Checking data?

How often do you check your data? Just asking because I always hear people recommending Full data machines, ie ones you can download info from the SD card to a program. Why not, if the Insurance Companies are getting a lump sum, and try to maximize profit by giving us "bricks." My first machine had a weekly average you can check from the machine, but I was able to download info. Weekly AHI was usually < 1, when I checked the data never any AHI over 2, mostly 0.5-1. My new machine is fully data capable, but shows daily data on machine, I check it every morning, and is usually <1, very rarely at 2, not higher. I guess I am asking do you all check out all your data on sleepyhead, or similar programs all the time. I think if I woke up with AHI 5 or more, maybe I would see if something was going on. On my old machine, that gave a weekly AHI, I stopped checking my data, because I felt like the CPAP was doing its job. Are you obsessed with checking your data? I understand SA can be more complicated than AHI, but what are you checking for? just trying to learn.

Up until the middle of June, I was working full time; so running software was not a thing to do more than 3 or 4 times a year.
What I have been doing is writing down my on-screen data in a notebook--every day, since June 2010.
I divide each page into columns and enter hours, pressure, leak, AHI, and CA.
I also enter my Lantus dosage and my morning glucose reading.
I also put down my mask when I was comparing them. My doctor likes the notebook.

Dive Apnea wrote:How often do you check your data? Just asking because I always hear people recommending Full data machines, ie ones you can download info from the SD card to a program. Why not, if the Insurance Companies are getting a lump sum, and try to maximize profit by giving us "bricks." My first machine had a weekly average you can check from the machine, but I was able to download info. Weekly AHI was usually < 1, when I checked the data never any AHI over 2, mostly 0.5-1. My new machine is fully data capable, but shows daily data on machine, I check it every morning, and is usually <1, very rarely at 2, not higher. I guess I am asking do you all check out all your data on sleepyhead, or similar programs all the time. I think if I woke up with AHI 5 or more, maybe I would see if something was going on. On my old machine, that gave a weekly AHI, I stopped checking my data, because I felt like the CPAP was doing its job. Are you obsessed with checking your data? I understand SA can be more complicated than AHI, but what are you checking for? just trying to learn.

Daily. Been doing it for 8 1/2 years. Downloading my smart card became part of my morning routine (while my coffee was brewing) early in my therapy. I wouldn't call it an obsession......more like curiosity. One of the main things I check for now is leaks. My average AHI is around 0.2, so that's not a big concern anymore. I've had a concern about being able to "prove" that I was using my therapy and that it was successful......from a liability standpoint. I commuted to work for many years and it became a concern that if i would happen to be involved in an accident and my Sleep Apnea therapy came into question, I'd be able to prove that I was 100% compliant and the therapy was successful.

I'm retired now, but most of my working life was in computers (main frames and PCs), inventory, "number crunching" and stuff like that, so this is like an extension of some of those things.


Den

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I'm someone who has had serious adjustment troubles right from the start with this crazy therapy. So I've gotten into the habit of checking the data almost every morning. In the last several months I'm finally letting it slip some on the mornings that I feel at my best.

Why do I think everyone should have a full data machine? It's because no-one knows going into this crazy thing whether a particular patient is going to be one of the lucky ones and feel better almost right away or whether that particular patient is going to be one of the unlucky ones and take months and months before they start to feel better. Or whether that patient will be one of the really truly horribly unlucky ones who develop problems with complex sleep apnea after starting CPAP therapy after being diagnosed with plain old OSA.

If you're lucky and respond well and no-one (including you) ever bothers to check the data that's there, it's not a problem.

If you're unlucky and you or your doc needs the data to figure out why things are not going well, but your machine records only usage data, that's a huge problem.

As I am still new to this entire thing, I check my data once a week. Sunday is the day that I clean all of my equipment, so the unit is unplugged anyway. I upload the Bi-PAP data to sleepyhead every Sunday. I also link in my SPO2 data on Sunday also. I have to collect the SPO2 data daily and do this in the morning before I go to work as it only takes a few minutes.

I also keep a notebook with my usage details.

I can see that my data looks good each week - but the curiosity side of me keeps me looking. There is so much to see and learn...

Hi DiveApnea,

I'm checking every day. I might not look at more than the basic chart on SleepyHead for the day, but I'll zoom in and look deeper at the wave forms to check for oddities if I have time and interest, or if my wife says "check around 3:45" (if she wakes and makes note that I'm sounding odd or having an event at that time).

pbriggs and chunkyfrog have a great idea of keeping a journal with details beyond the numbers. After time has passed then trying to remember mask changes, medications, or other details is tough without notes. I've done that, but I've also neglected to do that.

--SleepyCPAP

Dive Apnea wrote:How often do you check your data? Just asking because I always hear people recommending Full data machines, ie ones you can download info from the SD card to a program. Why not, if the Insurance Companies are getting a lump sum, and try to maximize profit by giving us "bricks." My first machine had a weekly average you can check from the machine, but I was able to download info. Weekly AHI was usually < 1, when I checked the data never any AHI over 2, mostly 0.5-1. My new machine is fully data capable, but shows daily data on machine, I check it every morning, and is usually <1, very rarely at 2, not higher. I guess I am asking do you all check out all your data on sleepyhead, or similar programs all the time. I think if I woke up with AHI 5 or more, maybe I would see if something was going on. On my old machine, that gave a weekly AHI, I stopped checking my data, because I felt like the CPAP was doing its job. Are you obsessed with checking your data? I understand SA can be more complicated than AHI, but what are you checking for? just trying to learn.

Normally I check my data using SleepyHead several times a week. More often if I am working a problem that has come up.

I used to deal with obstructive issues (AHI) and still do every once in a great while. Mostly these days I am looking at the general shape of the flow data waveform first. If I see areas that grow wider with a lot of spiking I know that ventilatory instability is now a problem.

I will probably at the same time see that my minute volumes are greater and a much wider variance between what amounts to the average verses greatest values. Periodic Breathing is a red flag for ventilatory instability.

This regular feedback allows me to look at my lifestyle for the causes of the problems in my CPAP therapy and make adjustments as I go. It is very much like checking blood pressure or measuring blood sugar. AHI – find the causes of inflammation or fatigue and work to change that. Ventilatory instability work on stress, keeping up with or expanding exercise, check vitamin D levels (need to be above 50), spend some quality time with the machine during the daytime, work to make your sleep times both sufficient and consistent, work on your eucapnic breathing if you are so inclined.

I dearly wish that my first machine had been data capable and that SleepyHead had been developed and that my understanding that I have gained over the ten years that I have been using CPAP had been present from my first breath on CPAP. My health would be better, my job wold be better, my relationships would be better.

XPAP therapy is well known for it's usability problems. If you catch the problems which will almost inevitability come up as they come up you maintain usability and maximize benefit.

Considering the very low long term objective data usability numbers that xPAP therapy shows I do believe that regular data checking needs to be made a priority!!

When I found this forum and gained the knowledge to make some improvements in my comfort and settings, I looked at my SleepyHead data every day. I did this to determine whether I was seeing improvement from the changes I had introduced. Now I look at the AHI on my machine's screen each morning, and only upload to SleepyHead daily if I see a problem. Otherwise, I upload the data about twice a week. I make notes in SleepyHead so that I can give the info to my doctor.

I don't bother much anymore though it was useful at first. If I have a night with awakenings or in the morning I feel bad...then I use the data for problem solving.
CN

When I first started, I checked frequently. It was new to me, and I was really pleased to see how hard my machine worked for me, and I was curious about the various pieces of data and how everything worked. My pressure settings were perfect for me from the beginning, so the things I changed were the ramp, humidity, and temp.

These days, I usually only check if I had a weird night and want to see if something stands out. If I remember, I do try to download the data once a month so that it is saved. I am very glad that I have data though, as it seems pretty normal for people's needs to change over time. I can also check when I introduce a new medication or something to see if I need to make adjustments.

I look at the LCD screen on my S9 to see my AHI every AM...I can usually tell before I look whether I had a good or bad night. My AHI normally runs 1.5-2.5 but on occasion I'll get a 3-4. I pull the card and update Sleepyhead at about 7-10 days. In my opinion, what matters is what your data shows now...not what your data showed months or years ago.

When I first started my therapy I checked my reading every day. People would ask me how I felt I would tell them that the computer tells me I spent 2 hours in large leak so I feel
terrible. I was letting the numbers dictate how I felt. Now that I am feeling more "normal", and the therapy is working I check data once a week.