AHI has doubled

ajack wrote:for real problems I would go to the other forum, only a few come here to post

Really???

Maybe you might be happier over there.

Try typing/posting cpaptalk over there and see what happens.

ajack wrote:In cpap mode it should have FOT and show CA and OA

The AirCurve 10 ST when used in cpap mode...doesn't have EPR and doesn't separate the CAs/Centrals and the OAs.
You get UAs and hyponeas only when using SleepyHead. When using ResScan you get the Apnea Index and hyponea .
I used cpap mode last night to verify. Leaks for a change never ever got close to large leak territory so I know not related to excess leak.

I was already using S mode which is essentially fixed bilevel...no EPR and no separation of the centrals or OAs. I don't need the timed backup features.

I also couldn't spot FOT in action when I zoomed in on each flagged event.

Looks like even in CPAP mode the ST model doesn't separate the apnea events...doesn't have EPR but does do the Easy Breathe thing but at 12 cm fixed I was having problems even with EasyBreathe on, so ended up using 9 cm. There wasn't going to be much sleep at 12 and I knew I had to get some sleep even if the pressure was maybe a little less than optimal.

lwieland11 wrote:Interesting, Pugsy. Sounds like a better machine for me.

It might be better and it might not. Double edged sword with the rather quick adjusting. It could also maybe make the aerophagia worse if it goes up too often. I just wish you had been giving a chance to at least try it for your complex sleep apnea but maybe your doctor felt that it was contraindicated in your situation for some reason.

I don't remember your settings but maybe...just maybe...with ASV part of the night you could have used lower than what you are using all night right now.
You need substantial pressures to hold the airway open and effectively treat the OSA part of your diagnosis. Unfortunately using that pressure all night causes aerophagia issues. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Yeah.

I am encouraged by the discovery of the Amara View mask, which is working and not leaking at a pressure of 17 and more comfortable than the Simplus, much lighter weight, which I really like. Haven't used it all night yet - that will be tonight - hopefully, the aerophagia will not be an issue.

Pugsy wrote:

ajack wrote:for real problems I would go to the other forum, only a few come here to post

Really???

Maybe you might be happier over there.

Try typing/posting cpaptalk over there and see what happens.

He likes it over there because nobody can tell him that he's full of shit and doesn't know as much as he thinks he does.

My doctor is telling me that I need yet another sleep study. I am horrified. Already done both a cpap titration study and a BIPAP study the following month. And now they're asking for another one? No, just no!! I've had six sleep studies. What more do they fricking need?

xx - I wholeheartedly agree. I'm still paying off the other two studies this year! Basically, they said they could not make any further adjustments to my treatment without another sleep study. Guess they're trying to force me. Can't believe they can get away with doing that.

Here's the email that I received.

RE: Non-Urgent Medical Question

XXXXXXXXX spent quiet a while pulling and reviewing several of your BiPAP downloads over the last several months. Your apnea appears to be worse on the nights you get longer amounts of sleep, likely related to longer time spent in REM sleep like I mentioned previously. The slight increase in your pressure setting from 16/13 to 17/13 has made no significant change to your apnea. You are still having on average 15 events per hour, and our goal is always less than 5. Your mask is fitting you well and not leaking. Now that you have better adjusted to BiPAP and are sleeping for longer periods, we recommend proceeding with a BiPAP titration sleep study. We have not been able to adequately treat your apnea. There are no other adjustments we can suggest at this time until a sleep study is performed. I have placed an order for the sleep study, and will ask our nurse Jamie to help get this scheduled.

Best,

Can doctors refuse to treat you? Is that ethical? I'm feeling like my doctor is giving up on me. No, I don't want to do a third study in 8 months. I think the the BIPAP study was cut short because it was the sleep tech's quitting time. She wasn't finished titrating me but it was 6 a.m. and she said she was wrapping up the study. I couldn't believe it. And now they want to do another one. No, just no.

Due to a mistake my first doctor made, I ended up having four sleep studies in less than nine months. When I was in for a knee replacement surgery, the nurses noticed my blood oxygen was dropping very low when I slept. They mentioned it to the doctor who did morning rounds, and he scheduled me for my first sleep study which was in a poorly ran sleep lab. My titration study was done in a second lab which was very good, but a 45 minute drive from my home. Since he didn't document a face to face meeting before the first sleep study, Medicare would not accept the result of the studies. The doctors staff would not answer the telephone or return my calls. I ended up calling a closer sleep clinic that has doctors on staff and made an appointment with them. They conducted two more studies, and I finally got my machine 10 months after my first sleep study. My wife had to have three sleep studies in three months in order to get a good titration study with a starting point for her treatment. If she had needed an ASV machine, she would have had a fourth study to do the ASV titration.