Brand New and Troubled by last nights Data

[LSAT]

Could it be me fidgeting with the mask all night?

absolutely.

+1

[palerider]

I'm just so confused because they said I had obstructive SA and that I didn't show any signs of Central during either of my two studies.... man, what could have happened?

you have to remember that sleep studies are very artificial environments, and aren't exact and perfect... they can't be, you change from night to night... and you likely didn't fiddle with your mask all night when you had your study.

[palerider]

Thank you. All of you that have helped me today! I did what okiedokie said and attached that image below. So you all think that fidgeting with the mask and taking it off and adjusting the straps all could throw the central (clear airway) codes? I just don't get how two sleep studies could have missed 52 central apnea events and then last night my machine caught them all...?...

it's VERY likely that you, without thinking about it, hold your breath when you're fiddling with things, to the machine, that's a central apnea. unfortunately, they don't have cameras attached, so they can't see what you're doing. (people would probably complain about the cost of extra accuracy, anyway )

[ArKiTeKt]

Thank you all SOOOO much... I'll at least move to defcon II from I . I've been holding my breath a lot while I'm awake lately. Sometimes I notice it and I assume at others I don't. I believe it has to do with anxiety which I'm also combating right now (and maybe something to do with my vitamin deficiencies, particularly magnesium and Vitamin D). Plus years of poor posture (be it at the Computer, driving, eating, etc) I'm hunched over and it seems the only time my diaphragm cooperates and I can get a good deep breath is when I yawn. but thank you all again so much!

[palerider]

I've been holding my breath a lot while I'm awake lately.

I'll be blunt:
STOP WORRYING AND TAKE A DEEP BREATH!

[kteague]

I habitually hold my breath any time I'm focused on doing something. Early in my CPAP use I would have an occasional central but I was awake a lot so I figured that's why. Haven't had them in years. I'm with the others who expect those numbers to settle down once your equipment becomes comfortable and familiar and you are sleeping better. Hopefully you'll experience what others have reported on here - a decrease in anxiety - once things stabilize. Untreated sleep apnea triggers stress hormones, and you won't have those to contend with once your treatment is optimized. While the adjustment phase can be unsettling, look forward to the day you are on the other side of this and can come here to help others by sharing those things that turned out to work for you. It'll be okay.

[ArKiTeKt]

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. I did do better with the mask last night. I do find my mouth and sinuses drying out like mad and I'm not sure where the happy medium is between being dried out and having rainout in my hose...? but I'm now wondering if my Clear Airway events (Centrals) are occurring when I'm awake because If you look at this graph, it appears most of them occur when I'm trying to go to bed or when I'm waking up. My wife's alarm went off at 7:00 and then I had quite a few. And again, I've been known to hold my breath while I'm awake...

[Julie]

Most clear airways (vs hardcore 'centrals') occur when falling asleep and just before waking... it's normal.

[alexander]

Edited out.

[OkyDoky]

Looking better. If you take off the ones before 11:30 and after 7:00 when you were probably awake, it would look even better. How did you sleep and how are you feeling? Your leak rate looks good so at least they probably don't contribute to wake ups.
Check out the different humidity settings to find one comfortable for you.
One thing that would help us see all the data we need is to turn off the calender. On the left side turn off the calendar by clicking on the triangle by the date. That allows us to see the machine settings below.

[IDontSnoreISwear]

1) Welcome!

2) Being new, you are bound to have several (or even many!) nights where you wake up frequently to adjust the mask, deal with rainout, etc. All this is normal. You will find the right humidity settings, temperature settings, accessories (snuggle hose comes to mind) and will eventually settle into a routine where you're comfortable. It takes time.

3) Anything under 5 events per hour is considered "normal," so you're not doing badly. I bet you had a lot more on your sleep study before CPAP! Once you have things the way they need to be, that number will go down. Again, this takes time.

This forum has been amazingly helpful to me. Hope you will find the same help and encouragement here.

[Julie]

It's also normal for AHI to go up a bit when using EPR... the trick is to find the right balance, the lowest EPR setting that's comfortable, but not making AHI the holy grail at the expense of comfort.

[ArKiTeKt]

what exactly is EPR? I'll have to look and see if I have it and if it's on. Thanks again

[Julie]

Exhalation Pressure Relief - some people, possibly with high settings, find it difficult to exhale at times, and so use EPR at whatever setting suits them.

I just realized I was answering Alexander's question - that's what happens when you get into someone else's thread!

[ArKiTeKt]

Thanks again everyone here. This forum is such a blessing. So I think I'm beginning to wake up SLIGHTLY more rested. I know it's just my third night on this so I might be one of those people that takes a while to get fully recharged. but it appears I'm taking to the machine and mask better and my numbers seem to be improving. I'm still waiting for no apnea or hypotneas (sp?) and for my clear airway (centrals) to also go to zero. but considering where I was three nights ago, it's night and days difference now already. Thoughts?