Newbie Sleepyhead report feedback please!

[Pugsy]

The only thing I don't like on the reports is the one with the cluster of hyponeas at around 2:15.
It's probably REM related and if you don't see it often then I wouldn't worry about a random small cluster like that.
Now if I saw it happen pretty much every night then I might give the minimum another 0.5 cm bump up.

My OSA is worse in REM and even now on a rare occasion I might have a little cluster like that but it's rare and doesn't happen every night so I don't worry about it as long as I am sleeping and feeling decent otherwise.

I suppose it might also be supine related but the advice is the same whether it is supine sleeping or REM related.
Depends on how you are sleeping and feeling and how often you might see those little clusters (either OA or hyponea).

[billy1]

Am I correct in assuming that we all sleep on our sides to minimize these events?

[Pugsy]

I sleep in any position I want. I can't control REM so I have to let the machine sort it out.
Back sleeping for me doesn't really change anything...for me it's REM. Even if back sleeping made things worse I would still sleep in any position and let the machine sort it out because it has to sort out the REM stuff I can't control.

Not everyone has sleeping on their backs make the OSA worse or need more pressure. While it is common...it isn't an absolute.
Not everyone can stay asleep on their side all night for any number of reason.
And staying on one's side is easier said than done anyway.

So my thoughts are....set your pressures optimally to take care of all possibilities and sleep in whatever position you want.
If your airway is help open optimally....nothing is going to happen anyway.

So do

we all sleep on our sides to minimize these events?

Some might but for sure not "all".
I can't stay on my side all night. I have a bad back and pelvis from being broke all to hell some years ago and arthritis and other stuff making it impossible to stay in any one position for very long. I am not alone. I hear similar comments all the time.

[dreamingofdreaming]

Do you feel or hear your leaks? I I have the same mask and machine. I can usually go 2 months before my mask get pretty leaky and I need to change the nose piece to a new one. I also need a chinstrap or my mouth falls open when I fall asleep.

[billy1]

Thanks again Pugsy. Should be ok from here. Fingers crossed.

As for the leaks, I don't usually feel the leaks. I sleep on my side, so have the pillow against part of the mask and if I'm moving I wouldn't be surprised if that caused leaks. But I can't tell. I bought the chiro water pillow that has been mentioned here and will see if that leads to any incremental improvement. I don't think the chinstrap made any difference for me.

[billy1]

Hello all! Thought I would post an update. Since I last posted a few years ago I switched to APAP and the airfit p10. I think the mask was an improvement. I also bought the bleeps but haven't tried them yet.

My sleep has improved a lot since last posting, but it's inconsistent. If I'm under 1.0 combined hypopnea and obstructive (not counting centrals) I usually feel rested. If I'm above 1.0 I feel sluggish. It's about 50/50 overall, which is much better than before. But still would like to improve.

I know first questions are medicine and other issues. No med's at all. Stress level does vary and I've noticed that does play a role.

My intuition from reading the board for a while now would be to increase min pressure to clear up events. But I'm using variable pressure and the machine usually doesn't go much up from the min. So the machine doesn't seem to think I need more pressure.

As for centrals, I know you have all written don't worry about them. For most of the time I've had exhale assist set around 3. I've occasionally lowered it but haven't seen an immediate improvement. I didn't do this methodically so if anyone has experience I'll take any suggestions and try again. Would the resmed machine be able to treat these with it's wider difference between inhale and exhale (I might be misunderstanding how the bipap machines work and also not sure why lowering the exhale assist would work when my understanding is the bipap is trying to do it more)?

I also have fairly consistent periodic breathing. I haven't seen this much in others' posts.

I am going to post graphs from what felt like good nights (June 3 & 6) and a less good night (June 7). Like I said, I have about a 50/50 split of good and bad nights. For June 7 I wanted to zoom in on some events but only three uploads are allowed. I can add if they would help. They look legit to me.

Thank you all.