CPAP not working correctly ?

[Ghost754]

hi guys, im Patrick and just joined your community

i've been diagnosed moderate sleep apnea problem 2 years ago, between 7 and 10 AHI when i slept at the hospital for the treatment. ive used the CPAP for 2 years and didnt find any benefit, so i was thinking about the oral appliance.

ive always brought my SD card to a specialist and everytime he said it was working fine, but i recently discovered the sleepyhead software i can use with my "Philips Respironics RemStar Auto with A-Flex"

After each night i look at the result and it say im doing between 1.1 AHI and 2.50 AHI (which it say its reasonably good), but i feel like a zombie with no mental awereness until the evening.

I did a test last night, i hold my breath for 20-30 second while using the cpap and nothing happened. the machine did not kick at higher pressure or anything, is it normal or the cpap is not well configurated, the pressure is 4-12

thanks so much for the answer guys, i can post a report of sleepy head if needed

[Wulfman...]

hi guys, im Patrick and just joined your community

i've been diagnosed moderate sleep apnea problem 2 years ago, between 7 and 10 AHI when i slept at the hospital for the treatment. ive used the CPAP for 2 years and didnt find any benefit, so i was thinking about the oral appliance.

ive always brought my SD card to a specialist and everytime he said it was working fine, but i recently discovered the sleepyhead software i can use with my "Philips Respironics RemStar Auto with A-Flex"

After each night i look at the result and it say im doing between 1.1 AHI and 2.50 AHI (which it say its reasonably good), but i feel like a zombie with no mental awereness until the evening.

I did a test last night, i hold my breath for 20-30 second while using the cpap and nothing happened. the machine did not kick at higher pressure or anything, is it normal or the cpap is not well configurated, the pressure is 4-12

thanks so much for the answer guys, i can post a report of sleepy head if needed

The APAP did EXACTLY what it's programmed to do.......NOTHING (when an apnea is in progress).
APAPs primarily respond to Snoring and Flow Limitations (in the theory that they may precede apneas).

And, with your pressure range, it's quite possible that your minimum pressure is too low and that's why your AHI is higher than you'd like to see. The minimum pressure setting needs to be up where it will eliminate almost all of the events.


Den

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[palerider]

And, with your pressure range, it's quite possible that your minimum pressure is too low and that's why your AHI is higher than you'd like to see. The minimum pressure setting needs to be up where it will eliminate almost all of the events.

yes! the machine should only be set wide open for a night or two, to get an idea what the lower pressure set point should be.

[LSAT]

When you intentionally hold your breath for 10+ seconds the machine will not react because it recognizes it as a Clear Airway Apnea (CA)...not an Obstructive Apnea.

[Julie]

Try the low pressure setting at 7 for a couple of nights and see if it helps... that's still low, but much better than 4.

[Ghost754]

Thanks for the answer guys, ill try to set the min pressure at 7

Meanwhile if someone could explain a little about my report data, i dont really know how it work. Does the clear airway mean that everything was fine ?

http://postimg.org/image/a4l9gtdlx/

[Ghost754]

yes! the machine should only be set wide open for a night or two, to get an idea what the lower pressure set point should be.

what do you mean by wide open for a night or two ?

[Wulfman...]

Thanks for the answer guys, ill try to set the min pressure at 7

Meanwhile if someone could explain a little about my report data, i dont really know how it work. Does the clear airway mean that everything was fine ?

http://postimg.org/image/a4l9gtdlx/

WIthout seeing the events and other sections, the summary data is fairly meaningless. The "numbers" are OK, but it doesn't show where/when they took place and in the context of the entire night.

"Clear Airway" events are possible "Central Apneas" and like "Obstructive Apneas", result in a loss of breathing for 10 seconds or more. So, in that regard, they are "Apneas".


Den

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[OkyDoky]

These sites will help you post what is most helpful. https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize
https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepy ... screenshot
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

[Ghost754]

These sites will help you post what is most helpful. https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize
https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepy ... screenshot
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

Thank you guys here is the complete report

[OkyDoky]

While you stayed at 4 most of the time, and when you need the pressure increase it takes a while to get there. I would have a difficult time breathing at that low pressure and also think a low pressure increase to 7 would help if you are comfortable with it. Try it for a few nights then post some more results.

[Wulfman...]

Yeah, I'd agree that increasing the minimum to 7 cm. would be helpful.


Den

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[yaconsult]

It's pretty common to need a higher minimum pressure and you've already gotten great advice on changes to make. How much you need is unique to you. I need a lot so I have my range set to 13-20 and that's what works well for me and gives me very low AHI less than 1. You will need to experiment and use sleepyhead to work out what the best pressure range for you is. For some people, a fixed pressure works better than a range. You have the tools to optimize your therapy. You just need to put in the time and effort.

Also, many people get used to the pressure and turn off the ramp function as breathing at the lowest pressure can be uncomfortable. You have to figure out what works best for you.

[palerider]

yes! the machine should only be set wide open for a night or two, to get an idea what the lower pressure set point should be.

what do you mean by wide open for a night or two ?

wide open=factory defaults, usually min4, max20.

stupid doctors often give a victim a machine set wide open, and say "come back in a couple months".

setting the machine at 4, if for example, you need around 10cm, leaves a fair amount of up and down pressures, and wasted time while the machine gets up to whatever pressure you need.

setting the machine wide open as a starting point for a couple of days is perfectly valid, then look at the data, and say "oh, well, it looks like this person needs to start at 7, or 10, or 15... or whatever.

make sense?

[Ghost754]

hi guys, when changing the pressure to 7, the memory card overwritten the setting because the prescription was on it, i had to format the card to get it work and now sleepyhead only give me the summary with no detailed result, with a AHI of 0 for my last night (which i REALLY doubt)

anything im doing wrong ?