Jimmy Lotus Therapy Thread

[Jimmy Lotus]

Hello all.
I'm one week into CPAP therapy and wondering why, oh why, didn't I start this sooner?
My insurance paid 100% for in-lab sleep study, which is cool, and I need to sanitize my study report in case it's requested.
However, my insurance covers 0% of my DME costs, which really sucks. Such is life.
Anyhoo, last night was my best night's sleep yet. Just check out that pressure flatline near minimum, on APAP no less! And only 6 events! The two interrupts at the beginning were me trying the large pillows on my P10. That was a no-go right out of the gate; way too much leakage.
I feel like a hundred dollars this morning, which is a *lot* better than the dollar ninety-seven that was about the best I could hope for, pre-CPAP, for the last 35 years or so.
I'm so looking forward to the million-dollar nights I reckon are somewhere ahead.
Also, I'm very appreciative of both the devs of OSCAR and the great supportive community of us CPAPers.
--JL
ETA: I'm not sure why my image was placed in-line in the message instead of a clickable attachment, I specifically made sure I didn't press that button.

[Miss Emerita]

Welcome! You're having such good results, and so quickly! That's really great, and my advice is "Don't touch that dial."

My one question is why your usage time was 4/5 hours. Did you sleep some more without the machine?

[ChicagoGranny]

Wow! The pressure line barely moves from 8.0 with an EPR of 3! And Events and FLs are nearly zero.

You could even try lowering the minimum pressure to 7.0. Personally, I wouldn't go below 7.0 because it feels like I am not getting enough air with a pressure that low. YMMV.

[Jimmy Lotus]

Welcome! You're having such good results, and so quickly! That's really great, and my advice is "Don't touch that dial."

My one question is why your usage time was 4/5 hours. Did you sleep some more without the machine?

Thanks for the welcome and encouragement; I think I'm done dial-spinning for now. I did take a nap earlier in the afternoon yesterday. Eliminating naps is my near-term goal. I'm really looking forward to my first 7- or 8-hour night of sleep (and good sleep) in many years.

[Jimmy Lotus]

Wow! The pressure line barely moves from 8.0 with an EPR of 3! And Events and FLs are nearly zero.

You could even try lowering the minimum pressure to 7.0. Personally, I wouldn't go below 7.0 because it feels like I am not getting enough air with a pressure that low. YMMV.

Hehe, y'all should have seen my first couple-three nights' results. Not pretty, running at the sleep center's recommendation of 5-15cms of pressure, Ramp on, EPR off. Not real pretty, and that first Sunday night was a disaster with the EPR off. I took the mask off within 90 minutes, the leaks and aerophagia were so bad. My girlfriend said the belching was so bad it kept her up and she wondered if she should tap me on the shoulder...with a ball-peen hammer!

I was amazed when I pulled the OSCAR report this morning. After the first night's fiasco of 5-15, I was running 7-12, which was okay, but only okay. Now I'm running the 8-13 and I'll probably stay there for a while.

I've got some positional apnea that I'm working out. I'm a natural side-sleeper, and the first few nights I was flat on my back. Not good for me. The last few nights I've been on my sides and it's much much better.

[Craig H]

Great to see you are doing well on your therapy. Congrats.

How many events did you start at pre therapy? Just curious.

FWIW - My take on the whole sleep therapy thing is ....how you feel is more important than the numbers.

My respiratory specialist told me that science knows a lot about the value and benefits of sleep but a lot of it is not measureable. He also said that a lot is unknown too.

You are only as well as you feel!

I like the "good numbers" but I am not going to stress over them if I feel good...which I am.

[ChicagoGranny]

how you feel is more important than the numbers.

CPAP machines do not measure sleep, only breathing.

I was taught here to wait until the end of the day to judge. Did I feel energetic today? Did I have a positive attitude? Did I have any excess sleepiness?

[Jimmy Lotus]

Great to see you are doing well on your therapy. Congrats.

How many events did you start at pre therapy? Just curious.

FWIW - My take on the whole sleep therapy thing is ....how you feel is more important than the numbers.

My respiratory specialist told me that science knows a lot about the value and benefits of sleep but a lot of it is not measureable. He also said that a lot is unknown too.

You are only as well as you feel!

I like the "good numbers" but I am not going to stress over them if I feel good...which I am.

I scored a 19.2 AHI pre-CPAP at the sleep study. The technologist, while very courteous, nice, and caring, put the FFM (an F&P Simplus?) on way too tight. I asked for a readjustment pretty quick, and tried to fall back asleep. Didn't last long. Mask was still very tight, canted off to one side a bit, and I'd developed a raging headache. So I jetted out of there early.

I did get a script for the CPAP/APAP and mask and accessories of choice, though. And while I'm still early in the game, I'm really enjoying the results. I feel better each day.

To paraphrase ChicagoGranny, yourself, and many other people I've seen post, "It ain't all about the numbers; it's about the feels."

[ChicagoGranny]

it's about the feels

Please. This is a family site.

[Jimmy Lotus]

it's about the feels

Please. This is a family site.

Of course.

I apologize if I offended you, ChicagoGranny, or anyone else who read that post.

I was attempting to utilize current vernacular and colloquialism, not innuendo.

My bad.