Newbie with AHI Question - Sleepyhead Data

[barrybd]

OK, now we hit the next problem. It turns out that I have no control over the pressure on my CPAP. I did "jailbreak" my old one, but am a bit concerned about taking this tactic at this point (less than 3 weeks into a rental). I would be interested in hearing others opinions on taking control of their CPAP (do people use the term 'jailbreak' for a CPAP?). There is a modem on mine, so I assume the provider would know if I did modify the settings (took control). I am curious to know if they can change settings remotely? Again, I have a month to go before my appointment with the sleep doctor.

Happy Holidays!

[zorki1c]

Increasing pressure doesn't always lower AHI. When I started they set my pressure at 8 and I was getting AHI readings between 3 and 5, Later they lowered my pressure to 6 and now I seldom have a reading above 1.

[Bill44133]

OK, now we hit the next problem. It turns out that I have no control over the pressure on my CPAP. I did "jailbreak" my old one, but am a bit concerned about taking this tactic at this point (less than 3 weeks into a rental). I would be interested in hearing others opinions on taking control of their CPAP (do people use the term 'jailbreak' for a CPAP?). There is a modem on mine, so I assume the provider would know if I did modify the settings (took control). I am curious to know if they can change settings remotely? Again, I have a month to go before my appointment with the sleep doctor.

Happy Holidays!

From my experience the only thing the DME cares about is compliance. If you are using the machine
everyday for so many hours. You/your insurnace is paying the rent on the machine so to adjust
the pressures they should not have problem with. My DME had the ability to call into mine to make
changes but I told them I beat them to the punch.

There is nothing wrong with being proactive with your therapy.

[barrybd]

Thanks Bill,

I took your advice, after calling the DME and being told they had no ability to modify my settings (has to come from sleep Dr). Anyhow, I raised the minimum pressure to 8 (from 7) and am doing better!

I have a new question though. It appear that I have my worst AHI scores for the hour or so, after I get up to go to the bathroom. Anyone else have this issue? Any thoughts on what I could do about it? Thanks!

[barrybd]

I mentioned that I talked to the respiratory tech at the DME. She called back yesterday and said that she had sent my data to the Sleep Dr and he had authorized changing the pressure to 10-18 (original was 7-15). This seems to have made a big difference to my AHI (I know one night does not make a great sample, but I am grasping at straws). Now, I am wondering if most people go through these adjustments for AHI > 5, and finally getting the numbers right. I see a lot people on here with AHI < 2. Are there other hints on getting my numbers down? Thanks!

[Bill44133]

Congratulations, you are catching on. Initially, you are going to have tweak a bit to find the right number for you. I have been on this therapy since April 30 I have changed my settings 10 times, and finally stopped changing things in October. I just faxed my December sleep reports off Encore to the Sleep Doctor my average AHI for December is 0.9!

It is a balance to find the right settings.. Just be patient once you have your sleep debt paid you will feel like a new person.

[barrybd]

We keep raising the pressure with positive results (I made the last adjustment after little positive change in AHI for 10 days). Last night things seemed to be going pretty well until just after 6AM. I am still a newbie here, with a limited understanding of what all these graphs indicate. What I see are some Periodic Breathing events around this time. Does that mean I am breathing less volume than normal? If so, how does that relate to OSA? Just trying to understand this. Also, looking for any other insights or suggestions.

[Pugsy]

Periodic Breathing is really just a general waxing and waning of the air flow that meets certain criteria.
Awake breathing seems to be often get the Periodic Breathing flag.
Any chance you were maybe awake or semi awake during that PB time?
PB in small amounts (yours is small amounts) is really nothing to worry about especially if we don't see a truck load of clear airway events in the middle of the PB.