Sleep Study, No Titration, How Do I Have a CPAP??

[sulaco]

First of all, think of me as a 12 year old when you discuss this stuff with me. I seriously know next to nothing about apnea, CPAP, etc.

However, I was suspicious of my Dr. when he ordered CPAP therapy but I was never tested with it during my sleep study.

A little history:

mid-2014 I decided to talk to a sleep specialist because I mentioned to my dentist how tired I felt all the time. He said I might have sleep apnea and I should talk to a specialist. I did, he ordered a sleep study based on me being overweight and snoring.

I wore an occlusal guard at the time which keeps me from clinching due to bruxism. Unfortunately the guard pushed my lower jaw back which probably made me have more apnea events than I would have otherwise, but the Dr. told me to wear it during the study.

They woke me up early and said they had enough data so I was done. They never fitted me for a mask or tested me on CPAP. I didn't know they were supposed to at the time.

I had an orthodontist make me a mandibular extension device which I wore the last two years or so (stopped wearing the occlusal guard altogether). At first it worked pretty well but about a month or so ago it stopped working as well. I went back to the sleep specialist and he said to get a CPAP. I picked one up and it was set for the default settings. I learned this here by going in to the Clinical mode and checking. I also learned I should have had some pressure settings along with my AHI (19.something) on my sleep study. Obviously I didn't b/c he never tried it out on me. So the machine is set for 4 rampup or whatever and 5-15 I think it is. It's an AirSet A10 Auto.

My AHI's are typically below 2 now and I feel much better, but I do seem to blow out the seal on my masks once my pressures go up.

Is there any way to just sort this out on my own? Medical care around here is really bad (and I work for a major hospital system too!).

[palerider]

not really sure what the question is... but, as far as the mask seal, look into 'mask liners' search on the forum, or on google.

padacheek.com makes good ones, and cares about more than just making a buck.

[sulaco]

My question is the second to last sentence.

Can I do this on my own since I'm obviously not getting good care from the medical community?

I've tried every brand of mask liner and all of the leak worse than just the mask.

[palerider]

My question is the second to last sentence.

Can I do this on my own since I'm obviously not getting good care from the medical community?

I've tried every brand of mask liner and all of the leak worse than just the mask.

sure you can do it on your own, it sounds like you're already doing it successfully.

mask liners don't prevent leaks, they tame them so they're not annoying and obtrusive. most are going to have a bit more leak.

what all brands come under the heading of "every brand"... was Karen at Padacheek not able to help you?

[lilly747]

First of all, think of me as a 12 year old when you discuss this stuff with me. I seriously know next to nothing about apnea, CPAP, etc.

Well first of all welcome to the board. You need to start reading. There is a lot of info here. Down load Sleepyhead and start looking at your data, and if you have any questions, ask....

You will find your Clinician. manual here:
keep following the links and then Scroll down to Section Three your machine is there just follow instructions and they will email it to you.

https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/docs

[sulaco]

I have the Padacheek for my Quattro and it caused the most leaking of anything I've tried yet. Remzz, all the other ones available too. I can't recall the names.

[jnk...]

Generally speaking, doctors come in handy for diagnosing and for writing prescriptions in a way that gets insurance to pay for stuff.

Titration comes in handy for finding a starting treatment pressure that a patient can handle when first starting out.

But successful PAP treatment over time mostly comes from being an informed patient (preferably with a full-data machine) willing to experiment a bit and to learn helpful hints from fellow patients.

So don't worry about 'starting out on your own.' In fact, I would say that realizing one is on one's own in making PAP therapy as successful as it can be puts one ahead of the game.

Few docs are experts at making PAP work, unless they use it themselves. And even the RRTs at DMEs often know very little about sleep.

Slightly pressurized air is not dangerous. A patient with a full-data machine has what is needed for dialing in the best pressure or range of pressures for the most successful treatment over the long haul.