One Month on Bleep: A Statistical Comparison

[BatmanMatt]

I started using the Bleep system January 23, beginning the third month of my CPAP journey. I went from a full face mask to the Bleep system. You can guess where I had COVID (it's not hard). Shout out to Pugsy for everything and being a huge support and to this forum.

Overall I think things are definitely better and still improving each day. I don't know what to think about my respiratory rate or tidal volume data. I'm trending down in AHI, total apnea time, leak rate, minute vent (though I dont know what this is), flow limit, and gradually in tidal volume. So I guess I'm pretty happy.

Ultimately, I think I feel a tiny overall improvement of energy but that's easily the most discouraging thing. I just don't feel like I thought I would by this point.

Can you see any areas that I could improve?

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[Pugsy]

Going from a full face mask to any nasal mask can reduce the overall AHI when pressures remain constant.
Personally I think that is from what a full face mask tends to do to the airway positioning but I can't prove it.
So the reduction in AHI...no unexpected.

Still not feeling as good as you thought you would at this point with these results....common complaint.
It may just be that you need more time on cpap. Some people improve so gradually that it is hard to see the improvements.

The one thing I see on your long term graphs is usage hours that points to maybe needing improvement.
Seems to be a lot of fragmented nights with several breaks in therapy along with occasional nights with short hours of use.
This points to poor quality sleep in general for some reason or other. I doubt it is airway related though...most likely some other reason. This is also very common to see.

Are your nights fragmented with a lot of wake ups? I already see several where you turn the machine off for a period of time...any idea why?
How many nights where you wake up and don't turn the machine off?

If that were my overview graph I would dig deeper into general overall sleep quality as to its potential impact on how I was feeling.
Medication side effects maybe?
Other physical or mental health issues impacting sleep?
Bad sleep hygiene habits?
Drink alcohol within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime?
That sort of detective work.

[BatmanMatt]

Going from a full face mask to any nasal mask can reduce the overall AHI when pressures remain constant.
Personally I think that is from what a full face mask tends to do to the airway positioning but I can't prove it.
So the reduction in AHI...no unexpected.

Still not feeling as good as you thought you would at this point with these results....common complaint.
It may just be that you need more time on cpap. Some people improve so gradually that it is hard to see the improvements.

The one thing I see on your long term graphs is usage hours that points to maybe needing improvement.
Seems to be a lot of fragmented nights with several breaks in therapy along with occasional nights with short hours of use.
This points to poor quality sleep in general for some reason or other. I doubt it is airway related though...most likely some other reason. This is also very common to see.

Are your nights fragmented with a lot of wake ups? I already see several where you turn the machine off for a period of time...any idea why?
How many nights where you wake up and don't turn the machine off?

If that were my overview graph I would dig deeper into general overall sleep quality as to its potential impact on how I was feeling.
Medication side effects maybe?
Other physical or mental health issues impacting sleep?
Bad sleep hygiene habits?
Drink alcohol within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime?
That sort of detective work.

I neglected to mention a 7 month old baby who has been waking up 1-3 times a night a couple of months. Definitely an overall net negative.

[Pugsy]

Ah yes....I forgot about the baby.

If it is any consolation....it took me at least 6 months to really notice overall improvement in energy levels themselves after getting therapy optimized. It was a very gradual thing....and I didn't have a baby messing with my sleep.
Sometimes even under the best of situations it takes time.

[Miss Emerita]

Minute ventilation is the amount of air you move in and out during one minute. Tidal volume is the amount of air you move in and out in one breathe. Respiration rate is the number of breaths per minute. So MV is a function of TV and RR. The units of measure change -- why oh why?? -- which is why the numbers are so different. Yours all look just fine to me.

[palerider]

Going from a full face mask to any nasal mask can reduce the overall AHI when pressures remain constant.
Personally I think that is from what a full face mask tends to do to the airway positioning but I can't prove it.
So the reduction in AHI...no unexpected.

Don't go there, you know what granny thinks.

[chunkyfrog]

You had Covid19, and you don't think that has any bearing on how you feel?
Leave the door open, and put bananas in the yard--maybe the 400 lb gorilla will leave.

[clownbell]

People are different one to another. One size does NOT fit all. With some users improvement is almost immediate when starting PAP therapy. With other users, like Pugsy and me, improvement is incremental and takes a longer period of time. The lesson here - - persevere and be patient.