Help with Therapy after Dr said he didn't know what to do

Going to try this setting for another night.I woke up unusually early but I'm not tired which I guess it good. I left the mask on while trying to go back to sleep and I think that's where most of the reported OA's came in the last couple minutes before I turned the machine off.

If tonight isn't any better I'll raise the EPAP because I'm better with the constant pressure comfort wise . If that doesn't work I'll try the PS again to see if the OA's reduce like 2 nights ago and go with that a couple nights. One thing that may help while I get used to it is ear plugs. The exhaust noise from the mask is pretty loud

Which full face mask are you using?
Maybe we can find a more quieter model...
Does it just have to be full face?

And yes...that OA cluster at the end of the night you were probably awake and it's what we call SWJ or sleep/wake/junk and doesn't count. I would ignore it. Awake/semi awake flagged events aren't real and don't count in the evaluation process.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed May 23, 2018 5:40 am

Which full face mask are you using?
Maybe we can find a more quieter model...
Does it just have to be full face?

And yes...that OA cluster at the end of the night you were probably awake and it's what we call SWJ or sleep/wake/junk and doesn't count. I would ignore it. Awake/semi awake flagged events aren't real and don't count in the evaluation process.

Resmed full face mirage Quattro

My brother has a phillips amara view mask. That looks interesting . I snore so I think I need to cover my mouth ?

You only just have to use a full face mask if you can't keep your mouth shut and just have to mouth breathe because you can't move enough air through just your nose.

The snoring is just a sign of the OSA happening. I snored so bad that the windows would rattle (according to hubby) but I use a nasal pillow mask.
Proper cpap therapy pressure should prevent the snoring no matter which mask you use.
Snoring doesn't equal mouth breathing.

If you normally can breathe through your nose just fine during the day and night and don't have chronic nasal congestion issues that just force you to breathe through your mouth then you might very well have success with a nasal interface mask.
The reason I ask is because there are some nasal masks with some special diffused venting systems that are essentially silent.

The ResMed AirFit P10 nasal pillow mask that I use is silent in terms of the venting and I have to put my hand about an inch from the vent holes just to barely feel the vented air. Hubby loves it because he no longer gets a stream of cold vented air in his face or back when he gets close to me.
The F & P Brevida also has a diffused venting system...and the Pilairo Q and I think the ESON also.

If your nose is clear most of the time...and they look interesting to you...and you like the idea of silent venting...give one of those masks a try.

i have chronic congestion issues due to allergies and found I am able to use the P10 nasal pillow mask 95%+ of the time.
I am still looking for my ideal FFM for the other 5% of the time.

I think it is worth trying nasal pillows even if you have sinus issues.

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Wed May 23, 2018 9:10 am

i have chronic congestion issues due to allergies and found I am able to use the P10 nasal pillow mask 95%+ of the time.
I am still looking for my ideal FFM for the other 5% of the time.

I think it is worth trying nasal pillows even if you have sinus issues.

Thanks ya'll! I'll give one a shot. I got my sinus's all drilled out and haven't had a sinus infection in years! I breathe out of my nose 99% of the time.

I'll try the PS again because that seemed to help with the OA's then a higher minimum pressure I guess.

When you add PS back in you are changing the inhale pressure to a little bit higher and it does some work holding the airway open and preventing the airway from collapsing.

If you don't like or want to use PS then you have to increase EPAP since that is all there is doing the work of holding the airway open.

The minimum pressure (with or without PS) is your most critical pressure setting. It needs to be high enough to hold the airway open well enough that the collapsing times are not very frequent and when it does happen the machine needs a higher starting point to get to where it might need to be quickly enough to prevent further collapse.
These machines don't change pressures all that fast despite it sort of looking like it from the graphs.

When you have PS involved there is IPAP and EPAP so IPAP helps with holding the airway open so you can sometimes get by with a little less EPAP compared to what you might need if PS wasn't involved.
You don't have to use PS if you don't like it but it does mean that your EPAP will need to be a bit higher to get the same job done.

Moving in the right direction. I've made another appointment with the sleep Dr in a couple weeks to see what I can do to get on insurance. I want to Bring my card with under 5 Ahi per night so that it shows me being technically treated. Still trying to get it as low as possible though. The last cluster Is I woke up at and fell back asleep for an hour but I thought I'd only fallen back asleep for 15 minutes I suspect. May try the PS up a tad bit more or the pressure depending on how I react to more PS.

Just wanted to post an update.

Because of everyone's help here I am compliant and feeling much better. I'm sleeping with my mask on every night and finally got this monkey off my back of not having treated sleep apnea since... 2013

Thanks to this little corner of the internet for all your help!

JWH,
Congratulations for persevering and getting on successful therapy for your sleep apnea.
Cheers,
CN

jwhjwh54 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:28 am

Just wanted to post an update.

Because of everyone's help here I am compliant and feeling much better. I'm sleeping with my mask on every night and finally got this monkey off my back of not having treated sleep apnea since... 2013

Thanks to this little corner of the internet for all your help!

good work!

isn't it amazing what a bit of perseverance can do?

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Wed May 23, 2018 9:10 am

...chronic congestion issues due to allergies and found I am able to use the P10 nasal pillow mask 95%+ of the time.
I am still looking for my ideal FFM for the other 5% of the time...

Check out my mask: Hybrid FFM, has pillows and covers mouth so no loss of therapy air. Best can breather thru nose or when congested thru mouth. Click on it in my signature to see on our host's website.