Interpreting data, which pressure to use

[azub]

Hi everyone,

I recently bought the S9 and set it to Autoset with EPR at 2. My min pressure is 6, and max pressure is 10. (note I edited out my previous error about pressure 6) I found it really helped for about 5 days, then started to taper off, and now I'm pretty fatigued again. I feel that pressure 6 on my old machine was less than pressure 6 on the S9. Perhaps that is why I got good benefits from it.

From the advice of folks on this board I have been able to download the resmed software and enable detailed data. I find it is hard to make out this data. I seem to have all these apneas, but cannot figure out what the number is that is associated with the specific apnea. (eg it will show a obstructive with a number of 10) I have also had a lot of yellow "unknowns" with really high numbers like 33 or 50. Does anyone know what these numbers are?

I think because I am so tired I am not able to analyze the data very well. I watched the basic video that someone provided, and will watch it again. Are there any other videos out there that will assist eg in interpreting the data? (Eg clues to why apneas are happening or ?) I often feel like I'm having apneas in my REM sleep. I wonder if I should use an Oximeter?

I was also wondering if I should turn up my pressure? It is set to 6. I have the data for 19 days, and my Median pressure AVG is 6.52. My Max pressure AVG is 8.67 and my 95th percentile AVG is 7.75. If I should turn it up, should I turn it up to 7 to be over the median? Or should I put it up to my maximum? lol I'm afraid that if I turn it up, it will only last for awhile and make my average go up even more! The pressure is a mystery to me. I'm always on the same pressure, and some nights I'll have no apneas, and the next I'll have many apneas. I wonder if neck position has something to do with it?

Again thank you to everyone. It's nice to be on a forum where others understand what life is like with apnea Trying to get rid of the apnea fatigue, because I already have immune fatigue. lol The two together can be too great. (high TNF, and suffocating the brain lol)

Thank you!

[Lizistired]

Apparently your pressure is not set to 6. To have those averages you have an autoset range. A minimum and maximum.

I would recommend turning your EPR to 1 or off first, before changing pressures and see it you need it at all.
The numbers are the seconds that the apnea lasted. The unknowns are probably you taking off the mask without turning off the machine.
If you post a screenshot of your data with leak, flow, events, pressure, and minute ventilation we can probably help you more.

[Perrybucsdad]

I'm a little confused. You say you have an autoset, but you state your pressure is 6. You then say your avg is 8.75, so I assume you are using a pressure range. Can you let us know what that range is and could you also post a nights sleep data (screen shot out of ResScan) so we can see what is occurring. It may help give you better advice.

[DoriC]

The first sentence says min 6, max 10, epr 2. I agree with Liz, try turning EPR Off and see if you feel better. If not, you could try raising your min to 7. Your pressures are pretty low. Just change one thing at a time and keep each setting for a few days. Keep us posted.

[azub]

Sorry guys my mistake. I have min pressure set to 6, and max pressure set to 10. My prescription was always CPAP 6 previously I bought the APAP in hopes that the variability would assist me in my recovery. I will def turn off the EPR for now then. I'll run with EPR off for a few days and post a screenshot.

Thanks for the info!

[Perrybucsdad]

The first sentence says min 6, max 10, epr 2.

That was not there when I read the message. I believe the OP edited it to make it more clear after my posting.

[avi123]

Azub, my experience with my H9 Autoset is that you can spend a year on it changing the set-up (as I did), and get endless advices from posters while trying to improve your treatment, but nothing comes out it. If you don't feel that the set-up that you got from your PSG sleep study is doing the job of improving your treatment then another PSG is the only correct way to follow.

IMO, the diagnostic data that we get from our home CPAPs are very crude and there is no way that it come close to PSG values. You can convince yourself that I am correct by doing this test that I did:

when I lay down to take nap with my Resmed's S9 Autoset in the P.M. for less than an hour , and check the sleep quality report in the machine screen immediately after the nap, then I see an AHI of 37 for the 40 min long nap. It's made mostly of hypopneas.

However, when I go to sleep later that evening, the machine keeps adding this data to my nightly sleep events. So, when I check my sleep quality in the morning after 6 hours of sleep, I'll see (much) higher values of events. My nap at yesterday's P.M. added to the nightly average hourly AHI about 9 points.
For example, if your true AHI is five then the AHI shown in your machine would show AHI of 14, more than twice the true value.

This is because our XPAPs can't tell when we are asleep. So they calculate events that happen during wake time also.

Things like this don't happen during PSGs, because the attendant technologist would discard such data as being during a non sleep time.

That's why I keep saying that those posters, who try to advice you on the CPAP set-up by the looking at the micro data taken from your CPAP, are sadly dealing with witchcraft.

p.s. even doing a PSG in a sleep clinic you need to be lucky that the staff there is knowledgeable.

[Lizistired]

AZUB, Don't let anything AVI123 says confuse you. We don't.
You're on the right track with turning off your EPR for a week. Sometimes minor adjustments are all you need. Another PSG would be the last resort after all else fails. If you look at my avatar, that obvious drop in my AHI was when I finally turned off the EPR after fiddling with the pressure for 6 weeks with no improvement.
Some of us are also sensitive to pressure changes. I have an autoset but run it in cpap mode most of the time and only use autoset occasionally if my numbers seen out of whack.

[Perrybucsdad]

I have to agree on what Liz said. I turned off the EPR on mine too after some explained what it does and I saw a marked improvement. I also recently put my machine (an APAP) into CPAP mode and I sleep better and my AHI has been slightly better. The big thing I notice in CPAP mode though is I wake up a heck of a lot less. I think the pressure changes with the APAP kept waking me up somehow. Now I have my pressure set just high enough to prevent most all events.