Obstructive Apnea (Daily Events Per Hour

[Guest]

I got my Encore Viewer software and card reader yesterday and am still having trouble understanding practically all the reports I get from it.

It is hard IMO to find something using the search feature on the board - about like looking for a needle in a haystack if the search is on a single word. It is even worse when you expect to find a phrase such as "Encore Viewer" so I want to ask at least one question now though it may have been covered many times on the board.

My non-responsive Apnea/Hypopnea is always 0.0 which I've been replied to that this has nothing to do with the fact that the machine has taken a would-be apnea event and kept me breathing instead. So, if my OA daily events per hour are 13.3 at 5 pressure(4.5 minutes), 40.0 at 6 pressure(1.5 minutes), what does that mean for that period of 6 minutes time (5:51AM to 5:57AM on 1/31/2008) that I had a total of 53.3? Surely I did not have 53.3 apnea attacks in that 6 minutes. I must have been trying on a different mask at that time to see if it leaked or how it fit.

My big question is this - is this A-flex machine actually keeping me from having periods of non-breathing by overcoming the apnea or is it just reporting the number of apnea's that I do have?

I hope I have made sense - doubt if I have - but not much of this stuff from Encore Viewer does make sense at this point.

Thanks,
Regie

[mindy]

I got my Encore Viewer software and card reader yesterday and am still having trouble understanding practically all the reports I get from it.

It is hard IMO to find something using the search feature on the board - about like looking for a needle in a haystack if the search is on a single word. It is even worse when you expect to find a phrase such as "Encore Viewer" so I want to ask at least one question now though it may have been covered many times on the board.

My non-responsive Apnea/Hypopnea is always 0.0 which I've been replied to that this has nothing to do with the fact that the machine has taken a would-be apnea event and kept me breathing instead. So, if my OA daily events per hour are 13.3 at 5 pressure(4.5 minutes), 40.0 at 6 pressure(1.5 minutes), what does that mean for that period of 6 minutes time (5:51AM to 5:57AM on 1/31/2008) that I had a total of 53.3? Surely I did not have 53.3 apnea attacks in that 6 minutes. I must have been trying on a different mask at that time to see if it leaked or how it fit.

My big question is this - is this A-flex machine actually keeping me from having periods of non-breathing by overcoming the apnea or is it just reporting the number of apnea's that I do have?

I hope I have made sense - doubt if I have - but not much of this stuff from Encore Viewer does make sense at this point.

Thanks,
Regie

Hi Regie,

First, about searching: IMHO, if you use Google instead of the search facility on this site, you will probably have better luck. To use that, enter your search term(s) followed by site:cpaptalk.com

e.g. encore viewer site:cpaptalk.com

If you have having non-responsive events, that means you are having central instead of obstructive events. In any case you shouldn't be getting many if any of those (I've only ever seen one).

Without seeing the report I'm not sure how to interpret that 53.3. Can you upload?

Mindy

[Regie]

Without seeing the report I'm not sure how to interpret that 53.3. Can you upload?

Mindy

How? I have it in pdf. Is there a place on this board I can upload it to?

Thanks,
Regie

[mindy]

You can set up a free account in photobucket.com and then a link to photobucket.

m

[boynedoc]

My big question is this - is this A-flex machine actually keeping me from having periods of non-breathing by overcoming the apnea or is it just reporting the number of apnea's that I do have?

The big answer is this - the A-flex machine is designed to keep you from having periods of non-breathing by overcoming your apnea episodes AND reporting those events that you do have.

[Wulfman]

I got my Encore Viewer software and card reader yesterday and am still having trouble understanding practically all the reports I get from it.

It is hard IMO to find something using the search feature on the board - about like looking for a needle in a haystack if the search is on a single word. It is even worse when you expect to find a phrase such as "Encore Viewer" so I want to ask at least one question now though it may have been covered many times on the board.

My non-responsive Apnea/Hypopnea is always 0.0 which I've been replied to that this has nothing to do with the fact that the machine has taken a would-be apnea event and kept me breathing instead. So, if my OA daily events per hour are 13.3 at 5 pressure(4.5 minutes), 40.0 at 6 pressure(1.5 minutes), what does that mean for that period of 6 minutes time (5:51AM to 5:57AM on 1/31/2008) that I had a total of 53.3? Surely I did not have 53.3 apnea attacks in that 6 minutes. I must have been trying on a different mask at that time to see if it leaked or how it fit.

My big question is this - is this A-flex machine actually keeping me from having periods of non-breathing by overcoming the apnea or is it just reporting the number of apnea's that I do have?

I hope I have made sense - doubt if I have - but not much of this stuff from Encore Viewer does make sense at this point.

Thanks,
Regie

The program DOES report the number of apneas (and apneas per hour) that you ARE having. The 13.3 and 40.0 would be "per hour" numbers.

From those numbers and pressures you referenced, it appears that your machine is not properly configured. Your bottom/minimum pressure is probably WAY too low.......that's the reason those numbers are so high.

Den

[mindy]

Ah yes, I think that 53.3 represents what the hourly rate would be if you went that long.

m

[Regie]

The big answer is this - the A-flex machine is designed to keep you from having periods of non-breathing by overcoming your apnea episodes AND reporting those events that you do have.

By "events that you do have" do you mean that I actually did quit breathing those times or are these the number that I would have had if the machine had not kept me from having them. Maybe sleep apnea has my head too thick to really get a grasp of all this.

Thanks much,
Regie

[Regie]

You can set up a free account in photobucket.com and then a link to photobucket.

m

Mindy,

Someone expressed concern over making reports like this available on the internet - to the effect that people might use it wrong or something to that effect. I can't see how anyone could use this type information and pack some guilt-trip or do anything with the information that would harm a person. I look at it like this - I have nothing to hide. If anyone wants to make something out of this information they should make their decision out to be this - "Thank God that I don't have sleep apnea and have to go through all this."

Anyway, I have started a new group at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CPAPsoftware/
in which I would like people to put their reports so that others can see them, discuss them and offer advise to us who are having so much trouble understanding just what these reports are telling us. It is open membership now - maybe I won't have to set it otherwise. I have 2 reports there now and the one I mentioned in these messages about the 6 minutes is included in this one:
Sleep2nd020108-020508.pdf

If anyone thinks I have done something un-kosher in creating the new group, please let me know. I did not mean to do so.

Thanks,
Regie

[mindy]

Someone expressed concern over making reports like this available on the internet - to the effect that people might use it wrong or something to that effect. I can't see how anyone could use this type information and pack some guilt-trip or do anything with the information that would harm a person. I look at it like this - I have nothing to hide. If anyone wants to make something out of this information they should make their decision out to be this - "Thank God that I don't have sleep apnea and have to go through all this."

Hi Regie,

It's my impression that the concern expressed was about the concept of a national database of OSA reports and that could be concerning!

It's not uncommon for forum members to post an occasional report asking for feedback.

btw, regarding your other question:

the events being reported are those that you experienced during your cpap session. Since you are already on cpap, that means that likely some percentage of your events are being handled by the machine. If you're seeing an overall AHI that is more than 5, your pressure may not be right for you -- IMHO. The rate over 6 minutes probably isn't what you want to be looking at for the time being ... it's the entire night you want to see.

Mindy