3 weeks in - help with data

Hi All,

I am three weeks in and seem to be adjusting to CPAP well. My pressure is set to a constant 12. Looking at my data, AHI has for the most part been well under 5, usually 2-3. On a few days it has been around 8 (probably just a fluke?).

I am not sure why my RERA and Vibratory Snores are higher. Are these anything to be concerned about? I am going to uploaded 6 days worth of screenshots if they help.

Thanks again for everyone that has made this transition soooo much easier.

My suggestions for the time being would be......
If you're not already doing so, try doing nasal cleansing before bedtime (if you're congested). If you ARE congested, that could be a big part of the snoring and RERA numbers.
If you're using a high setting on your humidifier, you might try turning that down. Too much warm humid air can cause nasal congestion. (but, some people need more and some people need less)


Den

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Your pressure is not quite sufficient to prevent the snores which are the pre cursor warning signs of an impending airway trying to collapse....small reductions in air flow that don't meet the criteria for hyponea or obstrutive apnea.
Since your AHI is low for the most part those minor flow reductions don't seem to progress in reduction or duration to meet the criteria for hyponea or OA flag. Why sometimes everything okay and other time the clusters and the higher AHI?
Usually the 2 prime suspects are either supine sleeping or REM stage sleep or maybe a little of both. It's common for OSA to be worse when supine sleeping and/or REM stage sleep. During those times you see the clusters and higher AHI the pressure is more than just a little insufficient.

There RERAs are flagged due to the machine sensing a specific breathing pattern that might point to some sort of arousal..usually associate with less than optimal sleep quality and frequent awakenings.
How come so much fragmented sleep? Some nights show a lot of breaks in therapy...any idea why?

The Monday Oct 6 report below is probably the worst I could see. One wouldn't load for me for some reason or other.
Looks like you need a little more pressure at times and sometimes you need it a lot more than other times.
If you will copy the IMG address and just paste that address into the body of your text here the image will show up straight away and we don't have to click on links.

I do sometimes sleep on my back but usually my side.

I typically seem to wake up at least once or twice a night. Not sure why. Sleep doctor seemed to think that was normal initially. He said it was me getting used to getting more sleep.

I have a 21 month old that is teething so some breaks are caused by him waking up.

I did go back and fix the images so they display automatically.

It sounds like the pressure should be changed. The 12 was from my second sleep study. Is the best course of action to talk to the doctor?

Thanks again for all the help. I will try the nasal rinse this weekend.

I would suggest trying the nasal cleansing and/or lowering the humidifier setting BEFORE messing with the pressure.
Snoring and RERAs aren't necessarily detrimental to your health.


Den

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Up to you if you want to make a change in the pressure yourself or wait and talk to your doctor about it.
Some people are comfortable doing it themselves and others aren't. It isn't anything that is critical that just has to be done right now. If you see much clustering of either OAs or hyponeas often...then I would think a 0.5 cm increase would likely break up the clusters. Who makes the adjustment on the machine...up to you but don't do it unless you are comfortable doing it.
I was worried about the fragmented sleep but the little one explains that.

Those snores and RERAs may or may not be related to nasal congestion. You didn't mention any congestion issues so I assumed that you weren't having that sort of problem. I doubt those clusters of hyponeas or OAs are related to nasal congestion though. Looks too much like a typical cluster from supine sleeping or REM.

If you are having nasal congestion issues then some of those snores might be related to nasal congestion and they may not.
A word about humidity settings and nasal congestion (if you are having any)...the nasal mucosa's preference for humidity varies a lot with each person. Some people need more and some people need less.
We have no way to know which you might need. You might be like Den and do very well with less humidity but you might be like me and a reduction in humidity causes some pretty nasty nasal congestion issues. I did that turn the humidity down and nasal rinsing a long, long time ago and it wasn't a good result. I am surprised Den's ears aren't still burning for what I called him after following this same advice 5 years ago. It was a disaster and took me 3 days for my nasal mucosa to forgive me and it was a very miserable 3 days .....and just in case anyone thinks it was a fluke....same thing happens over the past years when I forget to fill the water chamber and it goes dry for the bulk of the night.

When it comes to humidity some people need more...some people need less...some people don't need any added at all.
They are all normal.
We don't know what you will need. There's no rhyme nor reason to what makes a person's nasal mucosa happy.
I usually suggest that people who are having nasal congestion issues...
if they are using a higher setting...turn it down
if they are using a lower setting ...turn it up
if they are using a middle of the road setting....toss a coin

If you aren't having nasal congestion issues...I would be hard pressed to change anything...been there and done that when I didn't need to. Again, that choice is up to you ....I just wanted to mention what happened to me and I am not the only person in the whole entire world who needs a lot of added moisture to keep their nasal mucosa happy.

Pugsy wrote:Up to you if you want to make a change in the pressure yourself or wait and talk to your doctor about it.
Some people are comfortable doing it themselves and others aren't. It isn't anything that is critical that just has to be done right now. If you see much clustering of either OAs or hyponeas often...then I would think a 0.5 cm increase would likely break up the clusters. Who makes the adjustment on the machine...up to you but don't do it unless you are comfortable doing it.
I was worried about the fragmented sleep but the little one explains that.

Those snores and RERAs may or may not be related to nasal congestion. You didn't mention any congestion issues so I assumed that you weren't having that sort of problem. I doubt those clusters of hyponeas or OAs are related to nasal congestion though. Looks too much like a typical cluster from supine sleeping or REM.

If you are having nasal congestion issues then some of those snores might be related to nasal congestion and they may not.
A word about humidity settings and nasal congestion (if you are having any)...the nasal mucosa's preference for humidity varies a lot with each person. Some people need more and some people need less.
We have no way to know which you might need. You might be like Den and do very well with less humidity but you might be like me and a reduction in humidity causes some pretty nasty nasal congestion issues. I did that turn the humidity down and nasal rinsing a long, long time ago and it wasn't a good result. I am surprised Den's ears aren't still burning for what I called him after following this same advice 5 years ago. It was a disaster and took me 3 days for my nasal mucosa to forgive me and it was a very miserable 3 days .....and just in case anyone thinks it was a fluke....same thing happens over the past years when I forget to fill the water chamber and it goes dry for the bulk of the night.

When it comes to humidity some people need more...some people need less...some people don't need any added at all.
They are all normal.
We don't know what you will need. There's no rhyme nor reason to what makes a person's nasal mucosa happy.
I usually suggest that people who are having nasal congestion issues...
if they are using a higher setting...turn it down
if they are using a lower setting ...turn it up
if they are using a middle of the road setting....toss a coin

If you aren't having nasal congestion issues...I would be hard pressed to change anything...been there and done that when I didn't need to. Again, that choice is up to you ....I just wanted to mention what happened to me and I am not the only person in the whole entire world who needs a lot of added moisture to keep their nasal mucosa happy.

Well, that explains that sensation I've been having for about 5 years......

But, YOU KNOW.......I'm not the ONLY one who prefers cooler or "passover" humidification. And, I'm not the only one who mentions it as a possibility for better sleeping. I also think it toughened up my nasal passages in the process.


Den

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Wulfman... wrote:But, YOU KNOW.......I'm not the ONLY one who prefers cooler or "passover" humidification. And, I'm not the only one who mentions it as a possibility for better sleeping. I also think it toughened up my nasal passages in the process.

I know, I know but it was YOUR advice and not someone elses that caused me to do that horrible experiment and if that is what I have to go through to "toughen up" anything...no thank you. I will just continue to be a wimp and snort water and live in bliss.

PS....I did call you every bad word I could think of (and we both know I have a substantial vocabulary when it comes to bad words ) back then. If I had done more reading and learned the "some need more...some need less" thing I wouldn't have tried what I did...but I was new and impressionable didn't know any better. That's why I try to tell newbies about it...so they know what might happen with either way they go. I know people who have just as bad of a reaction as I did when they increase the humidity. I never know if someone is going to be like me or like you...I just warn them with either choice.
If that had been the only time it happened I would have chalked it up to maybe coincidence but it's happened when the tank goes dry early in the night...So then I get to cuss myself out for forgetting to fill the tank.

So every time you mention it and don't also cover the "you may need more" side of humidity needs thing...I'll come along and cover it just in case. I am NOT saying you are wrong...I am just saying that not everyone's nose is going to like what you do...just like they might not like what I do. I just want people to have an educated choice and understand the possible results might vary between the individual.