Another frustrated newbie

[MushCreek]

OK, I put an SD card in it.

[zonker]

the short and more important question is, is this machine a full oscar data go?

the longer question for you or anybody is-
you got a list of machines you could share?

I have a list but it is in my head.

well, you'd think i'd have plenty of space in my head for a list!


i just want to make sure that i'm giving someone the right info. and that info just will NOT stay in my head.

so i need to keep it elsewhere.

[zonker]

OK, I put an SD card in it.

progress!


now do you have a computer or laptop?

this isn't a smart*ss question. you've got to have one or the other with a port in which to stick the sd card so the software that you'll run on that computer or laptop can read it.

[zonker]

I found it. The machine I have is listed as being fully Oscar supported. I googled 'Oscar-compatible CPAP machines', and the Wiki article is right on top.

oh. i forgot to say thank you for this.

link saved for future reference.

appreciate it.

[SDBud]

A few days in trying a CPAP, and I don't see how this is going to work!

Some background- 67 years old, very good shape for my age, exercise regularly, excellent diet and blood work, keep very busy on our 8 acres. I complained to the cardiologist about some breathlessness sometimes. We got to talking about OSA, I did an at-home sleep study, and here we are. My AHI was 16, and my blood oxygen got as low as 76%(!) I don't really have any other symptoms; I sleep about 5-6 hours a night, wake up rarin' to go, don't have episodes of sleepiness during the day. No morning headache.

Did your cardiologist do any OTHER tests besides the sleep study?

I thought my breathing problems were related to COPD, but turned out to be congestive heart failure.

Nothing you mention sounds like classic OSA.

.

[MushCreek]

A little more history (feel free to skip over)
About three years ago, I had a strange 'event'. Just prior to going to bed, my heart started racing. Not true tachycardia, but maybe 120 BPM. I couldn't get it settle down, and woke my wife. We considered going to the hospital, but it settled down after a bit. The nurse where I worked suspected I was having afib, and sent me to my doctor ASAP. Normal EKG, and he said it was just anxiety. I had to push him to finally send me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist was similarly unimpressed, but finally agreed to a stress test after I pushed him a bit. Stress test showed 'something', but again, he wasn't impressed. I had a heart cath done, and, lo and behold, had 70% blockage of the LAD, aka 'Widowmaker'. They put in a stent, and that was that. Ever since the first event, I've had PVC's (premature ventricular contractions), and occasionally a breathless feeling. Oddly enough, I don't get SOB when exercising; in fact, it makes me feel better. It's more likely to happen when I'm relaxed doing nothing. Anyhow, after reporting all of this to my new cardio doc last fall, he suspected OSA. That's how I got here. We did an at-home sleep study, and I had 16 AHI, and blood-ox as low as 76%. BTW, I had another stress test and echocardiogram, and passed with flying colors.

I don't seem to have any symptoms of OSA, other than a dry mouth sometimes. I don't snore. I sleep 5-6 hours, and awake refreshed. I'm not sleepy during the day at all, and am physically active all day. I work harder now than before I retired! No headaches. No brain fog. I'm 5'10", 170 lbs., down almost 70 lbs. over the last ten years. I eat a very healthy diet, and my cholesterol is half what it was ten years ago. Frankly, I was surprised at the low blood-ox and moderate AHI. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well the night of the test. Who does?

Because of Covid, the only visit I've had with the pulmonologist was via Zoom. I've never done a breathing study to assess my lung capacity. It would seem to me that being able to go 1/2 hour on my rowing machine without getting out of breath would indicate that my lungs are indeed functioning.

I'm going to make some calls next week, to the pulmonologist, and to the DME provider. I'm not a happy camper right now, that's for sure.

[MushCreek]

OK, I downloaded Oscar, and read the SD card. AHI was 4.88, with Hypopnea being 3.59, and 25 events. Obstructive was 2 events. Most concerning was a large leak rate of 32.5%. I assume you don't get much benefit from that. Oddly enough, most of the leaking was the first hour or so, then it settled down most of the night. I don't really understand all of the fancy graphs.

[zonker]

OK, I downloaded Oscar, and read the SD card. AHI was 4.88, with Hypopnea being 3.59, and 25 events. Obstructive was 2 events. Most concerning was a large leak rate of 32.5%. I assume you don't get much benefit from that. Oddly enough, most of the leaking was the first hour or so, then it settled down most of the night. I don't really understand all of the fancy graphs.

and you said you didn't understand computers.


your next step is to arrange those charts then post them here for others to look at. that way, they can make helpful comments tailored to your specific needs.

like this-

How to order the charts
When you start Oscar and select Daily view, you will see a page with information on the left, and charts on the right.

Each chart has a name displayed on it vertically on the left side of the chart.

Drag the Oscar window to use as much of your screen as you can, so that you can get as much info as possible.

You can move a chart up or down in the order by pointing your mouse pointer in the label part of the chart, left clicking and holding while moving the mouse up or down.

Suggested Support Order for your charts
Event Flags
Flow Rate
Pressure
Leak Rate
Flow Limit (Only for Resmed machines, not on Respironics)
Below these charts, you can organize the remainder any way you want. We normally don't need, or want, to see those, because they end up scrunching up the charts we do want to see.

Left Side Calendar Off
On the left side, we want to see the calendar collapsed as monthly display is not of interest and it will end up hiding other info that will be wanted. We also want the right panel turned off, because it needlessly compresses the charts.

If you are using the F12 or screen shot function, it will automatically minimize the calendar and turn off the right panel for you and return it back to what it was set to when done.

You can hit F9 and F10 to turn off the calendar and right panel, or use the arrow for the calendar as shown below.

the above is from that same oscar wiki you found.

get the charts organized and post it right here.

if you need help with the posting of chart to forum, let us know.

[MushCreek]

Thanks for the detailed instructions. The mask is so bad that there's really no point in posting results. Last night the large leakage was 77%! Monday, I'll go get another mask. The DME provider is so bad I'm not really looking forward to it, but there's no point in using a CPAP that performs so poorly.

[Pugsy]

there's no point in using a CPAP that performs so poorly.

It's not the cpap that is performing poorly.
You are having mask leak issues and that's common but that's not the fault of the cpap.
You have a beard...that's another challenge when it comes to keeping the mask sealed.
The nasal pillow mask is a good choice for people with beards as long as they can keep their mouths shut.

I get the sense you are looking for excuses to bail on the therapy. We can try to help sort through various issues as long as you are willing to at least try . Do you wish to try or just want an excuse to quit?

Do the leaks wake you up?
Go ahead and post last night's crappy results....it will tell us more than you think.

[MushCreek]

I have the mask with the nose pillow, and that's where it seems to leak the most. I get it just right, and within a minute or two air is blasting upward at my eyes. Much of the night is spent trying to get it to seal, as it's a lot noisier when it leaks (plus I know it's not giving me much benefit). Yeah, I'm pretty negative on the whole thing. It just seems like another nail in the inevitable coffin. I'm not growing old gracefully! I also don't seem to have many of the symptoms of sleep apnea. So far, I'm getting less sleep, waking up with a headache, and my face hurts. I'm also very disappointed with the DME provider. Hence the title of this thread. As I said, Monday I'll go back down there and see if I can get some help.

[Pugsy]

Much of the night is spent trying to get it to seal, as it's a lot noisier when it leaks (plus I know it's not giving me much benefit)

Maybe...maybe not. It all depends on just how big the large leak might be as to how much of a negative impact it might be having on the therapy.
A leak of 26 L/min is going to be flagged as a large leak but it really isn't that big of a deal in terms of how badly it might impact actual therapy.
I don't even give leaks a second glance until I hit 35 L/min for more than 15 minutes or so.

It's how deep into large leak territory that you may go and how long you are there that really impacts how effective the therapy might be.
The line in the sand is 24 L/min excess leak with a ResMed machine. It's not totally in the toilet at 30 L/min...now at 60 L/min that is pretty much in the toilet.

[zonker]

I have the mask with the nose pillow, and that's where it seems to leak the most.

mush, there are several of these types of masks.

could you look here and see which one is yours and let us know?

https://www.cpap.com/plp/nasal-pillows- ... ks/ZT0yNjY

it makes a difference because a fellow forum member is likely to have the same mask and can give you some pointers.

thanks and good luck!

[MushCreek]

Mine isn't listed on that site. I have a ResMed AirFit F30i.

[MushCreek]

OK, this is where I start treading water. Let me see if I can post a screen shot from Wednesday, because last night was a Category Five dumpster fire-

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