New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Sleep Chaser · Post by **Sleep Chaser** » Sat Aug 12, 2023 3:25 pm

Hello everyone.

I used my AirSense 10 for the first time last night and I didn’t get no sleep whatsoever. The pressure felt like it was keeping me awake. I left the pressures from 4-20, the default.

I don’t know whether or not to use EPR, or what EPR type to use. Or if I should Ramp Time. I’m just lost as to what to do.

My doctor said my AHI is 18, but he didn’t give me a pressure range. Can anyone recommend the best settings for a beginner. I am totally lost and I am desperate to change my life. I believe I have had undiagnosed sleep apnea for more than 20 years.

I’d appreciate any help.

Thank you

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sat Aug 12, 2023 8:35 pm

Welcome to the forum, Sleep Chaser.
We'd really like to help you, but you haven't given us enough information to do that.
Please read the instruction here, viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... l#p1260774

There is usually no relationship between the AHI (number of events per hour) and the pressure you need.
In recent years, doctors send people home with wide open automatic machines - this is rarely the correct setting for on-going therapy, but can be used for finding the best pressure range (or fixed pressure) for most people.

OSCAR, the program mentioned in the like reads the data from the machine, and presents it in informative charts.

The machine can record detailed, breath by breath data on an SD inserted into the relevant slot, if the card is there when you sleep.

So, if you machine has no SD card in the slot, get one, insert it, and make sure it's there when you sleep. You will probably need a card reader to get the data into your computer -- some computers do have a fitting slot. Many don't.
The card does not have to contain much data - so the smallest on offer will server you well.

Steerpike58 · Post by **Steerpike58** » Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:23 pm

Sleep Chaser wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 12, 2023 3:25 pm
Hello everyone.

I used my AirSense 10 for the first time last night and I didn’t get no sleep whatsoever. The pressure felt like it was keeping me awake. I left the pressures from 4-20, the default.

I don’t know whether or not to use EPR, or what EPR type to use. Or if I should Ramp Time. I’m just lost as to what to do.

My doctor said my AHI is 18, but he didn’t give me a pressure range. Can anyone recommend the best settings for a beginner. I am totally lost and I am desperate to change my life. I believe I have had undiagnosed sleep apnea for more than 20 years.

I’d appreciate any help.

Thank you

I'm a newbie like you, so I can't offer expert advice but I can offer some moral support!

Are you on a 'trial' with the machine? Do you have a follow-up appointment with your doctor/sleep specialist? Can you 'message' your doctor in some way? In my case, after an initial 'sleep study', I was then given a 'trial machine' - a loaner from my medical group (full of 'property of ...' stickers), which was pre-set by them to what they thought were the appropriate 'initial' settings. I was given an appointment for 1 week later to regroup with the sleep specialist and discuss the results. I have not yet been given a prescription for a machine of my own; they are still evaluating my needs. The way you are describing your situation, it sounds like the very first thing after a sleep study was you were given a brand new machine of your own, with little guidance and no plans for follow up. Have you been given a prescription for the machine yet?

Sleep Chaser · Post by **Sleep Chaser** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 1:27 am

ozij wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 12, 2023 8:35 pm
Welcome to the forum, Sleep Chaser.
We'd really like to help you, but you haven't given us enough information to do that.
Please read the instruction here, viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... l#p1260774

There is usually no relationship between the AHI (number of events per hour) and the pressure you need.
In recent years, doctors send people home with wide open automatic machines - this is rarely the correct setting for on-going therapy, but can be used for finding the best pressure range (or fixed pressure) for most people.

OSCAR, the program mentioned in the like reads the data from the machine, and presents it in informative charts.

The machine can record detailed, breath by breath data on an SD inserted into the relevant slot, if the card is there when you sleep.

So, if you machine has no SD card in the slot, get one, insert it, and make sure it's there when you sleep. You will probably need a card reader to get the data into your computer -- some computers do have a fitting slot. Many don't.
The card does not have to contain much data - so the smallest on offer will server you well.

Hello ozij. Thank you for the advice. I’ll be sure to purchase a windows laptop with a SD card slot and then download Oscar and post the data.

Many thanks again.

Sleep Chaser · Post by **Sleep Chaser** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 1:44 am

Steerpike58 wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 12, 2023 10:23 pm

Sleep Chaser wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 12, 2023 3:25 pm
Hello everyone.

I used my AirSense 10 for the first time last night and I didn’t get no sleep whatsoever. The pressure felt like it was keeping me awake. I left the pressures from 4-20, the default.

I don’t know whether or not to use EPR, or what EPR type to use. Or if I should Ramp Time. I’m just lost as to what to do.

My doctor said my AHI is 18, but he didn’t give me a pressure range. Can anyone recommend the best settings for a beginner. I am totally lost and I am desperate to change my life. I believe I have had undiagnosed sleep apnea for more than 20 years.

I’d appreciate any help.

Thank you
I'm a newbie like you, so I can't offer expert advice but I can offer some moral support!

Are you on a 'trial' with the machine? Do you have a follow-up appointment with your doctor/sleep specialist? Can you 'message' your doctor in some way? In my case, after an initial 'sleep study', I was then given a 'trial machine' - a loaner from my medical group (full of 'property of ...' stickers), which was pre-set by them to what they thought were the appropriate 'initial' settings. I was given an appointment for 1 week later to regroup with the sleep specialist and discuss the results. I have not yet been given a prescription for a machine of my own; they are still evaluating my needs. The way you are describing your situation, it sounds like the very first thing after a sleep study was you were given a brand new machine of your own, with little guidance and no plans for follow up. Have you been given a prescription for the machine yet?

Hello Steerpike58

I’m in the UK, so I was able to purchase my machine without the need of a prescription. I went to an ENT doctor as I was having issues with swallowing food and breathing through my nose and mouth. My ENT doctor also had experience with sleep disorders and gave me a home sleep study device, which I used for 3 nights. After a fortnight, I had a follow-up appointment and my doctor told me my AHI was 18, which is moderate sleep apnea.
My doctor didn’t issue me a prescription or what to do next after he told me
my results. So I have had to go at it alone and play around with the pressures and other settings.

Night 1: The first night I couldn’t get any sleep at all, as I left the pressure range at the 4-20 default settings and it felt like the air coming into the mask was intense. Also felt like I couldn’t exhale properly.

Night 2: I adjusted the pressure range to 6-11 and I got about 5 and half hours of sleep with 0.7 AHI events per hour. It’s now 8:30am in the UK. I do have a slight headache, which may possibly stem from not sleeping the previous night, but I do feel decently rested. Hopefully I can aim for 7-8 hours of sleep on night 3.

I guess the plan now is to gather as much data as I can with this pressure range, purchase an affordable laptop, download Oscar and post my results.

I’m still a bit disappointed, that my doctor didn’t seem interested in giving me much help after the diagnosis.

Hope I have given you as much information as possible.

Thank you

Sleep Chaser

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:24 am

Sleep Chaser,
Your night 2 results sound great! Congratulations.

Don't you have any computer?
OSCAR exists for both PC and Mac, desktop and laptop.
If you have a computer, an SD reader can be inserted into the computer's USB drive. You can buy an SD reader on Amazon, or computer hardware stores.

Sleep Chaser · Post by **Sleep Chaser** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 3:38 am

ozij wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:24 am
Sleep Chaser,
Your night 2 results sound great! Congratulations.

Don't you have any computer?
OSCAR exists for both PC and Mac, desktop and laptop.
If you have a computer, an SD reader can be inserted into the computer's USB drive. You can buy an SD reader on Amazon, or computer hardware stores.

Hello ozij

Thank you. I checked the machines sleep report upon waking up and I was pleasantly surprised to see I only had 0.7.
Maybe I have lucked into getting the right pressures for my needs? No idea. I still only got 5 and half hours of sleep, which is one of the main issues I have had prior to getting the sleep study & machine. Just can’t seem to get 8 hours of restful sleep consistently.

I had a macbook, which was unfortunately stolen recently. I had to pay for the sleep study, which was quite expensive and then I bought the AirSense 10. The AirSense came with an SD card, as I went with the bundle offer. I should be able to buy a laptop over the next week or two.

palerider · Post by **palerider** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 12:01 pm

Sleep Chaser wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 12, 2023 3:25 pm
Hello everyone.

I used my AirSense 10

I don't have anything to add, other than to suggest that you always specify which Airsense 10 you have, because there's four different models. It's like talking about your vehicle and only saying "I drove my Ford" but there's many different models.

Miss Emerita · Post by **Miss Emerita** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 1:41 pm

Sleepchaser, any chance you have friends or family who would let you download Oscar to their laptop or desktop? You've been hit with a lot of expenses recently, and it'd be nice if you could see your Oscar charts without having to shell out for a computer just now. (A card reader costs less than ten dollars.)

Steerpike58 · Post by **Steerpike58** » Sun Aug 13, 2023 2:19 pm

Sleep Chaser wrote: ↑
Sun Aug 13, 2023 1:44 am

Hello Steerpike58

I’m in the UK, so I was able to purchase my machine without the need of a prescription. I went to an ENT doctor as I was having issues with swallowing food and breathing through my nose and mouth. My ENT doctor also had experience with sleep disorders and gave me a home sleep study device, which I used for 3 nights. After a fortnight, I had a follow-up appointment and my doctor told me my AHI was 18, which is moderate sleep apnea.
My doctor didn’t issue me a prescription or what to do next after he told me
my results. So I have had to go at it alone and play around with the pressures and other settings.

Night 1: The first night I couldn’t get any sleep at all, as I left the pressure range at the 4-20 default settings and it felt like the air coming into the mask was intense. Also felt like I couldn’t exhale properly.

Night 2: I adjusted the pressure range to 6-11 and I got about 5 and half hours of sleep with 0.7 AHI events per hour. It’s now 8:30am in the UK. I do have a slight headache, which may possibly stem from not sleeping the previous night, but I do feel decently rested. Hopefully I can aim for 7-8 hours of sleep on night 3.

I guess the plan now is to gather as much data as I can with this pressure range, purchase an affordable laptop, download Oscar and post my results.

I’m still a bit disappointed, that my doctor didn’t seem interested in giving me much help after the diagnosis.

Hope I have given you as much information as possible.

Thank you

Sleep Chaser

I'm from UK originally so have some familiarity the 'pros and cons' of the NHS! I didn't realize there's no requirement for a prescription to buy a CPAP machine in the UK - that surprises me! Does the NHS not cover such equipment? When my mum (who lives in the UK) had issues with her breathing (not apnea), she was issued all manner of devices and aids (and home visits to help her set everything up!); she was given an amazing amount of 'stuff' and never paid a penny. You being expected to fork out for a CPAP machine seems very odd. Anyway - that's just my curiosity.

It sounds like you are on a path to improvement - way, way better than me (I'm still getting AHI of 14 or so, but my original AHI was over 30). I personally found 'EPR' of 2 or 3 was helpful; EPR makes it easier to breath out for some (it lowers the pressure slightly during the exhale cycle). You could try it at some point but - don't vary more than one setting at a time. The 'ramp' feature simply delays onset of pressure for a time, giving you a chance to fall asleep first. But in my case, the 'start' pressure (4) was way too low so I was fighting for air during the 'ramp' period and got rid of it.

If you buy a laptop or desktop, don't worry about whether the machine has an SD card slot (some do, some don't). You can buy a 'reader' that plugs into a USB slot for peanuts.

New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards

Re: New AirSense 10 User. Need help for night 2 onwards