CPAPtalk.com

insomniac51 wrote:

Spark11 wrote:HI,

I am a newbie also and am interested in learning how to interpret the machine's stats. I had to figure it out on my own after seeing that everyone on this board seems to know their stats. I just figured it out this morning!

I was on a fixed setting CPAP before and shortly after my surgery 8 weeks ago. Before surgery my pressure was about 10 (my own adjustment up from 7 to what "felt right" since I didn't know much else about titrating my pressures). My surgeries were: Septoplasty, Bilateral submucous resection, Bilateral outfracture inferior turbinate, Removal of maxillary bone spurs, Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, Tonsillectomy, Bilateral partial pharyngeal wall resection, Musculomucosal palate flap, Bilateral tongue base reduction with radio frequency probe (AKA Phase 1).

Post-op I required CPAP by week 2 to prevent snoring which was loosening my sutures. It helped in the healing, however by week 7 I developed Aerophagia and was switched to an automatic machine (RemStar Auto Aflex with humidifier - not heated). I was told that it was set to a lowest setting of "4". After 1 week, I'm not really sleeping very well and even discovered one morning that I had water in the hose and the machine had shut itself off. This morning, I figured out how to check the data and found the following numbers for this week: AHI: 3.3 / 5.24 7 day average / Blower hours 47.7 / Large leak 4%, Periodic breathing 0 / 90% pressure 7.1

I'm not sure what is the best resource to figure out how I'm doing. I think my AHI is ok since it's under 5, but I don't understand why the machine shut off last week or why I'm not sleeping well. I go back and forth between nasal pillows and a full face mask (Quattro) all night long. I've tried meditation, benadryl, staying up late, no caffeine and nothing helps. Before surgery I slept fine on the CPAP.

I won't see the sleep specialist until the fall when I've fully healed from surgery. If anyone can help interpret the numbers or refer me to a resource, I would appreciate it. My 2 cents: I think the DME company should offer education on this when the machine is set up or the sleep center should offer training when CPAP is first prescribed.

Some machines have an Auto shut off. If the machine senses that you removed the mask it will turn it's self off.
Every machine is different so I can't tell you how to change anything. To get help with making adjustments try going to to the "Apnea Board". They have very helpful technical info. Give them a try, they have some very useful information