suggestions there? Thanks again...Jeff

That's between you and your printer, and your printer settings... check there. You'll likely have to scale things, or make the image not as wide, so that it'll fit on a piece of paper...

[jawone]

Hello again. I have been using the nasal mask now for about two weeks. I find it very comfortable and a lot less encumbering than the full face mask. My numbers have been very good over that time period. The one drawback seems to be that at certain times during my sleep period, my mouth opens at least partially, causing a leak. I am a side sleeper. I would like to stay with the nasal mask, but if this becomes a problem, will probably need to go back to the full face style. I noticed that there are chinstraps available. Would anyone like to comment on their effectiveness and/or their comfort level? Thanks...Jeff

[babydinosnoreless]

Once you get your data up we can help you see if you are getting optimal treatment of your sleep apnea.

But not all of those issues may be addressed by CPAP alone.

Even though my treatment of sleep apnea was optimal, I had a lot of sleepiness at first. My body really craved sleep and needed it more at first. Some people refer to this as "paying the sleep debt" but I don't think that's scientifically accurate (what I've seen in studies is there's no such thing as "paying off a sleep debt"), but it felt so good to sleep for the first time in my life that I really wanted and needed to sleep a lot. But you may have an additional issue known as Excessive Daytime Sleepiness that the CPAP machine may not be the answer for. You should discuss this with your doctor as there are medications that might help. I'd also look at your blood sugar since you mention diabetes. If you are eating the recommended "diabetes" diet full of carbs, you may find that this feeling of sleepiness is caused by blood sugar fluctuations--especially 1 -2 hours after a carb-heavy meal. Like Thanksgiving every day.

Jan where do you get that the recommended diabetes diet is carbs ? My understand from two good friends one with type 1 and the other with type 2, both were told to cut out carbs as much as possible.

[poppi2]

..... Jan where do you get that the recommended diabetes diet is carbs ? My understand from two good friends one with type 1 and the other with type 2, both were told to cut out carbs as much as possible.

When I was first diagnosed with T2 DM many years ago, my wife and I attended a class taught by a diabetes dietician to help with meal planning. Their diet recommendations were loaded with carbs. I don’t remember numbers, but I didn’t like my meter readings.

I started eating to my blood glucose meter readings and reduced my carbs as much as possible.

[Janknitz]

Jan where do you get that the recommended diabetes diet is carbs ? My understand from two good friends one with type 1 and the other with type 2, both were told to cut out carbs as much as possible.

I think you have misunderstood me, sorry for not being clear.

The standard diet recommended for diabetics is WAY TOO HIGH in carbohydrates--it sends your blood sugar soaring and then dropping like a stone (sells a lot of diabetes and cardiac medication, though). That can cause that sleepy feeling during the day, your energy falls when your blood sugar drops. Ever notice that one or two hours after a carby lunch most of the people get sleepy, then they need a snack to pep themselves up for the rest of the afternoon? That's that blood sugar drop. So your friends are right--restrict your carbs and you may feel less daytime sleepiness. Protein and fat give you energy that lasts instead of riding the blood sugar roller coaster.

Heading to an annual professional conference this coming weekend. It always astounds me how they have to provide the afternoon cookie and coffee break to keep people awake for the late afternoon session.