new to CPAP and OSCAR

After many false starts, I have managed to keep a mask on for 5 hours or so a night for several nights. I got an SD card and had my son put OSCAR on my computer. So, now I have some data. I have no idea what I am looking at, so I need help. I think I'm supposed to somehow put the data online somewhere, so I can link to it. Is that right?

Questions I have so far that I hope to answer:
Can it tell if my chin strap is actually keeping my mouth closed? (It slips around a lot.)
Can it tell when I am sleeping and when I am awake? (I am listening to an audiobook in bed so likely not asleep some of the time.)
Can I adjust my pressure to a more narrow range or is it too soon to start adjusting things?

Thanks.

onward60 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 10:44 am

After many false starts, I have managed to keep a mask on for 5 hours or so a night for several nights. I got an SD card and had my son put OSCAR on my computer. So, now I have some data. I have no idea what I am looking at, so I need help. I think I'm supposed to somehow put the data online somewhere, so I can link to it. Is that right?

Welcome to taking charge of your condition. The next step is to post pictures here of what your Oscar is showing. Unfortunately website storage is small here, so folks are asked to post the pictures somewhere else, then post the link here (read the STICKY about this in the board index):

viewtopic/t183806/Attachment-storage-is ... l?start=15

If you have a Google account (i.e. gmail) then you have 15gig free Google Drive storage for this... there are youtube videos on how to do this. Once you create the sharable link (you have to tell Google it's OK for others to access it) then you can paste the link in a reply to this thread. If you quote this message using the " at the upper right you'll see these links as I posted them, here's a recent night, note I zoomed in and edited this using Paint:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zBJ-kY ... sp=sharing

Another option is SleepHQ... this is a website that offers a free trial to basically link Oscar-like data... you upload your SD card to the webpage, it shows you the data just like Oscar does, then you tell it to make a sharable link for one night, then you post that link here using cut and paste. Here's a SleepHQ link from my free trial... love the service, can't handle the cost right now... there are other perks to the 15$/mo fee... they also sell the Magic Uploader, which does all the SD card stuff for you:

https://sleephq.com/public/0a2adc38-6ac ... d330799694

Notice the large leak around 3:10am... that's a mouth leak caused by a bad tape job. You know you're sleeping deep when you sleep through that! I was wearing a nasal mask that I don't use anymore.

Questions I have so far that I hope to answer:
Can it tell if my chin strap is actually keeping my mouth closed? (It slips around a lot.)

Leaking is shown on the Leak Rate graph... there's a red horizontal line at 25liters/min which is the cutoff for Large Leaking... beyond this point the machine cannot guarantee it is counting events properly. Mouth leaking normally starts slowly and ramps up over a few minutes... mask leaking starts with a movement and stays more constant. With mouth leaking, you will wake with a noticeably dry mouth... often the first indicator, beyond a bed partner complaining about an hour-long raspberry sound. Chin straps, mouth taping, neck cushions, even (yuck) Polygrip have been used to stop mouth leaking. I use a full-face mask so it doesn't affect the therapy or show up as Leaks, but I also mouth-tape to prevent drooling and mouth-breathing. When we see your graphs we will know more.

Can it tell when I am sleeping and when I am awake? (I am listening to an audiobook in bed so likely not asleep some of the time.)

I know when I'm asleep because I start to have flow limitations and the pressure starts to climb... not optimal, I know! I wear an O2Ring device that has a Movement sensor... when I'm rolling over or otherwise active I get Oscar graphs showing this. Audiobooks don't need pages turned, so this won't help in that particular case... but otherwise I can tell when I'm moving around and I know I'm not asleep. So... no, the machine's not as good as Santa Claus at that.

Can I adjust my pressure to a more narrow range or is it too soon to start adjusting things?

Thanks.

So your pressure range is wide? Or are you experiencing discomfort from pressure? We need to see graphs to go beyond this. Welcome again and good luck. BTW, if you put your machine and mask model in your signature we start with more of a clue how to help... this info is given in the pictures when you post them too.

Thanks. So my son came over and took screen shots of last night and posted them here:

https://jgardnerscollection.weebly.com/page-2.html

I am using airsense 11 autoset (which is in my signature) and airsense N30 cushion, which I could not find in the drop-down menu.

My prescribed pressure is 4 to 16. I bumped it up to 5 or 6 to 16 because when I would practice in the daytime, I could not get the pressure to ramp up enough to feel like I was really practicing. Ramp is on auto.

I don't move around very much at night, awake or asleep. I lie flat on my back.

My sleep view screen keeps telling me I am having centrals. I did not have centrals during my sleep study.

Once or twice last night I took my mask off and left it running and then put it back on. I see two tall leak lines. That must be those times? The time seems off, though. I'm not sure the time zone is right.

Everything else is hopelessly confusing. Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated!

onward60 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:37 pm

The time seems off, though. I'm not sure the time zone is right.

Is it off by one hour? Daylight savings time thing maybe?

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:43 pm

onward60 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:37 pm

The time seems off, though. I'm not sure the time zone is right.

Is it off by one hour? Daylight savings time thing maybe?

Maybe. I'm kind of fuzzy brained in the morning and may be remembering wrong.

onward60 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 1:37 pm

Thanks. So my son came over and took screen shots of last night and posted them here:

https://jgardnerscollection.weebly.com/page-2.html

I am using airsense 11 autoset (which is in my signature) and airsense N30 cushion, which I could not find in the drop-down menu.

Excellent! Picture worth thousand words. I would use the Pillows setting since it has that extra tube. This doesn't matter a lot.

My prescribed pressure is 4 to 16. I bumped it up to 5 or 6 to 16 because when I would practice in the daytime, I could not get the pressure to ramp up enough to feel like I was really practicing. Ramp is on auto.

Ramp should be the first thing to go... I'd turn that OFF... and starting your pressure at 4 just means you have to start having problems before the machine pumps you up. The graph is zoomed in a little, we don't get to see the start, but you can see that the machine wants you around 7cm all the time. Might as well start there.

I don't move around very much at night, awake or asleep. I lie flat on my back.

BZZZZZT!!!1! Bad position for obstructive apnea... on your side is always better for a clear airway. Back-sleepers need more pressure... and if it's your tongue falling back, pressure won't fix that. Elevate your torso is the best thing to do if you can't stand side-sleeping. This only applies to the obstructive events, not CAs.

My sleep view screen keeps telling me I am having centrals. I did not have centrals during my sleep study.

I believe your EPR is at maximum... this can cause CA's... you need some CO2 in your blood to cause the breath drive. Start to wean yourself off EPR, set it to 2 or 1 and try it for a while. Turn that Ramp off, EPR 2, and try a few nights.

Once or twice last night I took my mask off and left it running and then put it back on. I see two tall leak lines. That must be those times? The time seems off, though. I'm not sure the time zone is right.
Everything else is hopelessly confusing. Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated!

Glad you have young'uns to help you. You came to the right place. Get your timezone set right... you may have to Clear Data to do that, that's OK, you got your Oscar saved. Yes, giant leaks look like that... the rest of the time your leaks look good, which is unusual in the beginning. Good work, you got this.

https://document.resmed.com/documents/p ... er_eng.pdf

page 7 of the above document states that for the N30 mask setting choice it should be "pillows".

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:30 pm

https://document.resmed.com/documents/p ... er_eng.pdf

page 7 of the above document states that for the N30 mask setting choice it should be "pillows".

Thank you! It was set wrong!

vandownbytheriver wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 17, 2024 8:03 pm

Excellent! Picture worth thousand words. I would use the Pillows setting since it has that extra tube. This doesn't matter a lot.

I see, the pillow setting has something to do with the tube. I set it to pillows and will read this all over more carefully tomorrow. Zzzzzzz (I hope!)