Noobie hello

[HD4Mark]

Thought I would say hello and thanks for the overwhelming amount of info here.

After my bicuspid aortic valve was replaced I was almost immediately Afib. A cardioversion later fixed that. A while later AFib again, also fixed by a cardioversion and after a year still OK. The anesthesiologist for cardioversion number two suggested I be tested for sleep apnea. So here I am.

It's all still mysterious to me now but I'm learning. I had no idea what an ASV is and now I have one. It's an interesting industry. My GP sent me to a sleep center. You go to a strange place where they affix approximately 50 wires to you plus something like the thing in the movie Alien on your face. Then lights out and have a nice sleep. I got about three hours they tell me. After I found out I have OSA and CSA. No one really explains what this means and I do not believe I ever saw or talked to an actual doctor after my GP. My appointments are virtual video online and that is fine with me.

I went to a homecare outfit I know now is a DME. As a homebrewer I thought that meant dry malt extract. I came home with my new ASV, mask and hose. Mask one Airfit F30 medium. Leaked. Back to DME. Mask two Airfit F20 Large. Leaked. Last try was Airtouch F20. Leaks. I went back to the F30 and cut the little bridge between the nostril holes in the silicone giving my nose a little more area to get air in and out. I found it worked better for me but still leaks. We shall see what is next.

I downloaded and installed Oscar and trying to figure out what it all means a little at a time.

Thanks for listening to my story and for all the great info here.
Mark

[Pugsy]

You obviously chose the wrong machine in your equipment profile because you couldn't find your machine.
You probably have the ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV and it's not listed because cpap.com doesn't sell it.
To avoid confusion later just don't choose any machine in the machine menu choices and add a more descriptive term to your comments section....so instead of just saying "ASV" say the brand and model name.
This way people will know exactly what you are using. People will see the wrong choice first and it will confuse them because they are unlikely to see the comments section. In this situation it's just best to not choose a machine from the equipment menu.

Welcome to the forum. For understanding all the data that OSCAR shows you....just concentrate on the basics such as
AHI and leak understanding. The bulk of the graphs you see have wide ranges of normal and really don't mean much.
Also how you are sleeping and feeling in general is really as important as any numbers.

[khauser]

The experience at the lab is something most of us have gone through, but I like the way you put it!

You probably realize this but alcohol can cause sleep disturbance issues and will worsen sleep disordered breathing (SDB).

I'm not saying you have to stop drinking, just keep an eye on the effects.

I used to homebrew. Had to stop for a different reason. Just can't lose weight while drinking. Also, beer is unfortunately rather high in carbs (at least the beer I like is)...

[Miss Emerita]

Welcome, Mark! If you ever feel like taking a screenshot of a daily chart, people here can try to help you interpret the graphs and data.

And it sounds as though you're on the mask quest -- where you have a lot of company. Are your leaks waking you up or keeping you awake? Do they earn you Large Leak flags in Oscar? If no to both, maybe you don't really need to worry about them. If yes to either, here's a question: do you breathe through your mouth during the day?

[HD4Mark]

Woops. Posted in error. Mods please delete

[HD4Mark]

You obviously chose the wrong machine in your equipment profile because you couldn't find your machine.
You probably have the ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV and it's not listed because cpap.com doesn't sell it.
To avoid confusion later just don't choose any machine in the machine menu choices and add a more descriptive term to your comments section....so instead of just saying "ASV" say the brand and model name.
This way people will know exactly what you are using. People will see the wrong choice first and it will confuse them because they are unlikely to see the comments section. In this situation it's just best to not choose a machine from the equipment menu.

Welcome to the forum. For understanding all the data that OSCAR shows you....just concentrate on the basics such as
AHI and leak understanding. The bulk of the graphs you see have wide ranges of normal and really don't mean much.
Also how you are sleeping and feeling in general is really as important as any numbers.

I fixed that Pugsy and thanks. That's what I was trying to do in the first place and botched it.

[Pugsy]

No problem. You weren't the first and certainly won't be the last.
I just try to ward off potential confusion ahead of time when I can because there's already more than enough confusion going on.

[HD4Mark]

Welcome, Mark! If you ever feel like taking a screenshot of a daily chart, people here can try to help you interpret the graphs and data.

And it sounds as though you're on the mask quest -- where you have a lot of company. Are your leaks waking you up or keeping you awake? Do they earn you Large Leak flags in Oscar? If no to both, maybe you don't really need to worry about them. If yes to either, here's a question: do you breathe through your mouth during the day?

Oscar 10_26_20 copy.jpg (56.8 KiB) Viewed 292 times

Thanks Miss Emerita, The leaks not only wake me up but also my wife. Not good. I attached a screen shot of last nights Oscar (I hope).

[Miss Emerita]

Oh, you definitely need to deal with those leaks! I asked whether you breathe through your mouth during the day because I'm trying to figure out whether you might do better with a nasal mask or a nasal pillow mask. The more running inches a mask touches your face, the more opportunities for leaks. Pillow masks are probably the least likely to generate mask leaks. But the question is whether you can breathe well through your nose.

Small matter: the next time you post a screenshot, first turn off the calendar (little triangle next to today's date) and the pie chart (go into file - preferences - appearance). That will make more of the data in the left panel visible. Also, squish the graphs so you can get at least events, flow rate, pressure, and leaks into one screen shot. Just grab the horizontal gray bars that separate the graphs and move them up.