Longtime CPAP user; just not sleeping right now

I have been using a CPAP for about 18-19 years. @ years ago switched to a Resmed Airsense 10 machine.

Initial settings:
APAP, EPR:off, Humidifier: off, min: 12, max: 16

after a year and a half, was hospitalized for unrelated issue. Resp. Therapist told me that max should be increased to at least 18. I then changed it to:
APAP, EPR:off, Humidifier: off, min: 12, max: 16==20

this helped me sleep better.

Now I'm not sleeping well again. waking, tossing, turning, being tired throughout the day with that hazy, foggy head feeling. I have gained weight again (last time I was this heavy my old standard CPAP was set at 19.5 by sleep doctor).

Installed SleepyHead, not quite sure what it all means yet. after reading a lot of threads, I'm thinking maybe my min is set a bit low? Also thinking that maybe my leaks are a result of not using humidifier and having drier nasal passages with the furnace running at night.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Pete

You haven't said what the sleep problems are...Can't fall asleep? Lots of wake ups? Wake up too early? I'm sure there will be other comments on this, but, in my opinion, I would increase your minimum to 13 or maybe 14, start using the humidifier and turn on EPR at 1. The idea would be to even out the pressure peaks and valleys which may be disturbing your sleep.

Thanks - I should have been more specific.
red
I fall to sleep quickly, but waking up often, tossing and turning. No real restful sleep. mouth leaks, very tired throughout the day. Exhausted by early evening.

Uh... use the humidifier?

I would definitely raise the minimum. The machine is successfully preventing events, but it is up and down like crazy. And that could be disturbing your sleep.

I would raise it to 13.5 and see if you get a much smoother pressure line with a few spikes (probably when you roll onto your back or REM sleep). See if that helps your sleep quality.

Also consider any medication changes, pain issues, other changes. I recently had trouble sleeping with restless legs and what I thought were asthma attacks). It turned out my iron was really low. I started iron supplements, and that went away quickly.

zoocrewphoto wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:47 am

I would definitely raise the minimum. The machine is successfully preventing events, but it is up and down like crazy. And that could be disturbing your sleep.

My theory is that it's not the *pressure* going up and down that's disturbing sleep, it's the breathing events that are causing the pressure to go up is what disturbs sleep.

Flow limitations and snoring cause pressure to go up, and they both disturb sleep...

The above report dated Dec 9 with a lot of pressure movement all night doesn't include the flow limitation graph.
There's not much going on in terms of OAs or Hyponeas. Looks like maybe a couple of each at different times of the night but the pressure moves around a lot.

The Flow limitation graph was not included in the graphs shown. We got only Events, Flow Rate, Pressure and a tiny snip of the leak graph.
AHI is super low...on the outward face of things one might think should be sleeping great but there's a chance that the Flow Limitations are a factor in the how well a person is sleeping in general because they can disturb sleep.

This is why we ask for the FL graph from ResMed machine users (any Respironics users wondering what in the world I am talking about...your machine doesn't do a FL graph because it shows FLs differently on the events graph) and it would have been nice to see the FL graph to see what it was doing when all those pressure changes were happening.

Now we can simply not sleep well from any number of things and most totally unrelated to sleep apnea and the machine can't do a darn thing about those but there might be something sleep disordering breathing wise that is a factor in sleep quality causing the pressure to go scooting all over the place. It's a maybe...but a maybe worth looking closer at.

I would like to see the Flow Limitation graph and the snore graph if it shows much activity.

Also I would like to know how many wake ups during the night? Why the tossing and turning? Just restless or something else.
Also what medications are you taking if any?
Any change in meds?
Any other health issues? Pain issues?

Thanks everyone - I was gone for a couple of days. Here's a new screen shot that shows the flow/snores.

I have had six final surgeries, so pain is a continual issue. My new sleep problems started after my last back surgery and the subsequent weight gain.

I upped the min and am giving it a few days to see how that goes. I feel a bit more rested - but quite normal yet. I will post new graphs when I get back from a business trip soon.

Thanks for you patience with the New Guy!