Feeling worse on cpap.

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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zoocrewphoto
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by zoocrewphoto » Wed Feb 27, 2019 8:17 am

You can change the epr settings yourself (actually, you can change ANY of the settings. You just need to know the correct buttons to push to get the clinician manual.

Also, what are your current pressure settings? Did you change the minimum to 7? I see that it was mentioned, but not sure if that was changed.

And keep in mind that when a doctor looks at your data, they may not be looking at ALL of the data. Some look at the details, but some only look at hours of sleep and ahi. And they will consider anything under 5 to be good even though most of us need to be under 2 to feel really good. Many people here were told by their doctor that they were doing well despite having clusters of events, some of them really long, and waking up a lot.

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Who would have thought it would be this challenging to sleep and breathe at the same time?

the baker
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by the baker » Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:38 pm

zoocrewphoto wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 8:17 am
You can change the epr settings yourself (actually, you can change ANY of the settings. You just need to know the correct buttons to push to get the clinician manual.

Also, what are your current pressure settings? Did you change the minimum to 7? I see that it was mentioned, but not sure if that was changed.

And keep in mind that when a doctor looks at your data, they may not be looking at ALL of the data. Some look at the details, but some only look at hours of sleep and ahi. And they will consider anything under 5 to be good even though most of us need to be under 2 to feel really good. Many people here were told by their doctor that they were doing well despite having clusters of events, some of them really long, and waking up a lot.
I have started increasing my ramp pressure.
My respiratory therapist said my data looked good not just my AHI, which i say are flawed since the machine does not know when I'm asleep,
Last night I slept 5 hours but was on my machine for 8+ hours with a AHI of 2.1 but thats for 8hours on the machine which means I had 16 or so events but useing hours slept mean I had 3.3 ahi.... If that makes sense.

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Julie
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by Julie » Wed Feb 27, 2019 1:26 pm

Hi - you may be confusing the Ramp feature with pressure settings... many, if not most don't use the ramp at all - it's got it's own timing settings, etc. and is meant to be used with e.g. high prescribed min. settings (above 10 or 15) that make it hard for some to 'take' the initial blast when starting out... so at increases to your min. setting slowly, but as I said most don't otherwise bother setting it at all, but the scripted pressure (e.g. 7 or 9) is still set properly and you 'go' to it immediately when putting on the mask... the max. setting (often left at 20 altogether) is not involved at all. So while your 'regular' min. pressure starts out at e.g. 7, you don't 'ramp up' to it as such UNless you HAVE enabled the Ramp feature to do that.

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Dog Slobber
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by Dog Slobber » Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:05 pm

the baker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:38 pm

My respiratory therapist said my data looked good not just my AHI, which i say are flawed since the machine does not know when I'm asleep,
Last night I slept 5 hours but was on my machine for 8+ hours with a AHI of 2.1 but thats for 8hours on the machine which means I had 16 or so events but useing hours slept mean I had 3.3 ahi.... If that makes sense.
You can't make that assumption.

These devices often flag events while we are awake, or drifting between sleep and awake.

Some of my worst (device measured) AHI sessions occurred while I was awake.

nicholasjh1
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by nicholasjh1 » Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:57 pm

Also to consider is that with more "sleep" my body would often rouse right when an apnea was starting... which ended up LOWERING the AHI, and this worked even at a 7 minimum pressure for me. After some hard work and looking at the arousals I actually found that a 19 pressure was more appropriate. even though I have the same general AHI at 19 as I do at 7, but I sleep a heck of a lot better and fell tons better. Not to say that you should raise it, but showing us the numbers with sleepy head would go a long well to allowing us to help you.
Instead of Sleep apnea it should be called "Sleep deprivation, starving of oxygen, being poisoned by high CO2 levels, damaging the body and brain while it's supposed to be healing so that you constantly get worse and can never get healthy Apnea"

the baker
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by the baker » Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:51 pm

nicholasjh1 wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:57 pm
Also to consider is that with more "sleep" my body would often rouse right when an apnea was starting... which ended up LOWERING the AHI, and this worked even at a 7 minimum pressure for me. After some hard work and looking at the arousals I actually found that a 19 pressure was more appropriate. even though I have the same general AHI at 19 as I do at 7, but I sleep a heck of a lot better and fell tons better. Not to say that you should raise it, but showing us the numbers with sleepy head would go a long well to allowing us to help you.
I loaded the sleepyhead software into my desktop but.....it's 15 years old and the sleepy head is not loading right...
Hoping to get my sister's laptop running the program so I can use it to see my data.

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zonker
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by zonker » Wed Feb 27, 2019 6:24 pm

the baker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:51 pm

I loaded the sleepyhead software into my desktop but.....it's 15 years old and the sleepy head is not loading right...
Hoping to get my sister's laptop running the program so I can use it to see my data.
that would be GREAT. each of us is unique in the actual way we sleep. so in order to tailor their advice to you, the experts here will need to see the charts that sleepyhead produces. it's a long journey of learning, or at least it was for me. but soon you'll know enough to start improving your sleep!

btw, what laptop system? win or mac?
people say i'm self absorbed.
but that's enough about them.
Oscar-Win
https://www.apneaboard.com/OSCAR/OSCAR-1.5.1-Win64.exe
Oscar-Mac
https://www.apneaboard.com/OSCAR/OSCAR-1.5.1.dmg

yourbrokenoven
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by yourbrokenoven » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:30 am

I remember that "sore lungs" feeling. I stopped having that and stopped waking up with severe back pain after my pressures were lowered. Also, the pressure feels much less intense with my nasal mask than any full face mask I used.

Hopefully this gets solved.

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zoocrewphoto
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by zoocrewphoto » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:52 am

the baker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:38 pm
My respiratory therapist said my data looked good not just my AHI, which i say are flawed since the machine does not know when I'm asleep,
Did the therapist state WHICH data. or just say data in general? Did they mention what type of events, how long they were, etc?

Many will say your data looks good when they really just mean hours of use and ahi below 5.

_________________
Mask: Quattro™ FX Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
Additional Comments: Resmed S9 autoset pressure range 11-17
Who would have thought it would be this challenging to sleep and breathe at the same time?

the baker
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Location: New York

Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by the baker » Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:30 am

zoocrewphoto wrote:
Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:52 am
the baker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:38 pm
My respiratory therapist said my data looked good not just my AHI, which i say are flawed since the machine does not know when I'm asleep,
Did the therapist state WHICH data. or just say data in general? Did they mention what type of events, how long they were, etc?

Many will say your data looks good when they really just mean hours of use and ahi below 5.
My RT is hard to understand, I usually have him repeat things but he said my respiratory rate was very good between 15-18

I still have not heard back from the doctor and the office told me he was starting vacation on Friday and would be gone for 2 weeks...I got rather upset I called on Monday what the hell is going on they said they would resend my message and see what happens

_________________
Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
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the baker
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by the baker » Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:15 am

zonker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 6:24 pm
the baker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 5:51 pm

I loaded the sleepyhead software into my desktop but.....it's 15 years old and the sleepy head is not loading right...
Hoping to get my sister's laptop running the program so I can use it to see my data.
that would be GREAT. each of us is unique in the actual way we sleep. so in order to tailor their advice to you, the experts here will need to see the charts that sleepyhead produces. it's a long journey of learning, or at least it was for me. but soon you'll know enough to start improving your sleep!

btw, what laptop system? win or mac?
Windows

_________________
Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: AirTouch™ F20 Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: AHI 11- diagnosed hypopnea. Pressure 10.

the baker
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by the baker » Fri Mar 01, 2019 7:22 am

kteague wrote:
Tue Feb 26, 2019 4:08 pm


Whether it is the ramp pressure or your treatment pressure, starting too low is a common problem. You don't want your machine to be so low as to allow events. Getting one's pressure dialed in can make a big difference in feeling rested as it results in less arousals. Again, your mahine data could spot if settings are optimized for your best treatment. Beware of hitting the ramp too many times during the night.
As far as pressure the doctor told me that at my titration i had no events with the machine set at ten.
But now at home on my own machine in having them. If the DR would call back i would ask if it needs to be increased...

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Dog Slobber
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by Dog Slobber » Fri Mar 01, 2019 9:56 am

You've stated multiple times you're waiting for your Dr. to call you back and he doesn't.

He's about to go on vacation.

We've pretty well established he's unable or unwilling to provide the attention you need to improve your therapy.

The good news is; there are people here who are able and willing to help.
  • Make getting a lap top reliable (sleepyhead compatible) computer a priority
  • Post your graphs
  • Take the advice of the expertise that exists here
  • Start managing your own therapy

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palerider
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by palerider » Fri Mar 01, 2019 12:09 pm

the baker wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:30 am
zoocrewphoto wrote:
Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:52 am
the baker wrote:
Wed Feb 27, 2019 12:38 pm
My respiratory therapist said my data looked good not just my AHI, which i say are flawed since the machine does not know when I'm asleep,
Did the therapist state WHICH data. or just say data in general? Did they mention what type of events, how long they were, etc?

Many will say your data looks good when they really just mean hours of use and ahi below 5.
My RT is hard to understand, I usually have him repeat things but he said my respiratory rate was very good between 15-18
That doesn't matter.

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the baker
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Re: Feeling worse on cpap.

Post by the baker » Fri Mar 01, 2019 3:18 pm

Dog Slobber wrote:
Fri Mar 01, 2019 9:56 am
You've stated multiple times you're waiting for your Dr. to call you back and he doesn't.

He's about to go on vacation.

We've pretty well established he's unable or unwilling to provide the attention you need to improve your therapy.

The good news is; there are people here who are able and willing to help.
  • Make getting a lap top reliable (sleepyhead compatible) computer a priority
  • Post your graphs
  • Take the advice of the expertise that exists here
  • Start managing your own therapy
Called the office he is on vacation, I spoke to the practice administrator told her what was going on, they will have one of the other doctors get back to me if not tonight then by monday..
And I will to the best of my abilities get on the advice you posted above.

I'm moving out of the area and of month so I'm going to need new doctors anyway.
Thanks

_________________
Machine: DreamStation Auto CPAP Machine
Mask: AirTouch™ F20 Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: AHI 11- diagnosed hypopnea. Pressure 10.