Newbie to Forum Long Time CPAP user Looking to Improve Therapy

[Frank Drebin]

Here are my charts from the last two nights within minimum pressure set at 13. Tuesday night was a good night, however, last night it seems I triggered a lot of CA events. Anyone have any idea what could have caused this?

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[palerider]

You might try easing back on the EPR setting, in fairly rare cases, sometimes it can increase CA events.

[Frank Drebin]

You might try easing back on the EPR setting, in fairly rare cases, sometimes it can increase CA events.

Ok thanks. Will try turning it down to 1.

[Frank Drebin]

Bump. Have been having my worst streak of AHI this past week and had one of my worst nights last night. Since Tuesday, my AHI has been consistently over 4 and last night was almost 7. It looks like I had some leak issues which could have contributed, but on Friday night I didn't seem to have any significant leaks, but still an AHI over 4 with a few OA events. Here are my graphs for last night and then Friday night.

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Aside from getting the leaks under control (am planning to switch from the F30 to the F20 but am stuck with the F30 for a couple more weeks) is there anything I should try tweaking settings wise? Interestingly enough, last week I was sick and could not breathe out of my nose at all. During those nights, I was mouth breathing but my AHI was consistently under 2 and even 0.0 for one night (which has never happened). Ever since my nose cleared up, I've been having the AHI over 4 and also wake up with bloat and gas. Any help or input is greatly appreciated.

[Jas_williams]

Turning off your EPR has reduced your CA's but has caused the Hypopnoeas to increase meaning your AHI has increased, often it's a balancing act try using an EPR of 1 as recommended by Palerider.

[Frank Drebin]

Turning off your EPR has reduced your CA's but has caused the Hypopnoeas to increase meaning your AHI has increased, often it's a balancing act try using an EPR of 1 as recommended by Palerider.

Will do. Is that because I’m fighting the pressure trying to exhale, which in turns causes shallower breathing and triggering the hypopnea flags?

[Frank Drebin]

Looks like a new mask and turning EPR to 1.0 is helping immensely. This past week AHI has been in the 1.4-1.8 range. Had one night of 2.3 but figure I was sleeping on my back. Thank you for the help. Btw, I love the F20 mask so far.

[zonker]

Looks like a new mask and turning EPR to 1.0 is helping immensely. This past week AHI has been in the 1.4-1.8 range. Had one night of 2.3 but figure I was sleeping on my back. Thank you for the help. Btw, I love the F20 mask so far.

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[Frank Drebin]

So the aerophagia monster has reared its ugly head again the last few nights. Last night it was so bad I could feel the air entering my stomach while I was still somewhat awake and about to fall asleep. Even have rumbling sensations in my chest and stomach. This is causing lots of anxiety and keeping me from going back to sleep when I wake up in the early am. Typically I’m waking up at 4am very bloated and can’t fall back asleep.

I’ve been on cpap for 8 years and have never had aerophagia before these last few months and have tolerated therapy very well. I’ve been losing weight and am over halfway to my goal so I’m not sure if that is the cause or not. Is there something to look for in OSCAR that could suggest my minimum pressure is too high? Right now my AGI varies between 1.8-2.5 and my pressure line stays right around 13 but will jump up to 14 or 15 at certain points so I’m thinking my pressure is where it should be.

Currently my minimum pressure is set at 13 and EPR is at 1. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Julie]

Since you've lost weight, try a slightly lower min pressure and see how things go... until you experiment, all our guesses won't be good for much. Good luck!

[Frank Drebin]

Since you've lost weight, try a slightly lower min pressure and see how things go... until you experiment, all our guesses won't be good for much. Good luck!

Thank you. How much would you suggest I reduce pressure by?

[Pugsy]

Try just increasing EPR to 3 first and see how that goes.

If that's not enough help to reduce the aerophagia then try reducing the minimum 1 cm at a time...keep EPR at 3 though.

[Frank Drebin]

Try just increasing EPR to 3 first and see how that goes.

If that's not enough help to reduce the aerophagia then try reducing the minimum 1 cm at a time...keep EPR at 3 though.

Thank you.

[Frank Drebin]

Just wanted to follow up again. I began using EPR at 3 and then reduced pressure by 1cm until I went down from 13 to 11 which seemed to be the most comfortable to me for aerophagia purposes. I looked at my data from a good night vs a not so good night and it looks like with my minimum pressure at 11 and EPR at 3, I'm having some flow limits and triggering both CA and OA events. Any thoughts on wether my minimum is too low or if I should adjust EPR? When my minimum was at 13 and then 12, I was still getting a lot of air swallowing sensations and it wasn't comfortable, but maybe I'm at the point where I have battle events vs. aerophagia to see what makes me feel like I had the better night. Thanks for your help!

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[Julie]

Why don't you experiment for a night or two with EPR at 2 or 1 - it's really about how you feel and our guesses can't gauge that.