CPAPtalk.com

Got preliminary results from my sleep study today. I may post the full report later, but here's the summary:

Untreated

Overall AHI 95, REM AHI 52, mean O2 sat 79%, nadir 60%, Arousal Index 53, REM 15%.

Treated (12 CWP)

Overall AHI 9.6, mean O2 sat 93%, nadir 87%, Arousal Index 16, REM 53%

He wrote his scrip for APAP with an initial pressure range of 10-14.

Oh, and I have an appointment at my DME tomorrow at 4:30 to be fitted.

I think I've got a good DME. I spoke to them this morning (they wanted to let me know that my insurance only covers 50% and no supplies so that I wouldn't have sticker shock when I arrived), and while I was on the phone, they offered me a choice of the S9 Autoset or the PR System One Auto. I went with the S9 Autoset after reading up the other day on the algorithms used by both. The S9's seems more responsive to me. As far as my concerns about the ramp, I'll just set it for a short time and minimize my use of it.

Good choice and good luck! The journey begins... hold you thoughts on the DME.... I'll ask what you think of them in about a year.... I bet I'll get a different response from you!!

Sheriff

Sheriff Buford wrote:Good choice and good luck! The journey begins... hold you thoughts on the DME.... I'll ask what you think of them in about a year.... I bet I'll get a different response from you!!

Well, since my insurance doesn't cover supplies at all, I am unlikely to have much contact with my DME other than to prove compliance. To me the fact that they weren't trying to push an Escape Auto on me is enough.

Picked up my S9 yesterday afternoon and couldn't wait to go to bed. Took me a little while to get to sleep, partly because I've currently got a cold; and I woke several times in the night. Several times I woke up with the pressure maxed out at 14 and feeling leaks around my mask (which did not leak at all at 10 cmH20). Each time I adjusted my straps and was able to get back to sleep. It's clear that I don't yet have my mask fitted quite right.

I haven't looked at my detailed data yet, but my AHI for last night was 11. Not great, but certainly better than my untreated 95. I woke up before my alarm went off, and I feel significantly more refreshed than usual. I have more energy and feel more alert. Other than this stupid cold (which, sadly, xPAP will not be able to cure) I feel pretty good. My wife said she couldn't even hear the machine, and she kept having to look over to make sure I was still in bed because she couldn't hear my snoring. So…so far, so good?

If anyone has experience with the Quattro Air mask, I'd love to hear any tips you might have. I think if I can get the leaks under control it will be an even better experience.

This video, if you haven't seen it, seems to cover the basics pretty well, especially the "turn on your machine" part. I always test my fit by using the "mask fit" feature of my machine as a final check while lying in a sleeping position.
Unfortunately, the Quattro Air is a mask that I could not prevent from leaking around my nose into my eyes, even though I have no problem with the similar masks, Mirage Quattro and F&P Simplus. Better luck to you and congratulations on a pretty successful first night!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdh60seM0Z4

The Latinist, your AHI for the first night sounds excellent. Leaks, and colds, can play havoc with the numbers, so do what you can to reduce the leaks, but don't stress out over the AHI. Also, my experience was that the numbers came down over the first week or more, as I got used to the new world of a mask on the face all night. As you are feeling good, apart from the cold, that is another good sign that this is going to work out for you. Keep on doing what you are doing, and ask questions if that stops working as well.

Second night went a little better. I readjusted the mask following a link Pugsy gave me, and I upped the humidifier a little (although I had to bring it back down later in the night because it felt oppressive. Overall I woke fewer times, and I was only awakened by one significant leak. That leak was caused by shifting headgear. Still, my AHI for last night was improved at 4.1.

Latin: Seems like you are taking to cpap therapy like a "duck to the water" . Good that your AHI is dropping. There's not much you can do about the "shifting headgear". You might consider a cpap pillow. They come with cut-outs so when you sleep on your side, the mask will not interfere with the pillow. See cpap.com for some ideas. I use the Contour Pillow. It's a memory foam pillow. It works for me, but some folks cannot tolerate the memory foam. They sell "regular" cpap pillows. When I really sleep well, I may cram my face into the pillow which will increase my leak rates, but the rates are low and I feel a lot better during the day. Sorta of a good problem to have, if you know what I mean.

Sheriff

Sheriff Buford wrote:Latin: Seems like you are taking to cpap therapy like a "duck to the water" . Good that your AHI is dropping. There's not much you can do about the "shifting headgear". You might consider a cpap pillow.

Thanks. Not feeling like such a duck this morning, though. I woke several times with huge leaks. More importantly, my leak rate this morning (from the on-screen report) was 76 L/min (!). And my AHI was up to around 12 again. I'm beginning to think this mask may not work for me.

Not sure a CPAP pillow will help; I spend 100% of my time on my back.

So, got my card reader. Unfortunately, I only have one night's results to share because my machine was replaced (I don't want to get into it here). I'll post more when I have a chance. While my overall AHI was not too bad, I had a period of nasty leaks that coincided with a cluster of apneas. And I had a cluster of centrals later in the night. I'm curious what you all think.

You need to get the leaks better managed. Looks like they are big enough to allow some events to happen and they are for sure waking you up.

I don't know what to make of the centrals yet. They aren't numerous enough right now to get all worked up over.
You might even have been awake/semi awake when they occurred due to leaks.

Yes, the leaks definitely woke me up at least twice last night. I don't think the previous two nights were as bad, but I don't have that data any more. I'll work on the leaks over the weekend and post again soon.

It took me a couple of weeks to get used to using the machine, during which my AHI slowly dropped from around 15 to around 5, then after about six weeks I suddenly started seeing numbers around .5 to 2. But I felt better and better all the time.

Drowsy Dancer wrote:It took me a couple of weeks to get used to using the machine, during which my AHI slowly dropped from around 15 to around 5, then after about six weeks I suddenly started seeing numbers around .5 to 2. But I felt better and better all the time.

Thanks for the encouragement. I do feel better, and even during my biggest cluster of events on 4/30 my AHI for that 10-minute period was half what it was all the time untreated. I'm going to keep it up, may try a different mask to get my leaks down. I'm not giving up, I can assure you.