confused by my airsense autoset 11 machine

onward60 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 08, 2023 7:27 am

Ah yes, the dreaded Oscar. I am totally techno-hopeless these days.

For the less technically inclined, a free account at https://home.sleephq.com/ can be very helpful. You can post the links to your data in this thread.

An SD card is still needed. A generic card not bigger than 32 GB will work. Example: https://www.walmart.com/ip/PNY-32GB-Eli ... 1301454411

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 08, 2023 12:06 pm

onward60 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 08, 2023 7:27 am

Ah yes, the dreaded Oscar. I am totally techno-hopeless these days.

For the less technically inclined, a free account at https://home.sleephq.com/ can be very helpful. You can post the links to your data in this thread.

An SD card is still needed. A generic card not bigger than 32 GB will work. Example: https://www.walmart.com/ip/PNY-32GB-Eli ... 1301454411

Thank you. This is helpful. I did look at that site. Need to limit my keyboarding and mousing. Severe hand/wrist problems. Will ask one of my kids to click around and figure it out for me and buy me an SD card on the weekend.

Be sure to keep the SD in the machine at all times, except when getting data from it to the computer.
The machine uses the SD card to record info in real time. When the card is not inserted, the necessary data from your sleep time gets lost.

If you want to feel "what the real pressure feels like" you'll have to raise the minimum and keep the ramp very very short (or disable it).
However, if you don't know how pressure much you need, and you're sure you want to "try some pressure", raise the minimum in small steps.

Many of us who have spent years being choked in their sleep get freaked out at the beginning of CPAP therapy by the resistance encountered when we breathe out. Normal breathing out is simply relaxing our muscles to let the air blow out. This doesn't work when CPAP pressure blows in, we have to breathe out against it. And that triggers a "sleep apneic's" alarm bells. The primitive, life saving part of your panicking brain may be catastrophizing to the tune of "Oh no, another obstruction....gaaaahhh!" Tell yourself carefully and patiently that the resistance you encounter is not yet another case of choking, that getting used to some effort while breathing out is OK, and - this is true - the objective pressure is not that high at all - it's simply something we're not used to. Assuming you have healthy lungs you should have no physical problems breathing out against the CPAP pressure. It's the memory of nights of choking that may make the beginning difficult for some us. CPAP will keep all those choking episodes at bay.

ozij wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:55 pm

Be sure to keep the SD in the machine at all times, except when getting data from it to the computer.
The machine uses the SD card to record info in real time. When the card is not inserted, the necessary data from your sleep time gets lost.

Will do! And how do I get the info onto the computer? I have an antique Mac Mini and an antique Macbook. (I get my son's castoffs.) My SIL mentioned a reader? Will any reader work? If there's something cheap on amazon I can oder it. My brother lets me use his Prime.

ozij wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 08, 2023 11:55 pm

If you want to feel "what the real pressure feels like" you'll have to raise the minimum and keep the ramp very very short (or disable it).
However, if you don't know how pressure much you need, and you're sure you want to "try some pressure", raise the minimum in small steps.

Many of us who have spent years being choked in their sleep get freaked out at the beginning of CPAP therapy by the resistance encountered when we breathe out. Normal breathing out is simply relaxing our muscles to let the air blow out. This doesn't work when CPAP pressure blows in, we have to breathe out against it. And that triggers a "sleep apneic's" alarm bells. The primitive, life saving part of your panicking brain may be catastrophizing to the tune of "Oh no, another obstruction....gaaaahhh!" Tell yourself carefully and patiently that the resistance you encounter is not yet another case of choking, that getting used to some effort while breathing out is OK, and - this is true - the objective pressure is not that high at all - it's simply something we're not used to. Assuming you have healthy lungs you should have no physical problems breathing out against the CPAP pressure. It's the memory of nights of choking that may make the beginning difficult for some us. CPAP will keep all those choking episodes at bay.

Yes, that's totally me. Except I have never actually been conscious of the choking. I woke up with dread and fear but didn't know why. I just knew my brain was afraid to sleep. So I need to practice. I figure a good time to practice is when I'm lying down doing my meditation deep breathing. That's how I learned to tolerate my chin strap and a mask on my face. I did discover the last time I did that, the pressure went up to 6. First time it actually went up above the 4. I don't know what inspired it to go up. I had only central apneas.

Sounds like you're on the right track!

Resmed machines raise pressure in response to changes in the shape of the air flow, that they call "flow limitations". These are not reported on the screen, so you don't know they were there. You can see them on the OSCAR reports.

I don't know enough about Mac's, antique or otherwise, but someone who does will probably soon respond to your question about the SD reader.