Newbie needs help interpreting data, please

[Lorne]

Hi, all!

I've been a member of this forum for a few months now and have transitioned from someone who was incredibly angry at having being diagnosed with extremely severe OSA to someone who now has largely accepted it, can joke about it, and is a compliant xPAP user because of everyone's posts and the wonderful amount of information I've been able to glean off this site. You guys literally are life-savers.

Now, a request to you who have a fair bit of experience using ResScan and a card reader...

I just received my card reader today, downloaded the data, and generated a detailed data report, but I have no idea what I should be looking for. I've attached three screenshots: ResScan statistics, summary graphs, and detailed graphs. I've noticed that while my AI is down into the decimal range, my HI still remains troublesome, often in the teens. I do feel a lot better now that I'm on APAP, but I'm wondering if I can "optimize" my treatment some more for maximum benefit.

Any help, insight, advice, etc., that you could give is immensely appreciated.

Thanks in advance!





Last night's data:

[Pugsy]

If it were me the only thing I would change would be the minimum pressure from 7 cm to maybe 9 cm. See if the machine can prevent those hypopneas a little better. There have been a couple of very recent threads that discuss the how and why ResMed machines seem to score more hypopneas than other machines. Some very technical details and some explanations that us lay people can understand.

Your leak rate is great. Your Apnea numbers are great. You are reporting that you are feeling very positive effects from the therapy. Only trouble spot "might" be the hypopnea numbers. ResMed machines don't go chasing everything they label as "hypopnea" unless it also exhibits some apnea like precursors (snores, flow limitations, etc)... So while I wouldn't panic with your last night's Hypopnea numbers, I wouldn't completely discount them either.

Take some time and read through this discussion below. Some of it will be over your head but some of it you will be able to understand. There are 4 pages of discussion. Plus there is another thread similar but I can't find it at the moment. I am short on time.
viewtopic/t44325/ResMed-vs-Respironics- ... thing.html

[Lorne]

Thanks for the feedback and advice. Since I'm using APAP, will bumping up the bottom pressure number to 9 cm actually up the therapy pressure, or will the machine just remain at whatever pressure "average" it calculates to be necessary despite changing the bottom value?

[lazyace]

Thanks for the feedback and advice. Since I'm using APAP, will bumping up the bottom pressure number to 9 cm actually up the therapy pressure, or will the machine just remain at whatever pressure "average" it calculates to be necessary despite changing the bottom value?

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the the machine is going to settle on the lowest pressure and stay there until triggered to respond. Once it responds, it falls back to the low level setting and waits for another trigger.

[Pugsy]

Auto machines will rise from the minimum pressure set in response to event triggers then it goes back down to the minimum setting. It won't go below the minimum setting and it won't go above the maximum either.

The rise in pressure is gradual and takes a bit of time so if the minimum pressure is too low it cannot rise quickly enough to prevent some events. So while we want the minimum low enough to be comfortable we also want it within a range where it can address the events.

EPR use also lowers the pressure on exhalation so that factors into any averages. A setting of EPR 3 drops the pressure 3 cm upon exhalation, so at a minimum of 9 cm (as an example) the pressure would drop to 6 cm.

[lazyace]

I knew it wouldn't take long for someone smarter than me to set the record straight. Thanks, Pugs!