Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Julie · Post by **Julie** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 9:28 am

I was just thinking about provoking centrals, which is a known potential problem in some people, not an esoteric one-off that no one would predict.

Pugsy · Post by **Pugsy** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:01 am

Julie wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 9:28 am
I was just thinking about provoking centrals, which is a known potential problem in some people, not an esoteric one-off that no one would predict.

Centrals can be triggered at any pressure and not just "higher" pressures. I have seen a truckload of them triggered by as little as 5 or 6 cm pressure in some people. It's not nearly as common as people might think either...maybe 10 to 15% of the people who use cpap will have pressure related or emergent centrals pop up. There are lots of people using pressures over 20 cm for the entire night and they don't have centrals pop up.

And anyway....if they would happen they are easily seen on the software reports since almost all machines today flag them and certainly the machine the OP in this thread is using one of those machines. Should that happen to someone then we back off and re-evaluate things.

Miss Emerita · Post by **Miss Emerita** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:40 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:01 am
I somewhat want to keep using the cpap. Husband is on the cautious side of it because of me waking up with the heaviness on my chest and trying to catch a breath. I do not want to harm myself trying to use this machine. Could it be the mask? I still want a sleep study done. Not sure if its the best idea to use the machine then go get a sleep study done. I know I keep going back and forth but I'm just tired. Really tired. Thank y'all.

Hi, DD. It's fine to change your mind! Did you ever have a chance to try putting the minimum to 10 and setting the EPR at 3? You can't hurt yourself giving that a try. If you do try it, I'd be curious to see a chart.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:41 am

Julie wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 9:28 am
I was just thinking about provoking centrals, which is a known potential problem in some people, not an esoteric one-off that no one would predict.

So? A few centrals are harmless. Don't scare people with wild statements.

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:57 am

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:40 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:01 am
I somewhat want to keep using the cpap. Husband is on the cautious side of it because of me waking up with the heaviness on my chest and trying to catch a breath. I do not want to harm myself trying to use this machine. Could it be the mask? I still want a sleep study done. Not sure if its the best idea to use the machine then go get a sleep study done. I know I keep going back and forth but I'm just tired. Really tired. Thank y'all.
Hi, DD. It's fine to change your mind! Did you ever have a chance to try putting the minimum to 10 and setting the EPR at 3? You can't hurt yourself giving that a try. If you do try it, I'd be curious to see a chart.

Willing to try it. Thinking of maybe changing my mask too.

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:58 am

Thank y'all. Seeing that there is no harm i think ill give it another try. Will be contacting my Dr about the other

Miss Emerita · Post by **Miss Emerita** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:59 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:57 am

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:40 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:01 am
I somewhat want to keep using the cpap. Husband is on the cautious side of it because of me waking up with the heaviness on my chest and trying to catch a breath. I do not want to harm myself trying to use this machine. Could it be the mask? I still want a sleep study done. Not sure if its the best idea to use the machine then go get a sleep study done. I know I keep going back and forth but I'm just tired. Really tired. Thank y'all.
Hi, DD. It's fine to change your mind! Did you ever have a chance to try putting the minimum to 10 and setting the EPR at 3? You can't hurt yourself giving that a try. If you do try it, I'd be curious to see a chart.
Willing to try it. Thinking of maybe changing my mask too.

Sounds good! Keep us posted, would you?

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 11:05 am

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:59 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:57 am

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:40 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:01 am
I somewhat want to keep using the cpap. Husband is on the cautious side of it because of me waking up with the heaviness on my chest and trying to catch a breath. I do not want to harm myself trying to use this machine. Could it be the mask? I still want a sleep study done. Not sure if its the best idea to use the machine then go get a sleep study done. I know I keep going back and forth but I'm just tired. Really tired. Thank y'all.
Hi, DD. It's fine to change your mind! Did you ever have a chance to try putting the minimum to 10 and setting the EPR at 3? You can't hurt yourself giving that a try. If you do try it, I'd be curious to see a chart.
Willing to try it. Thinking of maybe changing my mask too.
Sounds good! Keep us posted, would you?

Yes ma'am. I'll set it tonight and post it tomorrow.

zonker · Post by **zonker** » Tue Aug 11, 2020 5:37 pm

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Tue Aug 11, 2020 10:58 am
Thank y'all. Seeing that there is no harm i think ill give it another try. Will be contacting my Dr about the other

i'm most happy to read that you aren't giving up!

the experts here can help you. it's going to take a bit of time to get you dialed in to the proper settings, that is, what works for YOU.

but you can do this. i've got faith in you!

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 5:50 am

These are the results of last night. I see there was a large leak. Same mask. Had to get up multiple times last night so a little confused on the three results. Breathed fine, figured out that problem. Other than my ears popping I slept fine. Still tired though. When I was playing around with the machine I felt like a pressure of 9 might do too. It says Monday up there but it was last night will have to look at my machine again.

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:38 am

From looking at my own charts I don't see where I would need to make any changes. Still trying to understand what I'm looking for. Going to sleep a few nights with 10 as min max is 20 and epr is still at 3. I'll update here.

Dog Slobber · Post by **Dog Slobber** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:50 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:38 am
From looking at my own charts I don't see where I would need to make any changes. Still trying to understand what I'm looking for. Going to sleep a few nights with 10 as min max is 20 and epr is still at 3. I'll update here.

What I look for when looking at charts is:

AHI
fewer OAs, Hs, and Flow Limitations
less jagged and volatile pressure changes, preferring flatter lines.
less clustered OAs and Hs, especially during a time when the pressure is rising
try to be aware of trends instead of single nights

Compare the two nights, focusing on what I mentioned above.

Miss Emerita · Post by **Miss Emerita** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:12 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:38 am
From looking at my own charts I don't see where I would need to make any changes. Still trying to understand what I'm looking for. Going to sleep a few nights with 10 as min max is 20 and epr is still at 3. I'll update here.

DD, it's fantastic to read your report! I'm not surprised you're tired today, given the gaps in your night, but it's wonderful that you felt you slept fine and that the breathing discomfort is resolved. I also note that your flow limitations are reduced and your pressure changes less ragged.

I think your plan is a good one: stick with your current settings for now, get some more nights of data to review, and then decide whether additional tweaking would be helpful. My guess is that you would be able to resolve more of the obstructive apneas with a little bit of an additional increase in the minimum pressure, but you needn't be in a big rush to decide about that.

The one issue that you might want to address is leakage. In the grayed-out areas, your machine isn't able to compensate for the loss of pressure via leaks, and it isn't able to detect events as accurately. Even if you're not quite awake enough to know, the leaks may also make your sleep lighter and less restful than it would otherwise be.

Do you have a guess about where the leaks are occurring? From the edges of your mask, or from your mouth? A dry mouth would point to the latter, though you could be having mouth leaks without a dry mouth. So when you have a chance, let us know what you think about the source of your leaks so we can offer some advice.

Again, really encouraging developments here!

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:23 am

Miss Emerita wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 12, 2020 10:12 am

DDWills95 wrote: ↑
Wed Aug 12, 2020 9:38 am
From looking at my own charts I don't see where I would need to make any changes. Still trying to understand what I'm looking for. Going to sleep a few nights with 10 as min max is 20 and epr is still at 3. I'll update here.
DD, it's fantastic to read your report! I'm not surprised you're tired today, given the gaps in your night, but it's wonderful that you felt you slept fine and that the breathing discomfort is resolved. I also note that your flow limitations are reduced and your pressure changes less ragged.

I think your plan is a good one: stick with your current settings for now, get some more nights of data to review, and then decide whether additional tweaking would be helpful. My guess is that you would be able to resolve more of the obstructive apneas with a little bit of an additional increase in the minimum pressure, but you needn't be in a big rush to decide about that.

The one issue that you might want to address is leakage. In the grayed-out areas, your machine isn't able to compensate for the loss of pressure via leaks, and it isn't able to detect events as accurately. Even if you're not quite awake enough to know, the leaks may also make your sleep lighter and less restful than it would otherwise be.

Do you have a guess about where the leaks are occurring? From the edges of your mask, or from your mouth? A dry mouth would point to the latter, though you could be having mouth leaks without a dry mouth. So when you have a chance, let us know what you think about the source of your leaks so we can offer some advice.

Again, really encouraging developments here!

Im super pleased. Will give this a few nights then will try maybe increasing it

I had what I felt was a small leak around the bottom edge of my mask when I first laid done but thought I resolved it. I will pay more attention and see what's going on. I had a dry mouth the other day but not last night.

I'm super thankful for all the help and finding this site. Thank you so much.

DDWills95 · Post by **DDWills95** » Thu Aug 13, 2020 7:22 am

So I noticed last night I had a dry mouth but also felt me drooling. I at one point felt my mouth open. My husband told me to tie a cloth where my mouth will closed to see if it solves anything. Would a full face mask fix this? I know they make chin straps but not sure I like the looks of that. They look very hot. Also seen where people tape their mouth. Is there anything on my charts that would possibly indicate if my mouth was open?

Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine

Re: Self Diagnosing need help reading and using machine