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Reducing Clear Airways

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amymusic -1 point · over 2 years ago Original Poster

Hello-I started using a Resmed AirSense 10 on July 28, and this is my first time posting here. I'm so glad that this forum is available! My home sleep study showed OSA with AHI of between 11 and 15. Since starting therapy, my results haven't netted much better results than the 11-15 AHI. And, the AHI since starting therapy has mostly consisted of Clear Airways.

My provider changed my initial pressures (which ranged from 6-12) to a steady 7 on 8/12. She saw that my apneas occurred related to the change in pressure during the night. I had a few nights of numbers below 5, but then my AHI kept creeping up for that next week. She increased my pressure to a steady 8 on 8/12, and it hasn't improved my AHI. I'm happy to attach some Oscar data, though I can't find a way to attach images or documents to this forum. (any help would be appreciated!)

My questions are these, understanding that I'm only looking for opinions and suggestions, but not medical advice: Does a lower pressure generally reduce the Clear Airways? Might reducing my EPR (or setting at 0) also assist?

Thanks so much for any ideas or feedback you might offer! I'm ready to feel better, and am frankly sick and tired of awakening multiple times in the night.

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Sierra +1 point · over 2 years ago Sleep Patron

All you need to post is a Daily Report screenshot. Maximize it on your screen and use the F12 (on a PC) to save an image file. Watch the bottom right of the screen to see where it is saved. With file explorer find the file, then left click and drag it to an open message window here. Use the Reply button on the bottom left of the screen here to start a full width window to post it in. Do not post multiple images, just the one Daily report of a typical night of concern. For some reason the spam filter here will put your post into purgatory for a few days if you post multiple images and are a new user. Even with one image there may be some delay.

Yes, in general CA or central apnea events tend to be made worse with more pressure. I suffer from them, but can get away with a fixed pressure of 11 cm. The only way to determine if EPR is helping or hurting is to try it on at 3 cm and the off for a few nights. It is kind of a trial and error thing.

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amymusic +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

OK, thanks for the guidance, Sierra. I'm attaching last night's data, and this should be a good representation. I'll try to turn off the EPR tonight and see how it goes.

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amymusic +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

Thank you for your reply, Sierra! I will try turning off the EPR starting tonight. And, I'm attaching last night's oscar report as a good sample. This is the second time I'm attempting this post, so my reply might already be stuck in the purgatory you mention. Uh oh...

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Sierra +0 points · over 2 years ago Sleep Patron

Sorry for the late response. I was away for 10 days or so.

Yes, you do have a lot of CA events. I also see your machine is stopping and starting many times during the night. That however is not likely contributing to the CA event frequency. They are all happening at 8 cm of pressure. About all I can suggest is lowering the pressure in steps of 1 cm to see if that reduces the frequency of them. You could likely go as low as 5 cm, but that may not be comfortable.

If reducing the pressure does not work, you should ask your provider about using an AirSense ASV. They are expensive but are specially made to reduce CA events. You may also want to talk to your doctor about any medications you are taking that may be contributing. Opioids in particular can cause central apnea.

Please be advised that these posts may contain sensitive material or unsolicited medical advice. MyApnea does not endorse the content of these posts. The information provided on this site is not intended nor recommended as a substitute for advice from a health care professional who has evaluated you.