Question on data

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 12:23 pm

Reduced the min epap to 9.8 from 10.0 ahi was very good had a little less aerophagia. Any advice is welcome to try and tame this problem.
As an aside I have been using the f20 airtouch rather than the f30 the past 3 nights and leak rate and ahi are down significantly. Is this a possibility just by changing the mask?
Wondering since this coincides with the belly pain could it be the ffmask causing the pain?
Thanks

Okie bipap · Post by **Okie bipap** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 2:12 pm

Anything is possible. The air touch F20 is a very comfortable mask if you can control the leaks. Due to my facial structure, it did not work for me. We sometimes have to allow a little more AHI in order to feel rested. For me, my wife's AHI would be unacceptable. She has reached a compromise where she has a few more events and has a slightly lower pressure. We have tried to raise her pressure, but it disturbs her sleep and increases the aerophagia. We do what we must do to get the most restful sleep.

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 2:36 pm

Thanks for your feedback okie bipap. What is strange is that I thought one of the reasons why bipap is good for, is people who suffer from aerophagia.

Okie bipap · Post by **Okie bipap** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 5:18 pm

It can be because it offers a larger difference between the inhale pressure and the exhale pressure. CPAPS are usually restricted to a maximum of 3 cm pressure difference.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 5:56 pm

Bilevel is the first go to for aerophagia issues but it still comes with its own limitations.
Forum member robysue still had to use a very tight and low range of pressures to keep the aerophagia at bay.
She also had to make some compromises in what she accepted her AHI numbers would end up being.

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 23, 2018 6:00 pm

Thanks Pugsy and Oki Bipap. Will keep things same for a while and then check in later.
Happy Holidays

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:54 pm

Reduced the min epap to 9.8 from 10.0 ahi is very good had slightly less aerophagia but not great.Not sure if reducing the ipap will be helpful ? Any advice is welcome to try and tame this problem. As an aside it seems when I went from the f30 to the airtouch f20 the belly pain has increased. I am getting much less leaks with the f20 and the ahi is much improved.
Thanks

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:56 pm

One more screenshot.

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 11:05 am

Anyone have any ideas?

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 11:24 am

I don't understand your goals. Can you please explain them for me?
Your AHI was decent before you changed the pressures.
So you tried to "improve" on the numbers with more pressure and you paid for it in lower numbers but worse belly pain.

Your sleep seems highly fragmented....why?

Is your OSA worse when on your back or during REM?

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 11:45 am

I reduced the epap from 10 to 9.8 to try and reduce aerophagia. Sleep is interrupted because I suffer from neck pain which I had surgery for. For some reason the sleepyhead chart for pressure doesn’t show smooth lines on the graph but it shows a lot of gaps and dotted lines in the graph lines. Any idea why and how to correct this?
Is it correct to keep trying to reduce epap until belly pain reduces?
Thanks, also my ahi is worse on my back so try hard to sleep on my side.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 12:03 pm

Not sure why SH is messing with the dotted pressure graphs....I have seen it before but don't know the fix...if there is one. Sorry.

EPAP AND IPAP....both for reducing aerophagia and if it were me...I would reduce PS to reduce IPAP unless there is some pressing reason for using the PS you are using.

With so many wake ups and the reported neck issues I can't help but wonder how much of any of your AHI is SWJ stuff that you are trying to kill with more pressure and more pressure won't fix awake/semi awake false positive flagged events.

Did you ever go here and learn how to zoom in and decide if the flagged event was even real or not?
http://freecpapadvice.com/sleepyhead-free-software

Normally a little more pressure isn't going to hurt anything but for some people it does cause the aerophagia monster to come calling and he is not a house guest we want hanging around.
Since you seem to have had him show up then maybe time to re-evaluate your pressure needs and decide which is worse...letting a few real events slide with less pressure or having the aerophagia monster visit you every day.

First thing I would do is go back and figure out if what I was wanting to kill with more pressure was in fact real or not.
If not real...back up on EPAP for sure. More pressure isn't the fix for SWJ false positives unless they are post arousal false positives causes by a real OA or something first.
If real....then maybe reduce PS once a set EPAP is found to be optimal because your PS is forcing IPAP up constantly.

I can sympathize with the neck issues...got some similar issues myself with the low back and pelvis. It sucks...we do the best we can.

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 1:29 pm

The reason I raised my ps from 4 to 4.4 was I had flow limitations that continued to increase my pressure. With the increase in my ps it has reduced the fl. Maybe will reduce the ps slowly and see what happens. Thanks for your help.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:10 pm

More PS means more consistent higher IPAP....and could be a factor in the aerophagia.
You could also maybe have used more EPAP with a lower PS and still reduced the FLs. More than one way to kill off FLs.
Finally....sometimes killing off the FLs with more of anything can cause more problems than it fixes. So sometimes we have to make compromises so that the cure isn't worse than the disease.

We could probably get you a flat FL line and near 0.0 AHI....but that would mean much higher pressures all night and we know who likes to come calling with more pressures...that monster who not only makes us fart and belch like crazy but also can cause substantial pain and just plain ill feeling all the next day. I have had him come twice...he's no fun and if I had a choice in seeing him every day and letting a few FLs or apneas slide...I would just let some stuff slide. He made me feel a whole lot worse than a few FLs or OAs made me feel.

mets123 · Post by **mets123** » Sun Dec 30, 2018 2:18 pm

Thanks for explaining ps to me. Can I ask you what you would recommend with my settings at this point?
Should I begin reducing ps slowly and then slowly increase the minimum epap?
Real appreciate your time and patience.

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