Newish User / Questions / Problems / Thoughts

zonker wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:40 pm

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:32 pm

What you both are saying makes a lot of sense. I raised it to 9.8 min 17 max. I'm a very cautious person! Don't judge me!

<zonker sits here, judging bob>

i don't blame you on wanting to bump things up cautiously. i'm very susceptible to aerophagia. the slightest increase in pressure can cause a lot of pain (and gas!) in my system. so i had to go through quite a process of upping pressure/lowering pressure over and over again via tiny 0.2 increments. took me months to get to my current pressure of 15.4.

palerider and some others are gung-ho to get that pressure up where it will do the best work. and that's fine.

just didn't work that way for me!

I actually read through several pages with you and the others talking about that. I told you, I'm cautious, didn't wanna take your advice unless you seemed like someone that knew what they were doing. Seeing that 0.11 you posted a few minutes ago is impressive compared the the already impressive (to me) numbers you had earlier on.

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:45 pm

I actually read through several pages with you and the others talking about that. I told you, I'm cautious, didn't wanna take your advice unless you seemed like someone that knew what they were doing. Seeing that 0.11 you posted a few minutes ago is impressive compared the the already impressive (to me) numbers you had earlier on.

well, thank you. i was going to reference that thread for you but i was too damned lazy to look it up!



yeah that 0.11 IS impressive to me too. that's why i went back a few nights to find it. lately, i've been bumping my ahi into the 1 to 1.5 range. but then i haven't been feeling too well for the last few days.

but it does remind me to let newbies know that this isn't unexpected. we don't sleep the same way every night. palerider says we don't sleep the same way from hour to hour, but i'm not ready to commit to that.

so please don't be discouraged if you start down a path of lowering your ahi then suddenly it bumps back up. i'm sure you've read this here, but we like to work with trends rather than what happens once or twice.

i'm still satisfied because oscar shows for the last year, my ahi has been 0.97. and beyond that, i'm getting good sleep with no headaches or lethargy or getting up multi times per night to pee.

It took me about a month before I was comfortable with the machine. They started me off with high pressure (20 to 25) right from the start. In addition, I had a mask that didn't fit me properly and caused a large sore on the bridge of my nose. Once I got a mask that fit better and my nose healed, I finally started getting some good rest.

zonker wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:54 pm

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:45 pm

I actually read through several pages with you and the others talking about that. I told you, I'm cautious, didn't wanna take your advice unless you seemed like someone that knew what they were doing. Seeing that 0.11 you posted a few minutes ago is impressive compared the the already impressive (to me) numbers you had earlier on.

no headaches or lethargy or getting up multi times per night to pee.

That right there has been the one positive thing I've noticed so far, not getting up to pee all night. I still wake up a lot during my sleep, I'm a very light sleeper, I'm hoping getting SA under control will help with that, but I don't feel like I have to run to the bathroom each time.

Okie bipap wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:59 pm

It took me about a month before I was comfortable with the machine. They started me off with high pressure (20 to 25) right from the start. In addition, I had a mask that didn't fit me properly and caused a large sore on the bridge of my nose. Once I got a mask that fit better and my nose healed, I finally started getting some good rest.

Wow, that is high! I feel like my comfort level is getting quite a bit better so that's a start. I think I like the mask as much as I could, but I don't have anything to compare it to either.

So last night was probably my worst night yet with this thing, but everything was going wrong. The nasal pillows just didn't seem to ever fit right, or something, the seal always felt loose, and it made the inside of my nose itch. I woke up a lot. When I did wake up my breathing was a lot different and I think the machine thought I was having events. I think this caused it to go to my max when I woke up and then I could barely breathe at all. The only times it went that high was when I was awake and struggling to breathe. I lowered the max down to 14 and put the min at 10.

zonker wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 7:02 pm

the machine wants to go back to the minimum setting. so we have to insure it goes up to a decent starting point so that when it goes back down, it doesn't go so far down as to hinder it's purpose.

go back, goes up, goes back, far down

Dizzy after reading. Must lie down.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:45 pm

zonker wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 7:02 pm

the machine wants to go back to the minimum setting. so we have to insure it goes up to a decent starting point so that when it goes back down, it doesn't go so far down as to hinder it's purpose.

go back, goes up, goes back, far down

Dizzy after reading. Must lie down.

And yet, what he said was perfectly correct.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:45 pm

zonker wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 7:02 pm

the machine wants to go back to the minimum setting. so we have to insure it goes up to a decent starting point so that when it goes back down, it doesn't go so far down as to hinder it's purpose.

go back, goes up, goes back, far down

Dizzy after reading. Must lie down.

be sure to use your cpap while lying down.

**this public service announcement brought to you by toothbrushtalk.com**

palerider wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:18 pm

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:10 pm

I changed the minimum to 9 several days ago. Here's my Oscar from last night. Do you still think I should go to 10 minimum?

Yes, See how jagged the pressure line is? every time it jumps up, you're having some kind of breathing event that causes that, and those are likely disturbing your sleep. I like to see a smoother pressure line.

zonker wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:22 pm

palerider wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:18 pm

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sat Jan 18, 2020 6:10 pm

I changed the minimum to 9 several days ago. Here's my Oscar from last night. Do you still think I should go to 10 minimum?

Yes, See how jagged the pressure line is? every time it jumps up, you're having some kind of breathing event that causes that, and those are likely disturbing your sleep. I like to see a smoother pressure line.

to the OP: just to piggyback on to what palerider is saying, here is an example-

Screenshot (2).png

Last night is the first time I've seen sections of my pressure without all the jagged lines. Notice I said SECTIONS, obviously many areas are still quite bad. Is this a step in the right direction? Any suggestions on things that could help a little more? Thanks.

I woke up a few times with low blood sugar emergencies.

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 10:49 am

So last night was probably my worst night yet with this thing, but everything was going wrong. The nasal pillows just didn't seem to ever fit right, or something, the seal always felt loose, and it made the inside of my nose itch. I woke up a lot. When I did wake up my breathing was a lot different and I think the machine thought I was having events. I think this caused it to go to my max when I woke up and then I could barely breathe at all. The only times it went that high was when I was awake and struggling to breathe. I lowered the max down to 14 and put the min at 10.

The events cause the machine to increase pressure, the events also cause you to wake up. You hit 17 one time.

After you lowered the max pressure, you hit your new limit several times.

Continue to increase the minimum pressure, and raise the max pressure back up. Smoothing out the pressure lines, is evidence of improvement, yes. If you're comfortable with it, I'd also suggest starting the ramp start pressure.

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:01 am

Last night is the first time I've seen sections of my pressure without all the jagged lines. Notice I said SECTIONS, obviously many areas are still quite bad. Is this a step in the right direction? Any suggestions on things that could help a little more? Thanks.

I woke up a few times with low blood sugar emergencies.

exactly as palerider says. you are rolling in the right direction.

again, don't be discouraged if you have the occasional bad night. it's bound to happen.

we're in it for the long haul and you're trending well.

palerider wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:17 am

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 19, 2020 10:49 am

So last night was probably my worst night yet with this thing, but everything was going wrong. The nasal pillows just didn't seem to ever fit right, or something, the seal always felt loose, and it made the inside of my nose itch. I woke up a lot. When I did wake up my breathing was a lot different and I think the machine thought I was having events. I think this caused it to go to my max when I woke up and then I could barely breathe at all. The only times it went that high was when I was awake and struggling to breathe. I lowered the max down to 14 and put the min at 10.

The events cause the machine to increase pressure, the events also cause you to wake up. You hit 17 one time.

After you lowered the max pressure, you hit your new limit several times.

Continue to increase the minimum pressure, and raise the max pressure back up. Smoothing out the pressure lines, is evidence of improvement, yes. If you're comfortable with it, I'd also suggest starting the ramp start pressure.

1. Continue to increase the minimum. - It's at 10.0 now. Small raises, like less than 1? Or do you suggest more?

2. Raise max pressure back up. This is the part that really hard for me. I'm a very light sleeper, I wake up a lot during the night, when I wake up the pressure goes up quickly because my breathing (me) forgets to or is too lazy to exhale, for many, sometimes very many seconds at a time. And the time I hit 17 I was definitely awake, I looked at the machine and saw that it was at 17.

3. You said starting the the ramp start pressure. You mean't raising the ramp start pressure, right? - Yesterday was my first day with it at 5.4 instead of 4. It was a little weird at first, I might take it a little higher today, but I think I'll have to get more used to it before I go much higher.

Other notes, I had tried turning EPR down to 2 last night, but I feel like I need 3, at least for now. I wish the machine could figure out that I'm awake quickly and go back down to the ramp pressure without me feeling around for the machine and finding the stop and start buttons.

zonker wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:31 am

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:01 am

Last night is the first time I've seen sections of my pressure without all the jagged lines. Notice I said SECTIONS, obviously many areas are still quite bad. Is this a step in the right direction? Any suggestions on things that could help a little more? Thanks.

I woke up a few times with low blood sugar emergencies.

exactly as palerider says. you are rolling in the right direction.

again, don't be discouraged if you have the occasional bad night. it's bound to happen.

we're in it for the long haul and you're trending well.

Thanks. Unfortunately this was actually a good night rest wise. I'm not kidding when I say I suck at sleeping.

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:40 am

Thanks. Unfortunately this was actually a good night rest wise. I'm not kidding when I say I suck at sleeping.

i believe it. there is more to this, sometimes, than just sleep apnea. but we try to focus here on the apnea first, unless it's something very obvious that needs to be taken care of first. with the sleep apnea treated, then you can see what else you can do to assure restfull sleep.

so let's wait and see what palerider says regarding your response to him.

zonker wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:47 am

UglyBob wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:40 am

Thanks. Unfortunately this was actually a good night rest wise. I'm not kidding when I say I suck at sleeping.

i believe it. there is more to this, sometimes, than just sleep apnea. but we try to focus here on the apnea first, unless it's something very obvious that needs to be taken care of first. with the sleep apnea treated, then you can see what else you can do to assure restfull sleep.

so let's wait and see what palerider says regarding your response to him.

You're right about that, there definitely is, but I'm hoping getting the apnea under control will at least help with the other part(s).