Kenny's CPAP Thread

[Uncle_Bob]

UB,

I wish I had your AI numbers! I'll get there.

Some users on here say that ResMed machines are very sensitive to HI events and report about double of other machines. That's why I show those other numbers. I don't know if that's accurate or not, but I've seen it mentioned a few times on here.

What was your leak rate last night?

Opps sorry I left that out

leak rate was 0.36 but i remember waking up around 3 am and seeing it was 0.21. I think i do most of my jaw dropping and mouth leaking in the final 2-3 hours and that ruins the leak rate.

[tattooyu]

That's exactly what was happening to me. The last few hours where I go into deep sleep, then REM is when my jaw would flop open, and then the leak rate would get shot to all heck. So far so good with the new chin strap. I'm actually looking forward to going to sleep tonight more than ever!

[tattooyu]

Just wanted to mention that I had some sweating last night. Not profuse by any means. Our room is fairly cool, probably 68-70°F (20-22°C).

I know I've read on here that you can sweat during apneas, but I never had sweating before I got on CPAP therapy. Could it be that I'm getting more circulation and oxygen, which is driving causing that? Like I said, it's not profuse by any means, just a little on my neck and other usually warm... "areas".

[Raj]

Kenny, you might be interested in my alternative to chin-straps (I posted this info a few months before you joined up so you may not have seen it). I support my chin entirely from below with a viscoelastic, fleece-covered u-shaped travel pillow rotated such that the opening is either at the back of my neck or opposite to the side I'm sleeping on. This not only holds my chin up, but has the added benefit of aligning my neck in a way that enhances ease of breathing. Another poster here uses a DUI sort of neck-brace for the same purpose, but I haven't tried that out yet.

For me and I'll bet for you it's worth the hassle to get your AHI and leak-rate as low as possible because at a certain point (for me an AHI of 2 or below) the difference is spectacular. You'll get there.

[tattooyu]

Raj,

Thanks for the info! I think you were referring to KiraLynx's "St. Bernard Keg" method that uses a 4" foam cylinder with a hole and strap and velcro. If I need that I will certainly give your or her method a shot.

As was suggested to me by many users here (which I didn't completely heed): "Don't change too much too soon."

I'll revisit your suggestion, or up the minimum pressure, in a week if the numbers are still up.

Thanks again!

[Uncle_Bob]

Just wanted to mention that I had some sweating last night. Not profuse by any means. Our room is fairly cool, probably 68-70°F (20-22°C).

I know I've read on here that you can sweat during apneas, but I never had sweating before I got on CPAP therapy. Could it be that I'm getting more circulation and oxygen, which is driving causing that? Like I said, it's not profuse by any means, just a little on my neck and other usually warm... "areas".

I have not noticed any issues with heat or sweating yet. Strange that you are getting warmer, is there any reason your room is getting warmer overnight, very unusual to have that happening this time of year. You said you are experiencing rainouts to so i wonder if room temperature is an issue.

As soon as i started with my CPAP i set my HVAC system to recirculate mode during the night. What that does is run the fan to circulate the air for 30% of every hour whenever to heating or cooling is not on. I find it helps keep the whole house temperature more even.

Unrelated but I notice that you are using a APAP and a pressure range of 12-16. But i don't think there is any issue with comparing APAP stats with CPAP stats

DME has not returned my message i left yesterday so i'm hoping they just mailed out my chin straps.

[tattooyu]

No, the room is pretty much an even, cool temperature all night long. It's my body temp. that's changing for some reason.

Unfortunately, we don't have central air/heat (GASP!).

I did notice that I had NO shivering today as compared to the previous night, with horrible leaks!

[tattooyu]

The new Oldsmobiles are in early this year!

No, wait--that's not it.

My software and card reader have arrived! I will be installing them tonight!

[tattooyu]

Things are looking up even more!

Results for 3/12/2009

• Usage: 8:56 hours (including a 1 hour nap when I got home)
• Pressure: 12.4 cm
• Leakage: 0.38 L/s
• AHI: 9.1
• AI: 0.5
• HI: 8.6

My HI was a bit high, because when I took my nap, my HI was in the high 20s and my AI was like 3.5. Do a lot of people have a cluster of events while falling asleep? I had the Settling time set to 20 minutes for my nap, 30 minutes for regular sleep.

The leakage was higher because my chinstrap kind of slipped and I mouth breathed one time during the night.

Most importantly...

I went to sleep at 10 pm and fell asleep probably in 10 minutes, which for me is quick. I woke up at 5:30 am feeling great, like I had REALLY slept. Today my pulse rate is good, I'm not dizzy, and I don't think I've had any PVCs yet at all. I'm guessing my magic number will be somewhere around 13.0-14.0 cm of pressure, but I won't find that out for another week or two, when I can finally bump up my minimum pressure.

[tattooyu]

Big post, no love?

[elader]

Just wanted to mention that I had some sweating last night. Not profuse by any means. Our room is fairly cool, probably 68-70°F (20-22°C).

I know I've read on here that you can sweat during apneas, but I never had sweating before I got on CPAP therapy. Could it be that I'm getting more circulation and oxygen, which is driving causing that? Like I said, it's not profuse by any means, just a little on my neck and other usually warm... "areas".

I used to sweat like a pig before cpap. It all went away ON cpap. You were probably dreaming of Mardi Gras.

[tattooyu]

I used to sweat like a pig before cpap. It all went away ON cpap. You were probably dreaming of Mardi Gras.

Ohhh... is that why I woke up with beads around my neck and morning woo--uh, never mind...



By the way, loosening the straps on the mask really does give a better seal especially with a Swift LT, at least for me it does!

[TheDreamer]

There seems to be something about naps for me. AHI is high when I do (mostly HI). I'm wondering if there's some extra problem that is causing me to need those naps. Aside from work and walking home from work....though I do feel like I'm having trouble breathing sometimes as I'm walking home from work.

The Dreamer.

[tattooyu]

There seems to be something about naps for me. AHI is high when I do (mostly HI). I'm wondering if there's some extra problem that is causing me to need those naps. Aside from work and walking home from work....though I do feel like I'm having trouble breathing sometimes as I'm walking home from work.

The Dreamer.

That's interesting. Maybe I'll search for or start a new thread about naps to see if anyone else has that issue.

[Hawthorne]

When I have a nap I leave my card out (or take it out) of the machine since naps seem to make a mess of the data, both for the nap and for the night. They are in the same 24 hour period so get lumped together in reports - except for the daily data.

Naps are of such varied lengths ( sometimes long sometimes just a 1/2 hour- for me anyway) that you probably don't get into all the sleep stages and that could be the reason for more events. Because of the "nature" of naps I am not interested in that data. I do use my machine when I nap though. That's a must.

I just have to remember to get the card back in the machine when I go to bed at night. I always check, when I put on my mask to see if it's in the machine.