Tonight's the night!

[brazospearl]

My cpap machine and supplies just arrived, so tonight will be my first night as a hosehead! I've washed everything, and am trying to figure out what all the settings are (what the heck is "reminders"? hmm...) and how to manage them. I've learned so much from this board, so here's a big THANK YOU, and I'll let y'all know how things go tonight.

[Gerryk]

The reminders can be a nice thing if you want a reminder to order supplies before you need them. I wouldn't worry about that for now just get the rest of the machine set up and get on it and set the reminders up in a few days.

Before I foget, welcome aboard and welcome to cpap therapy. Tonight is the first night of the rest of your life.

Gerry

[KatieW]

Welcome to the forum. You sound like you've prepared well for this. Let us know how it goes.

The important settings are pressure(s), exhale relief and ramping/settling.

And if you have a Resmed Elite II or AutoSet II make sure the Smart Card is enabled, and the mask setting is correct for your mask.

[DBoone]

And add your equipment to your profile! Most of us prefer the text version.

Good luck!

[brazospearl]

Well, the first night is over and I feel GREAT! Slept about 10 hours, waking up a couple of times due to weather--rain falling on the air conditioner unit just outside my bedroom window--had a few leak situations, and a tiny rainout problem, but it went well overall. I need some help with determining what "good" numbers are, aside from any that are better than ones from my original sleep study, of course! These are my numbers from last night: pressure = 10.6, leak = 0.34 l/s, AHI = 8.2, AI = 1.0, HI = 7.2. I using the data off the screen of my APAP because my Mac doesn't support the program for reading the card. Thanks again for all the help from folks on this board!

[JohnBFisher]

... Well, the first night is over and I feel GREAT! ... I need some help with determining what "good" numbers are ... pressure = 10.6, leak = 0.34 l/s, AHI = 8.2, AI = 1.0, HI = 7.2. ...

The fact you feel GREAT is the most important "number". No, seriously. Who cares what the numbers are, if you still feel horrible! You have the best of both worlds. The number aren't bad and you feel great.

Pressure - Well that's just what you need. Neither good nor bad.

Leak - It might be a bit high, but for a first night, who cares. You will find that you need to decrease the leak rate over time. But you should be pleased that it went so well the first night.

AHI - Of course that's the total of AI and HI. (Apnea, Hypopnea Index). 8.2 times per hour is probably a lot less than it used to be. The doctors normally shoot for anything under 5, though anything under 1 is great. And typically, they will worry more about they Apneas than Hypopneas, since most arousals and O2 desaturations occur during apneas.

AI - One per hour. Excellent.

HI - This may drop as you become more and more accustomed to xPAP therapy. But even if not, this is not too bad. Could be improved.

Again, congratulations!

[KatieW]

Brazospearl, that is a fantastic 1st night! Most of us don't sleep that long or that well on the 1st night. And yes, rainout and leaks are an ongoing challenge, but sounds like you dealt with them.

The experienced members of the forums always tell us (me included) not to focus too much on the numbers, but of course, I'm fascinated by them.

So your numbers:

Pressure 10.6 -- using apap, your pressure was 10.6 or under, 95% of the time

Leak .34 l/s -- is towards high, since Resmed states that over .4 l/s will affect therapy or patient comfort. But for a 1st night, not bad at all. As you learn to adjust your mask, that will go down.

AI 1, AHI 8.2, HI 7.2 -- I have the S8 AutoSet II also, and I focus on the AI (apnea index). AI of 1 per hour is considered "the goal". I don't know what your sleep study was, but I'm sure this is an improvement.

[Gerryk]

Congrats, I am going to repeat some of what John said becuase it is so important. Forget about those numbers if you feel great, even if you feel better. Your numbers may change as you and your body accept cpap more. The most important thing is you feel better.

OK now onto those numbers.
I am not going to talk numbers now because your brand new and feel better. Their is a pattern to what John and I have said.
Gerry

[fishhead]

good for you! glad you had a good first night. it only gets better.

the numbers will make more sense as time goes on, but for now you should concentrate on the leaks. what you posted is not bad, but the lower you can get it the leak rate the more accurate the rest will be.