Another Newbie values your expertise...help with snoring

Hi,

I've been using my CPAP machine for a little over a week and have managed to get my AHI from a pre-CPAP # of 45 to between 2-4. I'm thrilled that I no longer dream of choking multiple times a night (and realizing that they really weren't dreams) and I am more rested when I wake up. Thank Goodness for CPAP therapy! So now I'm nitpicking - I am a 'dreaded house guest' when I visit my daughter (she loves the company but hates that my snoring keeps her up at night) so I'm trying to rectify that. I'm wondering how to interpret some of the data in the pasted graphs; specifically my snore stats. I don't know what they are telling me exactly. I've read where the number in () is roughly the # of seconds for that event with a minimum of 10 seconds, but all are below 10 and I have many that are 0-2. What exactly does this mean? Is there anything in the graph that correlates to the volume of the snore? Is there a way to specifically address snoring with my CPAP treatment besides losing weight?

I know, I know...get a hotel room and lose 40 lbs and all my worries are over...but Besides That is there anything else I can try??? The holidays are around the corner and I'd like her to get to know the new and improved CPAPing me...

Many thanks,
d

p.s. If anyone sees anything in my stats that I should be concerned about please let me know.

I see quite a few obstructive events, etc. That suggests that a beginning pressure of a little more than 6 cm H2O might be helpful and may eliminate some of the snoring.

Here are some other things to think about.

Some helpful things to do:
1. Get a copy of your sleep study and your sleep titration study. They have interesting information that will help in understanding your own therapy

2. Get a copy of your prescription for your own records. It will be necessary if you choose to change DME's or order online

3. Post your equipment. There is a link on how to do this in my signature block below. Please select TEXT as a display choice as many CPAP machines and masks appear similar but are significantly different.

Thank you JDS74 for the response and for the link in your signature line on how to post Sleepy Head Screen Shots!

The Opti-Start on my PR S1 DS560 is currently set to '7' so it is a little higher than the original '6'. My understanding is that Opti-Start is part of the 'Auto' diagnosis the machine does and will change the settings as my needs change. Is that correct? Should I override the setting? How much higher? I see that 90% of the time I'm in the '10-11' range...

I do have a copy of my initial sleep report which states that my number of snoring episodes was 258 in 8.5 hours with 76.7% snore time - so I am much improved. No Wonder I was so popular at bed time (NOT!!)

Any ideas on my Sleepy Head Stats for Snoring?

My profile should have my equipment listed. Perhaps it is not showing up for some reason? PR S1 DS560S, Airfit P10, S1 Humidifier (though I'm not currently using it, will that make a difference?)

Thanks,
d

sleep_quest wrote:Thank you JDS74 for the response and for the link in your signature line on how to post Sleepy Head Screen Shots!

The Opti-Start on my PR S1 DS560 is currently set to '7' so it is a little higher than the original '6'. My understanding is that Opti-Start is part of the 'Auto' diagnosis the machine does and will change the settings as my needs change. Is that correct? Should I override the setting? How much higher? I see that 90% of the time I'm in the '10-11' range...

I do have a copy of my initial sleep report which states that my number of snoring episodes was 258 in 8.5 hours with 76.7% snore time - so I am much improved. No Wonder I was so popular at bed time (NOT!!)

Any ideas on my Sleepy Head Stats for Snoring?

My profile should have my equipment listed. Perhaps it is not showing up for some reason? PR S1 DS560S, Airfit P10, S1 Humidifier (though I'm not currently using it, will that make a difference?)

Thanks,
d

Auto machines respond with pressure changes to breathing events (mainly Snores and Flow Limitations). They have no idea what you "need".

For better therapy in Auto mode, the minimum pressure needs to be somewhere between the "Average" and "90%" pressure number.

If you're experiencing more snores than you think you should have, do nasal cleansing before bedtime, maybe turn the humidifier setting down and the extra minimum pressure should help.


Den

.

sleep_quest wrote: I am a 'dreaded house guest' when I visit my daughter (she loves the company but hates that my snoring keeps her up at night) so I'm trying to rectify that. Is there anything in the graph that correlates to the volume of the snore? Is there a way to specifically address snoring with my CPAP treatment besides losing weight?

well, you've pretty much taken care of it. the modern xpaps are very sensitive to snores, sometimes even counting other noises that might sound like a snore, such as the rubbing of the ridged hose against something, or in pugsy's case, one of her pug dogs that needed it's own cpap, when it would stick it's face next to hers at night, her cpap would register tons of snores.

the higher the snore trace is, the louder. the machine will see snores as needing more pressure, so you'll see it bump up the pressure when it registers snores.

I'd be willing to bet you that you're already well past the "dreaded house guest" stage, you might not be totally silent, but you're not going to be rocking the house with a snore line that looks like that.

as jds said, you might consider bumping the lower pressure a little, maybe to 7 and see how that goes. but you appear to be doing well as it is

Hello sleep_quest,

I see things very differently from JDS.

First, an AHI of 2 - 4 for the first week is great! Many people have been doing this for years and haven't achieved that.

Second, the chart for August 22 shows a great result for that night. An AHI of 2.15 is about as good as it gets for many people. That is a low number of events - not sure what JDS is looking at.

Third, you might want to get a copy of your sleep study summary for your personal medical files. But I would not study it or worry over it. That is history. You are in a new phase of your life and CPAP is treating you very well. Looking at the study might be distressing and there is no need to get distressed when you are doing so well now.

Fourth, CPAP picks up vibrations and records them as snores. So what is scored here is not necessarily snoring. At times it could be vibrations of the hose as you move in bed. In any case, what is seen on the chart is not much snoring especially compared to what you were doing without CPAP. Your daughter might not even notice snoring because it is such a small amount.

But having said that, if I had your results I would treat my snoring by raising the minimum pressure one cm. It sounds like this has already been raised one cm to 7. If you do have a complaint from a bed partner or roommate you might want to raise the minimum to 8 and see how things are.

I wish you good luck but really with those results you already have the luck.

[quote="sleep_quest"I see that 90% of the time I'm in the '10-11' range...[/quote]

no, you're at or below 10.7 for 90% of the night, half the night (median) you're below 8.3 in that screenshot you posted.

well, you've pretty much taken care of it. the modern xpaps are very sensitive to snores, sometimes even counting other noises that might sound like a snore, such as the rubbing of the ridged hose against something, or in pugsy's case, one of her pug dogs that needed it's own cpap, when it would stick it's face next to hers at night, her cpap would register tons of snores.

the higher the snore trace is, the louder. the machine will see snores as needing more pressure, so you'll see it bump up the pressure when it registers snores. I'd be willing to bet you that you're already well past the "dreaded house guest" stage, you might not be totally silent, but you're not going to be rocking the house with a snore line that looks like that.

Yipee! Thank you Pale Rider. I sure hope that's true. I'd hate to show up in December and be told my claims are 'not as advertised'.

no, you're at or below 10.7 for 90% of the night, half the night (median) you're below 8.3 in that screenshot you posted.

Right, got it. So would a starting pressure of 7.5 or 8 be the way to go as OhHelpMe and Wulfman suggest (Thank you!) OR, am I one of those dainty snorers now that 'snuffles' instead of 'SNORES'?

Third, you might want to get a copy of your sleep study summary for your personal medical files. But I would not study it or worry over it. That is history. You are in a new phase of your life and CPAP is treating you very well. Looking at the study might be distressing and there is no need to get distressed when you are doing so well now.

I think I have this under control. I'm not bent on achieving that elusive 0.00 AHI and I truly believe I'm very lucky to have these results so far. I was just getting tired of people having to draw straws to see who HAD to share a room with me or being told to sleep in the bath tub. I always sympathized with their plight but it wasn't fun hearing it over and over again either so I wanted to do what I could to fix it. It sounds like I'm well on my way there.

sleep_quest wrote:Yipee! Thank you Pale Rider. I sure hope that's true. I'd hate to show up in December and be told my claims are 'not as advertised'.

no, you're at or below 10.7 for 90% of the night, half the night (median) you're below 8.3 in that screenshot you posted.

Right, got it. So would a starting pressure of 7.5 or 8 be the way to go as OhHelpMe and Wulfman suggest (Thank you!) OR, am I one of those dainty snorers now that 'snuffles' instead of 'SNORES'?

if your snores are hitting 2 on the sh scale, (I'll ask Mark (mr sleepyheadman) if there's any significance to the numbers on the scale next time I talk to him, and get back to you) then they're pretty quiet, so, yes, you're more of a dainty snuffler now

it's good that you're not chasing the elusive 0.0, it's pretty rare to see those with a regular cpap/bi-level, my friend with congestive heart failure sees them fairly often, but that's due to the nearly magical abilities of his ASV and it's stubborn refusal to let him stop breathing

good, even sleep, even with the occasional flags, and snores, is what you're after, that, and feeling better, of course

Snores (if they are real and not my Pug dog ) is something the machine would/should try to fix with a little increase in pressure but sometimes we just have to give it a little better head start.
Snores, if real, are one of the warning signs that the airway is trying to collapse...now it may or may not proceed on to a full collapse but usually just a little more minimum pressure will reduce the snores better when we see clusters of groups of snores. Random single snore flags that are rare I wouldn't worry about.

Opti Start takes too long to suit me to make it's adjustments and I am not sure if it factors in snores or just OAs and hyponeas.
Your sleeping position may also impact the snores (like sleeping on your back will make it worse).

If you have OptiStart then I think you should have a 60 series machine....but your profile points to a 50 series machine.
Can you look on the bottom of the machine and tell us the 3 digit model number? It might have DS or REF in front of it.

I second the vote for a slight increase in the starting minimum pressure. I doubt you will need much...maybe 0.5 to 1.0 to get the job done.

surgery and/or dental devices are not.

Geeee. Why even bring that up? SMH

If you are snoring that is a clue that your therapy is not effective. Leaks will reduce the pressure and can lead to snores and other events. Your leaks seem to be under control so increasing the pressure should help but continue to keep the leaks under control also.

sleep_quest wrote:Right, got it. So would a starting pressure of 7.5 or 8 be the way to go as OhHelpMe and Wulfman suggest (Thank you!) OR, am I one of those dainty snorers now that 'snuffles' instead of 'SNORES'?

if your snores are hitting 2 on the sh scale, (I'll ask Mark (mr sleepyheadman) if there's any significance to the numbers on the scale next time I talk to him, and get back to you) then they're pretty quiet, so, yes, you're more of a dainty snuffler now

Thanks again Pale Rider, I'd appreciate getting the scoop from Mark since the data from the majority of my snore events range between 0-2. Since beginning CPAP I have one 7 - nothing higher - so I'd like to confirm what the low number data being collected means in my case (hose rustling or turning over, etc. since I don't have a Pug to blame ).

If you have OptiStart then I think you should have a 60 series machine....but your profile points to a 50 series machine.
Can you look on the bottom of the machine and tell us the 3 digit model number? It might have DS or REF in front of it.

Oops, I selected the wrong machine from the pull down menu...I've corrected that.

I second the vote for a slight increase in the starting minimum pressure. I doubt you will need much...maybe 0.5 to 1.0 to get the job done.

Thanks Pugsy and everyone else, I'll do just that.

I also wanted to say that I owe the ease of my CPAP transition to you folks on the forum. As a result of doing some research when I was diagnosed I was very aware of what equipment to avoid and what to look for in a set up. I was assured that CPAP therapy IS effective and that if I hit any glitches someone here would be able to help so I had a positive attitude going into it; that was probably more than half the battle right there. I know you've probably heard it all before but Thank You for the service you are performing for us newbies.

d

the majority of my snore events range between 0-2. Since beginning CPAP I have one 7 - nothing higher - so I'd like to confirm what the low number data being collected means in my case

Why don't you download a free "snoring app" and see what it says?

If you are interested to do this, just ask and you will get recommendations from members.

If you have OptiStart then I think you should have a 60 series machine....but your profile points to a 50 series machine.
Can you look on the bottom of the machine and tell us the 3 digit model number? It might have DS or REF in front of it.

sleep_quest wrote:

Oops, I selected the wrong machine from the pull down menu...I've corrected that.

It's still showing the 550 model and not the 560 model.
What are the 3 digits that you see on the bottom of the blower?

If 560 then the correct choice for both machine and humidifier would be
PR System One 60 Series Auto CPAP

and for humidifier would be
PR System One 60 Series heated tube humidifier with heated tube ....even if you aren't using the optional heated hose.

If 460 then you have the PR System One Pro CPAP....it also has Opti Start.
None of the 50 series machines had OptiStart available.

Once you change the equipment menu you have to click on the "submit" button again for the changes to stick. Maybe you changed it but didn't click on submit.