Opinions about self treating sleep apnea please.

I slept pretty well. 4 is a little stifling for me too. I would probably up the low range to about 7. Before it was set at 12-15. Over 15 and I rip the mask of and throw out in the corner. If the wide range isn't a problem of some kind I could go with 7 - 15.

Thanks.

I think a 7 to 15 range should work well for you. Most of the time you don't go all the way to the top but the added room is there for the few times you might need it. As long as you sleep well with it...that is the most important thing.

MrPresident wrote:I slept pretty well. 4 is a little stifling for me too. I would probably up the low range to about 7. Before it was set at 12-15. Over 15 and I rip the mask of and throw out in the corner. If the wide range isn't a problem of some kind I could go with 7 - 15.

Thanks.

Hi again MrPresident!

When they were developing the atom bomb they needed to find critical mass - where the run away reaction occures. The proceedure was simple. Take two increasing masses of atomic matter and move them closer and closer together. When the nasty and dangerous "flash" occures - you have found your answer and probably ended your time on earth by years (radiation).

I believe pressure with PAP is a lot like that. If you want to induce a hypocapnic (i.e. from breathing to much) central apnea you simply increase the PAP pressure by 2 cm/H2O every five minutes until a central apnea occures!

I think waking up from the over breatheing that preceeds what might have become a hypocapnic central apnea is why you toss your mask at night.

My tendency is to stay away from high pressures as much as possible - use what you need - and watch what is happening always.

I hope you find great health and energy soon!!!

Todzo

Thanks Todzo. That makes sense. Any time I wake up at night it is always when the pressures is high. Maybe I'll try lowering the high limit a little too.
Thanks for the input.

You may be one who is disturbed by changing pressures and would do better with a very narrow range,maybe 8-12 or even straight cpap once you get your "sweet spot" dialed in.

Hi, Mr. President---

Just a suggestion for you.

My hubby is new to CPAP (just a month yesterday) & he was having a TERRIBLE time finding a mask that would fit so the therapy would work.

To make a long, boring story short, he was SO FRUSTRATED he wasn't sure he needed the stupid old CPAP machine, anyway. So I did some research online & here at the forum which pointed to the undeniable fact that he NEEDED it for his long term health.

Now, to convince him. He's the kind of person who needs Proof. Facts. Numbers. Graphs and pie charts are nice : )

So I bought, for just $87, a recording oximeter. This little device lets you make a 24 hour recording of both your pulse rate and oxygen levels. Plus, it comes with its own software that plots this info on GRAPHS.

He did a night with NO CPAP and a night WITH CPAP and the numbers sold him: no CPAP, oxygen levels fell below 85% and heart rate was UP all night, with quite a few spikes. With CPAP, oxygen levels averaged about 93% and heart rate was stable at 65 all night long. Obviously, less stress on heart, lungs, and brain with CPAP therapy. Pulse was much more regular with CPAP than without. Impressive data. Hubby is 100% on board with his therapy now and has a logical, convincing reason why he needs to be a hosehead.

My thought for you is that a recording oximeter could let you refine your pressures so that you're actually set at the lowest effective pressure, taking into account what previous posters have mentioned about wanting to be at a lower, rather than higher, pressure that works to stabilize your OSA and open your airway.

Here's a link to the oximeter I bought (based on lots of positive Amazon reviews): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088P ... 06_s00_i00

This model can also integrate with Sleepyhead data, from what I understand. My hubby's CPAP machine is not Sleepyhead compatible, yet, but I understand Mark (the awesome programmer) is working on that.

I have no insurance, either, & thought I'd use the oximeter for my own home sleep study. And I'm in luck-- O2 NEVER falls below 95% for me. My hubby, however, can go as low as 78% w/o CPAP.

I found it very empowering to be able to see both pulse graphs & oxygen levels--it was easy to compare the printed oximeter/pulse reports to his printed Waveform reports (we use Respironics software). It would be AWESOME to be able to integrate with a Sleepyhead report.

You just wear the oximeter on your finger overnight (we taped it in place with masking tape), download the data into your computer via USB the next day, click on an icon to see your charts & press print for a color printout.

Hope this helps; look forward to hearing how your self-directed therapy works out!

DoriC wrote:You may be one who is disturbed by changing pressures and would do better with a very narrow range,maybe 8-12 or even straight cpap once you get your "sweet spot" dialed in.

Thanks for that DoriC. I have been thinking the same thing about a narrow range or even possibly CPAP. I am learning a lot and getting closer to the "Sweet Spot" all the time. Thanks to the great people on this forum.

kerriberri wrote:......So I bought, for just $87, a recording oximeter. This little device lets you make a 24 hour recording of both your pulse rate and oxygen levels. Plus, it comes with its own software that plots this info on GRAPHS......

That is excellent advice kerriberri. My wife is a cardiac nurse so she was encouraging me to get a recording oximeter from the start. I bought the same one you have a link to in your post for about the same price. The problem is that I am having a tough time getting my computer (Windows 7) to see it and get the data off of it. I got a little frustrated trying to make it work so I set it aside for a while but your post got me motivated to get it our again and get it working. I am having some kind of driver conflict that is a little tricky to run down, but I am pretty computer savvy so I know if I stick with it I'll get it working. I think it is an essential tool for getting APAP/CPAP working properly.

I don't know if the information that Kevin has about the software will help you but you might take a look here to see if you are missing something to make the pulse ox work.
Sometimes it is tricky as you have found out.

http://www.pulseoxstore.com/Manuals-Downloads.html

Pugsy wrote:I don't know if the information that Kevin has about the software will help you but you might take a look here to see if you are missing something to make the pulse ox work.
Sometimes it is tricky as you have found out.

http://www.pulseoxstore.com/Manuals-Downloads.html

Thanks Pugsy. I will look into that later today.

MrPresident wrote:The problem is that I am having a tough time getting my computer (Windows 7) to see it and get the data off of it.

I also bought the CMS-50E a couple of months back. It is good to see it is in stock again at Amazon.

Getting the computer to communicate with it was quite frustrating for me too. There are a number of different versions of firmware in the CMS-50E (or even CMS-50EW) that require different software on the computer. Mine turned out to be a CMS-50-EW unit even though the physical device didn't label it as such.

When you turn on the CMS-50E, and press the button to get to the settings menu, do you have an option for Wireless?

Anyway - if yours is like mine, you probably need the SpO2 Assistant version 2.2 software. It operates differently than the older software which came with two separate programs, whereas SpO2 Assistant combines them into one. If you run into trouble, post back and I can try to assist.

MrPresident wrote: The problem is that I am having a tough time getting my computer (Windows 7) to see it and get the data off of it. I got a little frustrated trying to make it work so I set it aside for a while but your post got me motivated to get it our again and get it working. I am having some kind of driver conflict that is a little tricky to run down, but I am pretty computer savvy so I know if I stick with it I'll get it working. I think it is an essential tool for getting APAP/CPAP working properly.

I think I MIGHT know what you're problem is, but not sure. I'll offer a suggestion that might help. I had a REALLY hard time getting the data off the device the first time I tried, as the instructions are not particularly clear & they used terms not used on the device itself & referred to buttons I just did not have in my program.

Like you, I'm computer savvy, but this was really vexing. I'm posting the following procedure just as much for myself (for future reference) as for you & others on the board.

If I don't download this often, I probably won't remember the "correct operating procedure." : )

You probably HAVE figured out that you have to go to the main menu to turn "Recording" ON before your session will record. Once you do, you get the red REC icon on the oximeter's screen.

The next day, when you're finished with your session, you have to enter the device's menu and turn recording OFF. Then I simply exit the device's menu.

Now, to RETRIEVE that data & download it into the computer. This is where it gets maddening. Things have to be done in a certain order in order to successfully download:

1. Hook device via USB to your computer while it (the device) is turned off.
2. Press the power button to activate the device (but don't go into any menus yet & don't put it on your finger)
3. Open the "SPO2 Review" program.
4. Click on the magnifying glass, select the "new session" radio button.
5. Name your session (the system automatically appends the date and time of your download) and press "OK" I just put hubby's name in the box & let it append the date/time. Easy breezy.
6. Now you'll get a screen that says something like "device connected, waiting for data" (This was what used to drive me out of my mind, since it was obviously connected)---
7. Now, just enter the device's menu & turn "Upload" to ON (just an FYI: Upload & Record cannot be on at the same time)
8. FINALLY, your data download will begin & it will autosave the data to the filename you assigned.
9. The next time you record, it will simply record over the prior session's data on the device. But the saved files on your computer are safely saved and archived for future retrieval (when you want to look at them, open SPO2 Review program and select the file after choosing the Review radio button). Simple! : )

When you're ready to print your data, you can choose between Summary, Full Study, Oximetry Report, Strip Chart Report.

Anyway, hope this info's helpful. I admire you & your wife for choosing to do something about your apnea, regardless of insurance status. VERY SMART!

Yeah

I got my SP02 working. I had some old drivers for the USB port that I had to uninstall. Uninstalled all of the drivers, started over installing SP Assistant 2.2. Followed your sequence and everything is working.

Thanks.

MrPresident wrote:I got my SP02 working.

Excellent!

My background, to show I know what I'm talking about, includes 6.5yrs experience as a Registered Polysomnographic Technician and am currently the Technical Director of Operations for a sleep lab in the DFW area of Texas.

avi123 wrote: If Mr President still has the above results, then it might indicate an Upper Airway Resistance syndrome (UARs). This is b/c of the hi Snore and the much higher RDI than the AHI, and Mr President's complains of "suffocation" with a pressure of 12 cm in CPAP or APAP. If it is correct then read this about it:

I saw that you updated your repsonse after Mr. President posted the home sleep test, but felt this information is good for everyone to know for future reference.

If we were to base a diagnoses purely off the information provided by MrPresidents' PAP device, the readings are not indicative of UARS. As, the patient shows a residual AHI of 25/hr and an RDI of 38/hr. This patient is/would be defined as an OSA patient, with primarily obstructive hypopneas and RERAs.

To keep it simple, UARS is repetitive limitations in flow without being accompanied with SaO2 desaturations in oxygen levels via pulse-ox, AND are not immediatley followed by an arousal. UARS are not included any either the AHI or RDI calculations. This is due to the fact that if an arousal immediately follows a flow limitation and doesn't have a desaturation in O2, then it is defined as a RERA [Respiratory Effort Related Arousal]. UARS cannot be defined/diagnosed from the data downloaded from a PAP device, as the device/software use the strict definitions in place by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. [e.g. 50% reduction in flow for 2 or more breaths = Hypopnea] However, the true standard/definition to define a hypopnea is [>50% reduction in flow accompanied with 3% desaturation || or Alternative >30% reduction in flow accompanied with >4% desaturation.] But, the software that is available today is by no means accurate in it's counting/marking events, and it takes a trained Registered technician to review data to make an accurate assesment. Software that scores [marks] events, usually ends up with very different AHI than a trained technician and physician.