Many Thanks

PUFFER · Post by **PUFFER** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:59 am

I've been reading lots of your posts for the past month and just picked up my CPAP machine yesterday. Because of all the great hints I've gotten in the past month, last night with the machine went so much better than I expected it would. I only have mild sleep apnea, but my blood pressure is "off the charts" and when I did my one-month trial with the CPAP the numbers lowered somewhat. So here's hoping that it will continue to fall. In the meantime, I will continue to breathe through the hose. I've ordered the EncoreViewer 2.0 and it should arrive within the next few weeks. I'm anxious to begin learning what all those lines and charts mean. Just wanted to thank you all for posting your helpful hints and observances.

Mary Z · Post by **Mary Z** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:50 am

I'm not a frequent poster, but I'm glad you got good advice and you're off to a good start. Please keep us posted on how you're doing and if your BP continues to improve. Good luck.

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 4:34 pm

puffer,
Check Janknitz's blog.... she's supposed to have a post that might help you figure out what the numbers mean.

PUFFER · Post by **PUFFER** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:41 pm

Thanks for the heads-up cflame1 and Janknitz for the useful info. Now if only Canada Post would settle the strike, maybe my software could arrive within the next short time. You're correct, the screen only shows 7 and 30 days averages, and I'm only using it fot the second night tonight. I won't get much information for a week and then only minimal, like how much I used it. Why would I not already know that??

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:48 pm

you could also try Sleepyhead... it's downloadable software that a member wrote.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:04 pm

Puffer, glad to hear you're off to such a good start.

What pressure range is your machine set for?

Mr Bill · Post by **Mr Bill** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 9:43 pm

Its taken several months for my blood pressure to fall. For me, I think it was several months of <5 hours a night followed by reaching the magic number of >6.5 hours a night of sleep. It started falling nicely after that, down from as high as 160/110 into the 12X/7X range in the mornings. According to my doc, Its those morning numbers that matter for avoiding stroke. He said BP normally rises in the morning from sleep and that's when most people stroke out.

PUFFER · Post by **PUFFER** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:21 am

Rested Gal asked: What pressure range is my machine set to: The therapist where I bought my machine has it set to 4 - 16. I asked him about the "4" because during my 1 month trial it ranged about 6 - 9, but he insisted I needed the 4 for the first few minutes when I went to sleep. Last night the 90% pressure was 8 and I had 3.8 AHI. My primary reson (the ONLY reason I'm using CPAP) is because of high blood pressure. When it hit 179/104, my GP suggested I try CPAP because I'm already taking the highest dose of 2 meds and clearly they aren't working very well. During my 1 month trial, the numbers went down to 130/82, which still isn't "low", but it's certainly better. During the waiting period after the trial until I got the machine, it went back up to 164/98. Hopefully over time, it will drop more, as I've been reading in other posts from people with hypertension.

Starlette · Post by **Starlette** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 6:30 am

Hi Puffer, welcome to the forum. As I'm reading your story, I'm thinking maybe Puffer needs something more than just cpap to get the blood pressure under control. Have you considered doing yoga? Great for the body but it's also a way of calming the brain. Just a thought.

Starlette

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:26 am

PUFFER wrote:The therapist where I bought my machine has it set to 4 - 16. I asked him about the "4" because during my 1 month trial it ranged about 6 - 9, but he insisted I needed the 4 for the first few minutes when I went to sleep. Last night the 90% pressure was 8 and I had 3.8 AHI.

I would increase that minimum of 4 to 6 if it were me. Max doesn't really matter since it doesn't seem to be going there unless you are sensitive to pressure changes and you think it might be disruptive to sleep.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:04 am

PUFFER wrote:The therapist where I bought my machine has it set to 4 - 16. I asked him about the "4" because during my 1 month trial it ranged about 6 - 9, but he insisted I needed the 4 for the first few minutes when I went to sleep.

He "insisted" on that, huh. Well, he's not you, and unless you've complained about "6" bothering you when you turn the machine on, he has NO CLUE what pressure does/does not bother YOU during the first minutes while drifting off to sleep. If you're able to go to sleep just as easily with a pressure of 6 from the start, 6 is what I'd put the minimum on, if it were me.

For him to "insist" you "need" to have it start out down at 4 cm H2O for the first few minutes is ludicrous.

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:10 am

if he's insisting on the 4... then how about ramping from 4?

have the RT try and breathe on a 4!

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:10 am

rested gal wrote:For him to "insist" you "need" to have it start out down at 4 cm H2O for the first few minutes is ludicrous.

I agree. My first thoughts were... BS, idiot and then your nicely put ludicrous. And a couple more that were R rated.

Emilia · Post by **Emilia** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:33 pm

I agree you should change the pressure range. In fact, since your 90%tile pressure was an 8, I'd set it 6-12 for now. Tightening it up a bit may bring the AHI down a bit, and your BP may improve more, too.

I had hypertension before starting cpap, too. I took one med, but now take none.... my pressure now is perfect. Last check was 126/75!

Do you have the clinician's manual for your machine to get you 'under the hood' to change settings? If not, here is link to where you can get it. You will need to email the site admin and request they send it to you as it is a large file. They do this service for free, but donations are welcome: http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm

PUFFER · Post by **PUFFER** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:07 am

I have the Clinician's Manual and figured out how to change my settings. I upped the pressure to 6 from 4 and while the pressure didn't "bother" me per se, I found myself awake a lot. Finally at 4:00 PM, I was awake for so long that I decided to remove the mask and get a few minutes of sleep, even though I don't want to get into the habit of doing that. I changed the pressure to 5 for tonight, and I'll try that. If it works better, I'll move it up to 6 in a couple days. Clearly, it should be more than that, because the 90% pressure last night was 8.5 and the AHI was 5.3. The numbers are getting worse!! Perhaps I'll lower the top pressure number too. I obviously don't need it to be at 16. Aren't 4 - 16 the default on this machine? I'm starting to wonder if the therapist (CPAP vendor) even looked at my sleep test and trial test. With advice that I get from all you great people and some experience that I'll pick up along the way, I'll soon get this working right. I'm going to get my blood pressure checked this AM, that should be interesting. Sure hope at least those numbers are lower.

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