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Jack o wrote:Is Provent a viable alternative?

It might be. Your AHI is 16 and the reading that I have done on it showed where about 50 % of the people who try it have "success" and they term success as a 50% reduction in AHI.
It wouldn't work for me because if I was lucky enough to be one of the 50% who could make it work and I got a 50% reduction in my AHI it would still leave me with AHI over 25.
I did try one once. It isn't easy to get used to exhaling through those things. I found it much harder than exhaling against cpap pressure If I can't breathe easily and freely with both inhale and exhale through my nose I am miserable and there's just not much sleep.

So it's not like it doesn't have its issues too.

Jack o wrote:Clarification on the 17,17.6,18 numbers-

These refer to blood tests. Hemglobin is 17.6 and Hematocrit is 53.6. The Nephrologist believes these just out of range readings which mean low oxygen in the blood could be attributable to sleep apnea. That is the reason she sent me for the test as well as the high protein in the urine for many years. (I had no other symptoms, sleep fine and not tired). She believes sleep apnea could be the cause. The sleep study said I do have sleep apnea with 16 episodes per hour..

So your body has responded to the low oxygen levels by producing more red blood cells and packing them with extra oxygen capacity. Makes sense.

What was your minimum blood oxygen level during your sleep test?

Jack o wrote:Using a ResMed s9 series and Resmed masks and a Forma.

What Resmed masks? See the one that I am using now. For a year I used Fisher & Paykel full face masks #431 and #432 which have cushions like the Forma. They were lousy and caused tons of leaks. Luckily, I switched in time to save my treatment. Take Pepto Bismol for your air ingesting. It'll turn your stools black but don't worry about it. After 6 months you'll be used to the air ingesting. For your headache take Tylenols.

About Albumin in your Urine check this:


Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Associated With Increased Urinary Albumin Excretion
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1978377/

I have the same machine as you and didn't read the manual to know all the things I could change. Go online to find out how to access the clinician menu, and what each menu option means. It will be a night and day difference once you put an hour of time in to learn the variables. Make sure EPR at 3. Play around with the humidity level and temp till you find the right combo. For me, cooler and moister helps. Lastly the swift nasal pillows may be worth trying. I couldn't find a mask that didn't leak due to high cheek bones and otherwise non compliant facial shape. Nasal pillow have been a godsend. My doc tried to talk me out of it but I had a gut instinct it would work and its been exactly perfect after years of trying different masks, none if them leak proof.


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