new user needs help understanding readings

[sonny45boy]

Hi

I would appreciate any advice you have.
I am using:

Resmed AirSense for Her
Resmed AirFit P10 for Her


Last night was my 3rd night on Cpap.
First two nights I gave up after 1-2 hours.

Third night I adjusted my readings to:

Ramp time: 45min.
Climate Ctrl: Manual
Tube Temp: 80
Humidity: 4
Pressure relief: On
Smart start: On
Mask: Pillows

Do my settings and readings look ok?
Is there any other setting/reading on the machine for me to pay attention to?

I have not yet installed Sleepyhead.

usage hours: 9:08
events per hour: 1.9
pressure: 8.9 [set at 7-9]


What are the expected values for the following?

leak: 24L/min [Is this normal? Seems high to me.]
AHI: 1.9
Total AI: 1.8
Central AI: 0.7

Thank you

[RicaLynn]

I have the exact same set-up.

The first set of numbers are strictly for user comfort and can be adjusted any time as they are not necessary to therapy - some users turn ramp off altogether one they've adjusted to having a mask on their face, some require more or less humidity, etc.

An AHI of <5 is considered "normal" or four those of us using CPAP it indicates therapy is effective at reducing events, so 1.9 is great! How do you feel?

Leak rate is simply the established limit for the ResMed machines, is the same across the board. Looks like your pressure range (7-9) has already been optimized for you. Welcome to the forum, keep reading and let us know how we can help!

[Julie]

A ramp time of 45 mins just to reach the low setting of 8? Most of us stopped using ramp altogether within a week of starting out, or at least shortened the time drastically compared to yours, and most of us have a higher pressure setting... I say all that not to chastise you in any way but to ask you to try using a much shorter ramp time (or none at all) and see whether you really care once the initial whoosh of air comes on (doesn't last long at all). During that 45 mins, you're not being treated effectively, not until things reach 8.

[sonny45boy]

Thank you both.

I increased the ramp time and the temperature last night because of my first two nights of failure.
Tonight I will decrease the ramp time and see what happens.

[Ogeo]

Welcome...

I turned off the Smart Start pretty quickly on mine as I found I didn't have the pillows situated very good before it would blow at me. With my high pressure at 21 that was a problem. You told us your humidity is set at 4 for the third night. Did you change it from the first two nights or is it the same? I found if the air was too hot for me I had more trouble breathing the air. Humidity will be different for each person. It one of the things you will have to try different settings until you find the one that works best for you and even then you might want to change it with the seasons.

Your AHI looks good. I started out with readings about the same as yours and as I've used the machine all night every night, it has dropped gradually.

Were you able to use it more hours per night after your third night? As a newbie, getting used to the machine so you can use it all night is very important. Others have suggested using it some during the daytime while sitting watching TV so you can get used to the mask on your face. Why did you feel you had to remove it - were you feeling like you weren't getting enough air? This will help others to be able to help you with the settings.

There is a lot of info on the forums to help and some great people here willing to help.

[sonny45boy]

Thank you

I do not know if my pillows are the right size or not.
The DME sent me home with small and medium and for some unknown reason kept the extra small. He tried to keep the medium also.
I am using the small and have not tried the medium.
Is there a template to gauge size?


The DME set the humidity at 4. I have not changed this setting.
Smart Start was not on.
Ramp time was not on.
Temperature was set at 74.

The first night I used the DME settings. The air felt too cold and the pressure felt too high. I could not fall asleep after 2.5 hours. I have always been hypersensitive to change and to cold. The second night I gave up quickly and was too tired to learn how to adjust settings.

The third night I changed the settings because the total of the first two nights was less than 3 hours and something needed to change.

Tonight [4th night] I will decrease the adjusted settings and see what happens.

[Pugsy]

What are the expected values for the following?

leak: 24L/min [Is this normal? Seems high to me.]
AHI: 1.9
Total AI: 1.8
Central AI: 0.7

I take it these numbers were taken off the machine's LCD screen???

Of these numbers only the leak number is potentially troublesome and I stress the "potentially" part.
Leak numbers off the machine's LCD screen are what we call 95% leak numbers which by definition means you were at OR BELOW that number for 95% of the night and for 5% of the night you were above that number.
It doesn't tell us how far below or high above...it is NOT the number where you spent 95% of the night nor is it an average. People often forget the "or below" part of the definition and go into a panic thinking leaks are really bad when maybe the leaks weren't so great for 15 minutes out of the whole night.
Once you get the software installed you will be better able to evaluate the leak itself.

ResMed says that the machine can handle/compensate for leaks up to 24 L/min. Beyond 24 L/min the machine starts getting a bit iffy in terms of therapy effectiveness and the machine's ability to sense and flag events..the higher the leak the iffier it becomes. Up to 30 L/min and it still can do a decent job...between 30 to 35 L/min the machine can still probably sense any apnea events but will likely not know what to call them and people see a lot of "unknown apnea" flags...beyond 35 L/min and the machine very likely can miss apnea events totally so we don't know if we didn't have any or the machine simply missed them.
Short brief excursions over 30 L/min probably aren't the end of the world...prolonged periods of time up there are unwanted because we can't trust the data. 5% of the time in large leak territory...not the end of the world.

Unless leaks are waking you up I wouldn't worry about the leak numbers at this time. For the bulk of the night you were at or below what the machine can handle and 5% of the time it was iffy. Not the end of the world by any means.

[grayghost4]

"I do not know if my pillows are the right size or not."

you should try to use the largest pillow that will fit "inside" your nose.
That will usually seal the best.

[damburke]

Have you heard anything about myAir. If you are using the ResMed Airsense 10 you should check into it.

[Pugsy]

Have you heard anything about myAir. If you are using the ResMed Airsense 10 you should check into it.

The online myAir for ResMed data just pretty much shows what the machine's LCD screen shows. If a person is looking at the data on the machine that website data is no different in terms of the level of detail from what the machine shows on the LCD screen.
For the real detailed data the software needs to be used.