Husband needs help badly

Has he had more general blood tests done recently? Like in Thyroid levels. Many of us concurrently have diabetes. Falling asleep after eating even a bit of food is part of high Blood Glucose. Doctors have generally stopped doing chest X-Rays, which might reveal some kind problem with the lungs. Then, of course, I have seen real miracles by a visit to a Cardiologist and the resulting treatment. Then of course, if your insurance/finances allow, see a sleep doc and do another titration study.

There is no way his oxygen levels can be measured without an oximeter.
(It's usually a little finger clip thingy) --sold separately, or even loaned out.

[/quote]Sometimes the docs/techs/resp therapists only glance at the data to see if the patient has been using the machine. [/quote]

Getting the software and reading your own data is the most important part of your treatment. I went yesterday to my 3 month appt. with my sleep doctor. i told him I had been monitoring my data and had been doing good. He stated an AHI number and I asked how he got that number because I had my card, and reports run off, but no one had asked to see them. He said maybe a modem. I don't have a modem, so he went to staff they also said modem but then determined it was a report from Apria that was 2 months old, which I had turned in to them for compliance after 30 days of use. After that was determined he said he didn't need to look at my card or reports that first month was good enough.

So monitoring your own data is important. I knew I was doing good but if I wasn't it would have "been ok" to them looking at old partial data. I did get my prescription though so I can buy what I need if needed.

OK. Oximiter ordered from Amazon.
CMS 50D+ Blue Finger Pulse Oximeter with USB and Sofware

Husband may be developing diabetesm although he has not yet been diagnosed yet. Elevated glucose, but he was placed on Wellbutrin, which has been reported to cause hyperglycemia in some cases. Thyroid normal.

Now on to the dreaded part. Trying to work with the actual readings and monitor itself.

scarlett6

Scarlett, it's really not that difficult to get the 7 day and 30 day average AHI from the machine. A few clicks. Just that information would be invaluable.

Janknitz wrote:Scarlett, it's really not that difficult to get the 7 day and 30 day average AHI from the machine. A few clicks. Just that information would be invaluable.

Yes! The video tutorial will show you how to do that. Right now I wouldn't even worry about getting the software set up. Just take a few minutes to watch the video and get the AHI from the machine.

We're sticking on this AHI thing before all the other stuff (software, oximeter, etc.) because we're suspicious that dropping the pressure from 13 all the way down to 6 has caused your husband's sleep apnea therapy to be ineffective. If that is the case, then fixing the pressure setting would be the first order of business.

I found the video that shows how to access the Info and AHI setting. Here is what is reflected there under AHI: 1 day 0.0, 7days 0.6, 30 days 0.8.

I don't know if this is important or not, but the model indicates it is a C Flex+. I thought there was a sticker, but it clearly is printed on the machine itself over the on/off button.

Is there more information there I could post that would help?

Thank you.

What does it say about percent of time in large leak?
I think that is right next to the AHI on the LCD screen.
If not much time in large leak then the AHI is quite decent.

It says -0- per cent, but would the technician have moved all of the settings back to zeroes yesterday in the appointment? He didn't bring home a copy of what she took off of the chip.

Any other suggestions?

scarlett6

I doubt the machine was reset...the SD card maybe but not the machine.
If the machine had been reset to 0 then the 1 day, 7 day and 30 day numbers for AHI would all be the same and they aren't.

I was looking back at what Scarlett wrote on the first page of this thread:

I have tried to tell his pulmonary doctor that there is something wrong with his breathing. If he were to be asleep and I listen, I think he is underbreathing and I can count his respirations by listening with no problem.

It would still be worth installing software and capturing his breathing patterns on a flow graph. Then the graph could be printed out and sent or taken to the pulmonologist.

I also wonder whether snoring, flow limitations and RERA's could be disrupting his sleep even though he's not having many apnea events. SleepyHead would allow us to get a closer look at all these things. And the oximeter will be another tool for trying to identify or rule out O2 problems.

That sounds like a very good idea, but I am clueless on how to do things like this. I have a Mac because it is supposed to be more user friendly. Not always so...

scarlett6

If you want to pursue this let us know and we'll help you get set up. Also, I replied to your earlier PM but notice you haven't opened it yet. You might want to make sure you've got "Yes" checked next to "Notify me on new private messages" in your User Control Panel under the "Board Preferences" tab.

I am so worried about this and am now concerned some of this might be caused by damage from undetected Type 2 diabetes.

I think I would like to try that, but my computer skills are sadly lacking. I am on a Mac with OS 10.6.8. Would this be best done by Private Message or using this board? Are you all sure you want to tackle this?

Thank you,
scarlett6

lol, we can handle it! I'm on a Mac running 10.6.8 and would be happy to walk you through the steps. We can do some of it via PM and can check back in on this thread if we hit any roadblocks along the way.