Airmini not working as well (as it did, or as my Airsense )

Hi all. My apnea treatment is pretty well managed with my usual Airsense 11 Autoset (and was with the Airsense 10, too). I have also had an Airmini for a couple of years and - while at first I think it worked about as well, lately I feel like I've often gotten poor sleep with it. I've double checked that the clinical settings are the same on both the 11 and the Mini. In the app, it tells me I'm still getting only about 3 events per hour and have good duration, mask seal, etc. Pressure also seems to be about that same as on my home machine. I've tried changing to a new mask/hose, just in case there was an issue there, but haven't seen an improvement. One thing I've noticed is that I occasionally wake myself up with a snore as I'm falling asleep with the Airmini. I asked my sleep doc about it and he didn't have much to suggest except, "Maybe you should look into Inspire."

I'm not sure where to go from here. Any thoughts on what might be going on? Any troubleshooting steps I can take?

Thank you!

samhandwich wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:26 am

One thing I've noticed is that I occasionally wake myself up with a snore as I'm falling asleep with the Airmini.

What are the settings on each machine? Please include the EPR and ramp settings.

samhandwich wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:26 am

I asked my sleep doc about it and he didn't have much to suggest except, "Maybe you should look into Inspire."

What a creep.

These are the settings on the Airmini. The 11 should be the same, but I will double-check when I'm home in a few days..]\
Therapy
Mode: AutoSet
Max Pressure: 20.0
Min Pressure: 5.0

Comfort
Response: Standard
Ramp time: Off
EPR: On
EPR Type: Full Time
EPR Level: 3

Options
SmartStart: On
SmartStop: On

samhandwich wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:46 am

Min Pressure: 5.0

samhandwich wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:26 am

One thing I've noticed is that I occasionally wake myself up with a snore as I'm falling asleep with the Airmini.

5.0 is a very low pressure. Few people do well below 7.0.

samhandwich wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:26 am

my usual Airsense 11 Autoset (and was with the Airsense 10, too). I have also had an Airmini for a couple of years

The algorithms might be different. (Happy for an expert to check this.) One algorithm may be more effective than another.

samhandwich wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 14, 2024 10:26 am

lately I feel like I've often gotten poor sleep with it.

We are very poor judges of our sleep quality. What's your process for judging? You should judge near bedtime the next day. Alert and energetic all day? Any excess sleepiness? Fatigued near bedtime but not stressed?

If you use the Mini when you travel, it could be the different routine during the trip - differences diet, activity level, bed, sleep/awake times, etc.

samhandwich,

Many things factor into how well we sleep.

As ChicagoGranny points out: If you use the Airmini only when traveling, the very fact that you are traveling could be responsible for changes in the quality of your sleep.

And another thing to think about is humidity. As in, do you use the heated humidifier and/or a heated hose when you use the AirSense 11? The AirMini doesn't have a humidifier and it's possible that if you regularly use the heated humidifier on the AirSense 11 that your upper airway doesn't particularly like the non-humidified air and that could be causing you to not get as much high quality sleep.

The AirMini is also a bit noisier than the AirSense 11. If your hearing is good, it's possible that the slight increase in noise is causing you to not get as much high quality sleep.

Since both the AirMini and the AirSense 11 are made by Resmed, it's likely the EPR system works the same on both machines. Likewise, I'm not aware of Resmed making significant tweaks to its auto algorithm in recent years, so the response to problem breathing ought to be similar in both machines.

Have you looked at daily detailed data from both machines in OSCAR? It might be worth looking at a day on the AirMini where the machine's data report indicates your AHI was low, but you didn't feel as rested as you thought you should have felt.