This frustrating data

sleepyhead63 · Post by **sleepyhead63** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 3:40 pm

How can I one night have excellent results and the very next night my numbers go up by double? I don't understand this I did everything the same, no nasal congestion or anything different from the night before. I did notice the difference in the way I felt, today I was very irritable and lacked focus, just felt out of it.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 3:45 pm

You managed to dislodge the Swift a bit and got too much leak and that blew your stats & left you feeling so tired today ???

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:07 pm

Slinky wrote:You managed to dislodge the Swift a bit and got too much leak and that blew your stats & left you feeling so tired today ???

... or you leaked it out of your mouth while you were asleep and not paying attention

sleepyhead63 · Post by **sleepyhead63** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:37 pm

I did tape my mouth last night because I think I do mouth breath but had to take it off because I thought I was going to explode, my mouth blew out like a ballon and the air had nowhere to go. How do people here use tape everynight with no problems.

roster · Post by **roster** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:53 pm

sleepyhead63 wrote:I did tape my mouth last night because I think I do mouth breath but had to take it off because I thought I was going to explode, my mouth blew out like a ballon and the air had nowhere to go. How do people here use tape everynight with no problems.

I had a similar problem with Swift/mouth taping. Switched to Hybrid mask and it took care of the problem.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:56 pm

When you get the blow fish cheeks just suck your cheeks back in and continue to breathe normally. I don't get the blow fish cheeks much since using roosters taping instructions.

Brenda[/url]

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 6:59 pm

I put a home made strap around my mouth that keeps me from doing the blowfish deal. Pretty easy to control really.

robbieh · Post by **robbieh** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:09 pm

My numbers go up and down without explaination also. I have a Liberty mask and there are no major leaks. I have no idea why my AHI can be 1 and the next night go up to 7. I too feel bad when my numbers go up like that. I am going to ask my sleep doc for an APAP when I see him next month. I have not heard anyone else having this problem. I didn't like the tape thing either though I was able to keep it on all night. Let us know what you find out.

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:31 pm

robbieh wrote:My numbers go up and down without explaination also. I have a Liberty mask and there are no major leaks. I have no idea why my AHI can be 1 and the next night go up to 7. I too feel bad when my numbers go up like that. I am going to ask my sleep doc for an APAP when I see him next month. I have not heard anyone else having this problem. I didn't like the tape thing either though I was able to keep it on all night. Let us know what you find out.

If you are certain that you are not leaking (your leak graph should look like a flat line or fairly flat), then your pressure may need adjustment. You may be sleeping on your back more on some nights and the pressure is not sufficient to keep your AHI in check. That's what is so nice about having an auto titrating machine, as you change positions, your pressure needs are met accordingly.

Anyway, you could try bumping up your pressure by 0.5 cm H2O for a week or two and see if your AHI stabilizes.

robbieh · Post by **robbieh** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:08 pm

If you are certain that you are not leaking (your leak graph should look like a flat line or fairly flat), then your pressure may need adjustment. You may be sleeping on your back more on some nights and the pressure is not sufficient to keep your AHI in check. That's what is so nice about having an auto titrating machine, as you change positions, your pressure needs are met accordingly.

Anyway, you could try bumping up your pressure by 0.5 cm H2O for a week or two and see if your AHI stabilizes.

Hey DreamStalker, I played with my pressure a little. Going up made it go up significantly. Going down made it go way down to 1 the first night and then back up to over 7 the next night. I just think an apap would adjust to my different needs better than struggling with the straight cpap. My leak rates look like a mild earthquake every night but so do my AHIs. Go figure. All in all.... i do feel some better, just think there is room for improvement. It is hard not to be able to count on a good night's sleep.

OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 4:32 am

My numbers were all over the place, even after more than a year on CPAP. I've tried different masks and different pressures but have always had a problem getting any kind of consistent results...until now.

For me, the root problem was apparently too much pressure that resulted in frequent leaks. As a mouth breather, I started out with a full-face Comfort Full 2 mask, but eventually tried a few others -- both full-face and nasal. I got (and still get) the best results from the nasal masks and either mouth taping or one of Rested Gal's pantyhose chin straps, probably because there is less surface area with the nasal mask for potential leakage.

Like many here, I've experimented with pressure adjustments over time, going from an initial setting of 7 and settling on 11 several months ago. I recently cut my pressure back to 9 and found that my average AHI is now consistently down in the 1-2 range.

This may not be your solution, but it's just one possibility. I had just about given up on ever achieving consistently low numbers but I eventually found a combination that works and I'm sure you will too.

Hang in there.

OCO

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 9:27 am

robbieh wrote:My leak rates look like a mild earthquake every night but so do my AHIs. Go figure.

I've not studied my leak rates versus events, placing most of my efforts into looking at the relationship between pressure and events. Just from looking at my LCD daily, though, I'd say my best nights (both in terms of events and in terms of how I feel the next day) are ones where the leak rate is quite low. Those nights with a higher leak rate almost always have higher AHI to go along.

sleepyhead63 · Post by **sleepyhead63** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:46 pm

I must be mouth breathing because I had a leak of .36 and my numbers were as follows: pressure of 12.2
AHI: 10.7
AI: 2.2
HI: 8.5
Now two nights ago I had the exact leak rate of .36 but my other numbers were cut in half. I hear of these homemade straps people make to prevent mouth breathing can someone enlighten me?
When I did the blowfish thing when taping my mouth I did just swallow the air but it gave me gas and a pain in my stomach so I don't think taping is for me. The funny thing is I am finally wearing my mask 100% of the time and found a mask that works(mirage activa I have to change my avatar) and now I have these other issues to contend with sometimes I think its going to be a never ending battle.

JimW · Post by **JimW** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 2:27 pm

The leak rates you pull off your machine are your 95th percentile leak rates, meaning that 95% of the time your leaks were at or below 0.36 L/sec. What the LCD readout does not tell you is whether you had any very large leaks or what your median leak rate was for that night.

While I believe that, overall, lower leak rate will result in fewer events, it's very possible to have individual days where one day has lower leaks and higher AHI than a second day. No two snowflakes are identical - neither are any two nights of sleep.

I like to look at large quantities of data and see if I can spot any trends. If, on the whole, things are looking good, then I'm content. If, on the whole, things are getting better, I may be a little more content.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 2:53 pm

Just out of curiosity, were you told a set pressure for straight CPAP after your titration study?

What pressure range do you have your AutoSet Vantage set to?

What is your Settling time and Maximum Settling time?

What mask selection have you selected?

Mask

Additional Comments: Equipment isn't correct, S9 ASV w/H5i