Help reading VPAP III data

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 6:56 pm

I am excited to go to bed at night.

Casiesea · Post by **Casiesea** » Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:25 pm

LOL Helpmebreathe! I am so happy for you! You will probably feel like a whole different person soon! Go to bed, get some sleep, you have earned it!

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:28 am

Youre not going to believe what I did. I fell asleep on the couch and half slept there all night no bipap) oh my, I feel like a truck hit me, sore throat, dry mouth and my whole body hurts. Big mistake.

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:30 am

Call me fickle, but I am back in love with my hybrid again. You just cant beat the feeling of being able to breath through your nose when you fall asleep. I asked my girlfriend for some panty hose last night, she gave me some fishnets which I thought would look cool but they didnt fit so I used a pair of black panty hose.. not sure how this is supposed to help me with my mask but my legs looked amazing.. ba dat dat.. Kidding.

I cut the top of the leg off the pantyhose and pulled it down over my face, I looked like I was ready to go throw rocks at a tank, my girlfriend thought I looked hot (she got that look in her eye ), I could take the humor here to another level but this is a family place, long story short, it worked like a charm, I slept then entire night until 4:30 when my GF nudged me and said "Leak" which I don't really think was a leak , just the blow hole of the mask or something. The pantyhose kept it in place perfectly.

I am trying new settings, lowering them, my numbers were the lowest they have ever been AI 0.3 HI 2.7.. I still enjoy looking back to 3 weeks ago before I found this board and seeing AI 36.3 HI 11.7.

I was really tired when I woke up this morning, but I think thats because I was coming out of real sleep and not that half conscious napping thing I usually do.

re: a different post I made a few days ago, when I grabbed my vpap to check the settings I noticed the humidfier was still full of water, I cant figure out the rhyme or reason on when it works and when it doesnt. My mouth was dry this morning.

I also found that the discounted mask I bought from the fellow in Oregon did actually come with all 3 size mouth cushions, the box has a sticker on it that shows that this mask was given to a lab, thats why there is no zipper bag for it, so I am very happy about that. I don't know if anyone here ever ended up getting any masks from him but if you did I would like to hear that it went well, I would like to buy another one as a backup. I switched out the pillows, but I have actually been using the LG cushion all along, an no, I dont ever get the blowfish problem, even at my settings which are high - 17/12

Yesterday was my birthday (37) so it was a good present. DSM thinks my breathing is low and I am not getting enough oxygen, I bid on that oxymeter that he showed us on ebay but was outbid.

I think I am going to get to work on my "Pimp my xPap" idea, I am still undecided if I want to go for the spinners, or an airbrushed cover like van from the 70's.

Excuse the jumping around, I edited this post 5 or 6 times.

If anyone has the resmed software and is interested to see what other people are going through, feel free to download my profile http://www.helpmebreath.com/030408.rpf

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:19 pm

Got your chart & will look at it at home tonight (tis start of the new day here in Oz).

Am interested to see how your Minute Ventilation is going. One challenge I know you have, is sleeping on your side vs your back. I believe that can make a big difference to the ipap setting required to keep your obstructions under control.

The suggestion of dropping your ipap to 17 was a gamble that the improvement in using your Vpap would encourage you and that later you can look at taking ipap up again if the AIs creep up again. Also it is very important that you get happy with your mask & it seems you are well down that path.

Also, on your suggestion I got one of the new hybrids & am looking forward to trying it for myself. I have the older model but my wife complained about both the noise and the breeze from it so it joined the other collection of experiments

As for the 2i humidifier, that is a worry, many others have commented about theirs doing this intermittent operation but I can't recall it ever being a big issue. Just the process of filling it.

Am so pleased your therapy has improved so much. Very rewarding feedback.

DSM

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:12 pm

Yes. Tonight I try the pantyhose again to see if I can repeat the experience. Last night was REALLY the first night I actually slept. I was really tired today. but Im sure I have some serious catching up to do. I am going to keep an updated export from the software on my website so anyone can grab it at any time if they are interested in looking at it.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:55 am

You do seem to get leaks now & then.

They can affect the quality of the therapy. I am also very interested in what other people think about the MV average (500ml) - I am sure that when you were on 18 & 19 CMS the av MV was lower.

My own vol tends to be around 1000ml which is double your MV, that tells me you are either smaller in lung capacity than me or don't breathe as much.

You breathing rate at median 12.5 seems lowish as well. But I really don't have a lot to compare with.

I wonder if SAG will spare some thoughts.

Cheers

DSM

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 6:59 am

Well. I feel like I have small lungs, I am also a heavy smoker and have been for years, also used to put a lot of other smoke in my lungs. Im ashamed to say it but its true. Trying to work on that.

Anyway, my numbers went up again last night, looking at the download, it looked like things were going ok, not great, then between 2 and 3 am everything went nuts, spikes all over the place, leaks, apneas, the night profile is kind of scary, tons of red lines. I am keeping a current copy of my autoscan profile at the link below for anyone that is interested in looking or comparing and will continue to do so.

I also think I was swallowing air because of non stop burping this morning. I am going to have to work out a system to stay off my back. Maybe a backpack or some sort of electric fence

If I am reading this correctly, it looks on the night view chart that I have gotten my leaks down a bit, but Im not sure.

Oh and thanks again DSM. I look forward to grabbing my coffee and coming to check the site to see if you have posted. I hope you enjoy the hybrid mask.

I have a question about the autoscan software, I noticed when looking at the night profile, the red lines with the dot on the top I assume are for apneas, and I see that they also show how many seconds, is this actual seconds not breathing? I also see that they seem to be clustered together, so if I have 2 an hour they are right next to each other most of the time, is this how it usually happens?

My Autoscan Profile

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 2:15 pm

Re apneas on Autoscan - yes the height is in secs (the scale is on the left).

The blue line is an increasing line that scores hypopneas than at each hour it drops & starts again (IIRC).

The hypop scoring is not intuitive wheras the AIs are easier to follow.

The AIs will typically occur in clusters. If you hit a patch, you may have been on your back at that point.

You do appear to need the high epap and high ipap settings. It would interest me to see an SpO2 reading as well.

Do you feel you get good periods of 'dream sleep' ?

DSM

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:05 pm

Well I didnt take ambien the other night for the first time in a while, I thought I had the worst sleep ever.. maybe a few hours at best, I had very vivid dreams about hanging out with Britney Spears.. and I think I slept maybe 4 hours but I wasnt tired at all the next day. I am back on ambien because I am so paranoid about not sleeping, and I do dream yes, but not vivid. I was tired today.

So are you saying I need to re-raise my numbers back up again? That sucks, because I do really like the lighter pressure. My GF came home last night around 2 am, that may have had something to do with it, not sure. I go to sleep on my side and eventually wake up and then go back to sleep, so I am almost positive that those spikes are from being on my back yes.

Britney is doing fine BTW, crazy, but fine.

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:07 pm

I dont really know how to get the SPO2 reading, I am trying to buy an oxymeter but so far the only kind I have seen in my price range are the small finger boxes and Im guessing thats not what I need. I sent my Dr. uncle an email to see if he has one in his clinic he would give me or let me buy from him

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 6:47 am

Interesting readings this morning, I find that if I make a concsious decision to do something in my sleep, I am able to usually work it out. Last night rolled up a pillow and wedged it behind my back and told myself I would not be sleeping on my back. I took half an ambien (5 mg) instead of a whole one, I had problems getting to sleep. I took the mask off and adjusted it once or twice, finally fell asleep after resetting the machine once. I have been pulling panty hose down over the mask to keep it secure, my chart shows zero leaks last night except when I adjusted the mask and then this morning when I took it off.

I woke up a few times and now I am in the habit of looking down at my machine and hitting the two buttons to bring up the efficacy menu, this is not a habit I want to get in, I would really like to have a night where I don't wake up until the alarm goes off.

Its obvious that I am going to have to go back up in pressure which is really unfortunate, I have been enjoying the lower pressure, the drop from 18 to 17 is drastic.

I still stand behind loving the hybrid mask.

Anyway, I have uploaded the chart again and will continue to do so HERE

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:49 am

When you wake up, do not (ever) look at machines, clocks numbers, etc. Numbers calculations, and all such activity. are for when you want to be awake.

When you wake up notice how you feel - how your heart beats, if your'e sweaty, If your therapy is reasonable, you'll be able to say - hey, that's nice, not half as bad as it used to be - and then roll over, close your eyes, and continue sleeping.

By the way, if Resmed lets you create a PDF file of your results, non-Resmed users (like me....) will also be able to view the data.

You can also try printing it to the Microsoft Office Document Image Writer and let us download that file.
O.

HelpMeBreath · Post by **HelpMeBreath** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:38 am

I did not notice any other way to export it other than a csv file for exel. I will surely look into that when I get home.

Are you saying I should be sweaty with a beating heart when I wake up? When I do wake up and check the machine, its only for less than a minute and I fall back to sleep, I am definitely not waking up as many times as I used to.

I think I have become slightly obsessed with getting this to work that now I look at the machine to check for leaks, my AI and AHI. Unfortunately its become a habit.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:50 am

HelpMeBreath wrote: <snip>
Are you saying I should be sweaty with a beating heart when I wake up?

Oh no, not at all. That's the kind of waking up you get when your OSA is untreated.

When I wake up nowadays I'm happy to move from that semi awake state to further sleep without those troublesome symptoms.

O.

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