Newbie First Nite On Cpap

[hummer3d]

Well I just Spent my first nite on my s8 elite II and Have some questions . I have a Mirrage liberty maskand 6 foot hose. My results of first nite and use were

6.56 hrs
leak0.20 L/s
AHI 22.3
AI 8.0
HI 14.3


1 Are my numbers good or in line with what they should be?
2 Epr Access on my machine is set to Off , what is this and do i need to turn it on?
3 Mask is set on Mir Full , Is this correct for a mirage liberty
4 Tube Length is set to 2m, is this correct for 6 foot hose?
5 Smart start is set to off, what is this and can it be turned on ? this looks like it can not be turned on.
6 oh my rx presure is 12 , and the ramp is set at 6 to start, max 45 min. Is this a good ramp set up

I got my s8 elite of the on line auction, but it didnt come with any manuals . Is there some place where I can get a paper manual ? I do know how to acces Clinicians manual and change things . I would just like to have a set of paper manuals or does any one have a link to theese one line somewhere?

[bdp522]

6.56 hrs is good, great for the first night. Did you actually sleep for the whole time?
.20 l/s is a bit more than I like to see. For a first night not bad, but don't let it get worse.
AHI, AI & HI are too high. Gotta get them lower. Your machine does show more HI than other machines(wouldn't worry to much about them) but the AI is too high and needs to be addressed. Do you need 45 mins of ramp? That's 45 minutes of poor treatment. Do you hit the ramp button during the night? Could you use a higher starting pressure? Maybe start the ramp at 8(or work your way up slowly till you need no ramp at all)?

EPR, lowers the pressure on exhale making it easier to breathe out. Seems more natural to many of us.

Don't know about the mask setting

Tube length sounds good

Smart start makes it so the machine starts on its own when you mask up.

Don't have a manual but check here for how to change stuff;

http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm


Brenda

[Georgio]

Here is the user guide and clinicians manual:

http://www.resmed.com/en-us/products/fl ... u=products

[hummer3d]

6.56 hrs is good, great for the first night. Did you actually sleep for the whole time?
.20 l/s is a bit more than I like to see. For a first night not bad, but don't let it get worse.
AHI, AI & HI are too high. Gotta get them lower. Your machine does show more HI than other machines(wouldn't worry to much about them) but the AI is too high and needs to be addressed. Do you need 45 mins of ramp? That's 45 minutes of poor treatment. Do you hit the ramp button during the night? Could you use a higher starting pressure? Maybe start the ramp at 8(or work your way up slowly till you need no ramp at all)?

EPR, lowers the pressure on exhale making it easier to breathe out. Seems more natural to many of us.

Don't know about the mask setting

Tube length sounds good

Smart start makes it so the machine starts on its own when you mask up.

Don't have a manual but check here for how to change stuff;

http://www.apneaboard.com/CPAP%20Adjustment.htm


Brenda

Brenda no i don't think i slept the hole 6.56 hours . now that i think about it i did try the machine out by taking a nap yesterday when i got it. The time i wore the mask last nite sleeping was actually 10 pm to 4am about 6hrs.

No i don't think i really need the ramp for 45 minutes i think i will decrees that some.

The mask leaks i think i can fix. i did notice some leaks around my chin on the rt side maybe i can tighten the straps and
reduce it tonite.

What do i do to try and get better Ai Numbers? What is the Ai ,AHi and HI numbers anyway I don't really know what they mean.

[hummer3d]

I would also like to thank bdp522 and georio for the links . I just printed them all out now, and will read latter on today.

[bdp522]

AI = apnea index, average # of apneas per hour
HI = hypopnia index, average # of hypopnias per hour
AHI = apnea & hypopnia index, average # of apneas + hypopnias per hour

Apnea is complete blockage of airway, Hypopnia is partial blockage.
An AHI of under five is considered normal, many of us find we need to get our AHI under 2 or 3 to feel really good. Anything over 5 needs to be worked on. An AHI of 22.3 is way too high.

Brenda

[hummer3d]

Well my second nite of cpap didn't go well at all. I experienced some kind of problem where my hose felt as if it was pulsating during exhale i believe. I noticed my mask leaking around on of the nasal pillows. I then removed mask and put it back on and the same thing happened again about an hour latter. This time i relazed the leak around my nasal pillow was being caused by a runny nosril.. At this point i gave up for the nite and removed my mirage liberty mask. Is the leak around the nose the caused of the pulsating hose ? Or is it something else i need to ajust like the epr settings?

The numbers were worse
1:58 minutes of total use but this is a split between two sessions
ramp pressure set 8 for 10 min
leak .016 L/s better than first nite.
AHI 38.6 way worse
Ai 15.2 almost doubled!
Hi 23.4 Worse

[Georgio]

Sounds like mask issue. I'm not familiar with your mask, however it has an exhaust somewhere. Make sure that the mask is continually exhausting air where it is supposed to. Is it a new mask? I would take something for the runny nose. I do before I go to bed if needed. I found an overhead arrangement for the hose helps a lot.

Georgio

[bdp522]

Are you using a heated humidifier? Sounds like it could be rainout. If you use a HH what is it set on?

Brenda

[Insulation Tim]

I have been on CPAP for about 4 months now and constantly battled with Mask Issues. I have a Respironics M Series with Heated Humidifier.

I recently purchased a Resmed Mirage Activa and it has changed everything for me. I purchased the mask from http://cpapplus.com/ and purchased the mask based on their recommendations after talking to Sandy. Very knowledgeable company and great to work with.

This mask stays with me when I roll over and for the first time in the last 40 years I get a great, 8 hours of sleep. I always thought that I was just a light sleeper until I mentioned the excessive snoring to my doc. She got me to a sleep diagnostic center where they found that I typically quit breathing 196 times that evening.

This is rather long winded, especially for a 60 year old Newbie.....but this mask changed my life. I got it just before giving up on CPAP.

Look into it.

Tim

[hummer3d]

Are you using a heated humidifier? Sounds like it could be rainout. If you use a HH what is it set on?

Brenda

No i dont have a humidifier with my machine . My hose is routed above my head over the headboard of my bed.

[hummer3d]

Sounds like mask issue. I'm not familiar with your mask, however it has an exhaust somewhere. Make sure that the mask is continually exhausting air where it is supposed to. Is it a new mask? I would take something for the runny nose. I do before I go to bed if needed. I found an overhead arrangement for the hose helps a lot.

Georgio

My mask is new ,and hose is routed above my head over headboard of bed.

[hummer3d]

My Third nite was better . Today i felt more rested than i ever remember. I know my numbers still need to improve but at least i can tell cpap does help me.

8;00 hrs
Leak .02 L/s
AHI 22.9
Ai .9
Hi 16

[Debjax]

If you keep having problems with the mask, leaks etc...yout may want to try different masks, maybe a nasal mask vs. pillows, everyone is different. I've tried 5 or 6 masks in the last six weeks, (my RT is great), and have finally found one that works pretty good. It is too big and I have to clamp it down a bit much, but she's getting me a smaller size, and I think I'm going to get its new cousin to try the activa....I have a sore spot on my nose right now, but oh my....I am sleeping like a baby....

[bdp522]

Time...excellent
leak...excellent
AI...excellent
HI...too high

You're doing great!
Give it a few nights to a week. If the HI stays high you might want to raise the pressure a notch and see what happens.


Brenda