How do you achieve consistency????

Hello!

I have been "on the hose" for about 6 weeks and I have had marked improvement in AHI since the beginning. The following link is a thread that I posted earlier: viewtopic/t42035/MANY-Questions-need-answers.html

This has the settings and details. I have found by turning the Cflex down to 1 and changing pressure from CPAP of 8cm to auto at 8-12 and now 8-13 my AHI numbers have improved and 90% pressure has decreased somewhat. My problem is this, is it normal to have "Good" nights and "Bad" nights on the CPAP?? The numbers that I get are decent, avg AHI around 6 or less with some as low as 2.1. Mask leaks, mouth leaks, are more or less under control, avg SPO is 96% or better and avg 90% pressure is less than 12. BUT, I have some nights that are not as good as others, bad AHI (7-8), (avg 90 % pressure 12 to 13) and I don't feel as well next day. Am I still undergoing adjustment?

I know I am getting closer and I still need to tweak everything on my setup, but does this inconsistency just come with the adjustment period? All in All, my worst night on CPAP is MUCH better than my BEST night without "the hose".

Before you went on xPAP, didn't you have "good" nights and "bad" nights sleep? I see no reason for xPAP to change that fact. You just hope the good outnumber the bad!

mallen4258 wrote:Hello!

I have been "on the hose" for about 6 weeks and I have had marked improvement in AHI since the beginning. The following link is a thread that I posted earlier: viewtopic/t42035/MANY-Questions-need-answers.html

This has the settings and details. I have found by turning the Cflex down to 1 and changing pressure from CPAP of 8cm to auto at 8-12 and now 8-13 my AHI numbers have improved and 90% pressure has decreased somewhat. My problem is this, is it normal to have "Good" nights and "Bad" nights on the CPAP?? The numbers that I get are decent, avg AHI around 6 or less with some as low as 2.1. Mask leaks, mouth leaks, are more or less under control, avg SPO is 96% or better and avg 90% pressure is less than 12. BUT, I have some nights that are not as good as others, bad AHI (7-8), (avg 90 % pressure 12 to 13) and I don't feel as well next day. Am I still undergoing adjustment?

I know I am getting closer and I still need to tweak everything on my setup, but does this inconsistency just come with the adjustment period? All in All, my worst night on CPAP is MUCH better than my BEST night without "the hose".

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.

Same thing with XPAPS. (experiment, experiment, experiment)

Why didn't you just start increasing your CPAP pressure......instead of going to a range of pressures? If you need a pressure of 12 and it's sitting at 8, it's going to take awhile to get there and the events are going to occur. I would imagine that's why your AHI is so high (you need more pressure).

By the way, "consistency" is pretty elusive in this therapy. As was alluded to, nobody sleeps the same night after night.
This therapy is about "averages".


Den

good nights-bad nights, good weeks-bad weeks. Yup. Enjoy the ride. One thing I fond is the less I fuss with the system, the more consistent my nights are. Try new things, change only one thing at a time, give it time to assess it, then keep it or move to the next thing.

For me it was getting the mouth leaks under control, finding an optimal min pressure and... TIME.

I'm three months in now. Do I have bad nights? You bet. Does it suck the next day? Absolutely, but the bad nights are getting fewer and farther between, and the severity of a "bad" night is also getting better. A month or two ago, a bad night occurs when my AI goes up. I find little difference when my HI fluctuates a little.

One other thing... the mental/emotional part of this is HUGE... at least for me it was.

Learning to relax your mind in your new situation.
Accepting the fact that you have this disorder and it's truly okay with therapy.

That kind of stuff. Once the stress hormones started subsiding, that helped the anxiety/panic issues too.

I've been on cpap a year this July. The only thing that has been consistent is "ME". I try almost every day to make improvements. Some days I win-some days the equipment wins. For me at least, that's pretty much how it goes...But, when everything comes together, and I get 7 Hrs. of great sleep, with leaks in the 5 range--BOY DO I GET EXCITED!!! It's a constant challenge.
Thanks, Larry...

Wulfman wrote: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.

Same thing with XPAPS. (experiment, experiment, experiment)

Why didn't you just start increasing your CPAP pressure......instead of going to a range of pressures? If you need a pressure of 12 and it's sitting at 8, it's going to take awhile to get there and the events are going to occur. I would imagine that's why your AHI is so high (you need more pressure).

By the way, "consistency" is pretty elusive in this therapy. As was alluded to, nobody sleeps the same night after night.
This therapy is about "averages".

Thanks to everyone for the help and encouragement. My prescription was CPAP 8. Going to 8-12 then 8-13 has helped. AHI improved tremendously. The last change has been going from CFlex 3 to 1, this has caused avg pressure to drop from banging against 12 or 13 to the point that 90% is usually 11 or below and not even touching the 12 or 13 line. As from what people on the forum has said, I try not to change more than one parameter at a time and give it several days to a week before trying anything new. I have been at my current settings for almost 2 weeks (best numbers so far, still room....). Any suggestions for additonal "testing" would be appreciated.

Thanks to everyone again, this forum and the people here has been a WORLD of help and information!! My Sleep doc and DME...... well.... Thank goodness for the forum and your input and encouragement!