Help figuring out SleepHead data!

[star444]

After dealing with the frustration of getting stuck with a machine that was not data-capable; I decided to "suck it up" and buy a data-capable machine out-of-pocket. Now I have data, and I have SleepHead. I've read the tutorial by Pugsy by I'm afraid I'm still lost when it comes to figuring out my data.

My original CPAP was set to 10cm. I purchased and auto-PAP and set the range from 8 to 12. Perhaps if someone can help me make sense of this mess below I'll be better able to read the data going forward.



Thanks, in advance, for any help making sense of this data!

[Pugsy]

I can't quite make out the numbers in the image (a bit too small for my tired eyes) but in general the report looks acceptable.
It looks like there may be some snoring and Flow limitations going on...if it were me I would bump that minimum up maybe 0.5 or 1.0 cm.
Maybe that would also help the maximum from wanting to go up as much....often if the minimum is more optimal the maximum stabilizes and settles down.

You were pushing large leak territory but I don't think that you officially crossed over. We would need to use Encore if we wanted to know for sure...but I don't think you made it.
Leaks still are fairly large and if they woke you up....they need to be worked on.
The SleepWeaver Anew FFmask does present some special challenges but if you are sleeping well with it...I wouldn't worry about it.

Is there a positional or REM stage sleep component to your sleep apnea? Your pressure does okay for a period of time and then it looks like something changed to require significant change in pressure...when that occurs the 2 main culprits are REM Stage sleep and supine sleeping (or both).

If there is something that you just don't understand...ask a question. I do so much better answering questions because I don't know what you are having trouble not understanding.

[star444]

Thanks for taking a look at the data, Pugsy!

You asked if there is a "positional or REM stage sleep component" to my apnea. As far as positional, I'm reasonably certain that I sleep almost exclusively on my right side, but I think I'll setup my laptop to record and see if that is a true statement.

How do I know if there is a "REM stage sleep component" to my apnea? I'm not really sure what you mean by that question.

I love the SleepWeaver Anew FF mask because it is so comfortable. I believe the leak problems occur when I relax and my jaw drops back a bit. I've tried using a chin strap and it helps a little, but the chin strap I have doesn't stay put so maybe I'll try another type.

I'll bump my minimum pressure to 9 and see if that helps.

Thanks!

[jweeks]

Hi,

I think it shows an AHI of 1.1, which is very good. There are very few of the "bad" types of events. Only a few apnea and hypos, and a few odd of the other events. Most of the items that are flagged are snores. There is debate on how serious snores are. Some sleep doctors think that any snoring is a disturbance. I personally follow that line of thinking, so I made setting changes to try to knock them out. In my case, that was bumping up the pressure just a little.

Pugsy notes that something seems to be changing when you are sleeping. You are fine on a low pressure, then out of blue, your pressure needs go up dramatically. The machine adjusts upwards in pressure, but you get some events while it is still reacting before it gets to the higher pressure. Setting your lower pressure to a higher number can affect that, possibly fix it. You might be one of those people who are a candidate for a fixed pressure. The bottom line is how you are feeling. If you feel OK, then let the machine do its thing. If you don't feel good, then you might want to adjust your treatment. In my own case, my sleep study found that I was extremely position sensitive. Sometimes just moving my neck a little would cause all kinds of breathing issues. Some other people have worse issues when they are on their back.

Anything you can do to reduce leaks will only help over the long run.

-john-

[Pugsy]

How do I know if there is a "REM stage sleep component" to my apnea? I'm not really sure what you mean by that question.

Often it is mentioned in the sleep study report.

Maybe this will help you start to understand some of what you read or see.
I have a very strong REM stage sleep component to my OSA...in non REM sleep my AHI was barely worth mentioning at 12 per hour but once I got to REM stage sleep the AHI went to 53 per hour.
This is actually quite common.
I mention it because sometimes we can get a fair idea when REM stage sleep is occurring by the pattern of events or pressure increases.
REM normally starts about 90 minutes after sleep onset and will cycle through 4 or 5 REM cyles as the night progresses with the stages coming quicker and lasting longer toward morning.


If you sleep on your side primarily....then what we are seeing with your situation is likely REM stage sleep related.

The machine doesn't know if we are asleep or not...neither does it know what sleep stage you might be in. Sometimes we can get a decent enough idea if things are related to REM stage sleep by the pattern of activity we see on a report.
Don't worry if you can't understand all this right now...just keep reading and you will get a handle on all this soon enough.
No need to try to absorb it all in one week or even one month.

Here's an example of some clusters I had one night when I was trying a new machine and didn't have optimal pressure set.
I think you can see where loosely we would expect to see REM stage sleep.

[star444]

Hi,

I think it shows an AHI of 1.1, which is very good. There are very few of the "bad" types of events. Only a few apnea and hypos, and a few odd of the other events. Most of the items that are flagged are snores. There is debate on how serious snores are. Some sleep doctors think that any snoring is a disturbance. I personally follow that line of thinking, so I made setting changes to try to knock them out. In my case, that was bumping up the pressure just a little.

Pugsy notes that something seems to be changing when you are sleeping. You are fine on a low pressure, then out of blue, your pressure needs go up dramatically. The machine adjusts upwards in pressure, but you get some events while it is still reacting before it gets to the higher pressure. Setting your lower pressure to a higher number can affect that, possibly fix it. You might be one of those people who are a candidate for a fixed pressure. The bottom line is how you are feeling. If you feel OK, then let the machine do its thing. If you don't feel good, then you might want to adjust your treatment. In my own case, my sleep study found that I was extremely position sensitive. Sometimes just moving my neck a little would cause all kinds of breathing issues. Some other people have worse issues when they are on their back.

Anything you can do to reduce leaks will only help over the long run.

-john-

Thanks for the input, John. The "bottom line" for me is, I still do not feel rested. I'm happy that my body is no longer seriously oxygen-deprived, but I'm still not getting the refreshing sleep I've been hoping for. But, I understand it may take some time to get settled into just the right therapy.

And, Pugsy, thanks again for your additional input. I'll keep reading and trying to get a handle on all this new information!