Sierra

OSCAR is not all that hard to understand. It reveals the detail behind the numbers. See this example of the important graphs that it produces. You can see when the various types of events occurred. For example at 3:10 there is a CA. central apnea event, flagged with magenta. It happened with pressure about 14.5 cm. Note that the cpap does not increase pressure in response to a CA. A little later at 4:30 or so there is an obstructive apnea event, blue, that does result in an increase in pressure. Pressure was very low, too low, and that likely caused the event. There is a rapid response with an increase in pressure, but it is too late. Pressure at that time was set at a minimum of 6 cm and 20 max, which was where the sleep clinic set it. The minimum pressure for her was way too low, and the maximum was too high. A bit later she has another couple of events around 5:40 when the machine has ramped the pressure back down again. She currently uses a min and max pressure very close together in the 14.5 cm range to avoid this from happening. She was diagnosed at about 73 for AHI, and needs a much higher pressure than you will. In any case that is what you can do with OSCAR. It is essential in my opinion if you want to adjust your own pressures. Otherwise you are just shooting in the dark. You can post your results here for input if you are not understanding what they are showing. No need for all the reports that OSCAR can do. The main one is this Daily report. It has the important stuff. With a PC use F12 to capture the screenshot. Then just drag it with File Explorer to an open message here. Start with a fresh full width window, not like this one will be with a response to another post.

The general idea is to keep the pressure as low as possible while still maintaining a low obstructive apnea index. If the pressure is too high it can actually create central apnea events especially when you are a new used of CPAP. EPR at 3 is ok to start, but once things settle out you may want to try it with it lower or off. Each person is a bit different but I have found that EPR can reduce hypopnea. In others it can increase OA events with the same pressure settings.

I would suggest you start with a pressure of 8 cm max and 5 cm min. This will give you some idea if this is enough and you can go from there. It is best to wait 1-2 weeks between significant pressure changes. I like to set the Ramp on Auto, and with the pressure settings suggested, set the Ramp Start Pressure at 7 cm. Another convenience is to set the start stop to auto so the machine starts when you start breathing and stops automatically when you take the mask off.

Do you have OSCAR. It is essential to keep track of things while adjusting the machine, and also over the longer term to measure progress. It requires a PC or Mac and a SD card reader. Check your machine to ensure there is a SD card installed or it will not capture any detailed data. Some suppliers take them out.

If you have any questions, just ask,

Since I posted here a year ago, suggesting I that I have a dent from wearing Swift FX headgear I switched to the new standard AirFit P10 mask with the improved headgear. This mask actually has worked quite well for me, but more recently the lower strap has been slipping upward at night. Feeling my head, I think the dent from the more rigid Swift FX mask has pretty much gone away. So this is kind of a good news, bad news story. The dent goes away, but the dent was useful in keeping the mask in place!

My wife and I both have CPAPs. When we travel we use tap water for the humidifier. It just means a bit extra time cleaning the humidifier reservoir with vinegar after you get home to get rid if the minerals. Does not damage the machine or the person. The humidifier acts as a distillation unit and only pure water gets breathed in.

Found this interesting article today about sleep apnea that claims 80% of people that have sleep apnea don't know it. It is probably true as getting a diagnosis is not all that easy. I am in the same province as the lady that is the subject of this article, and like her I got a "free" sleep apnea test with a take home diagnosis machine. The free part ends after diagnosis when they then sell you a CPAP machine for $2400. However, as my wife had been diagnosed earlier and to help her I had been following an on line forum, I knew that machines were available on line for much less. Both my wife and later myself got an on line ResMed top of the line CPAP machine for around $800 instead of $2400. Once you get your diagnosis from the "free" apnea test all you need is a copy of that which you can get from your doctor, to purchase your machine on line. This is all kind of too bad as many people not having insurance do not get the treatment they need due to the cost.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/the-dose/sleep-apnea-canada-challenges-diagnosis-cpap-machine-1.7108832

I have the AirSense 10 and I am not sure the door would be the same. You may have to use a piece of tape to hold it in place while being careful not to block off the air flow holes.

Unless things have changed the NHS in the UK will not pay for a CPAP until AHI exceeds 15.

My wife has much more of a problem with leaks than I do. Her Average Long Term Leak Rate is 8.37 L/min with 9.8% of the time being over the Leak Rate Threshold of 24 L/min. My long term average leak rate is 5.79 L/min, with 1.44% of the time being over the large leak rate threshold of 24 L/min.

She does better than me on AHI though with a long term average of 0.5 while I am at 0.86 for AHI.

No I don't think so. If anything large leaks may suppress the reporting of obstructive events. If you have a ResMed the machine reports the event during a large leak period as UA or Unclassified, as it can't tell the difference between a CA and OA when the leak rate is high. So, what you should see is an increase in UA events. . That said one theory is that there may be an increase in OA events right after a high leak rate because the machine does not increase pressure during a high high leak rate event and it may be too low right after the event. This applies only if the machine is in Auto and there is a significant difference between minimum and maximum pressure.

We have a Z1 Auto travel machine, but never find it worth the trouble to use it. My wife and I just take our AirSense 10 machines. When we use our trailer off grid, we use the 12 volt to 24 volt DC adapter. The humidifier and heated hose take a lot of power so I just turn them off so we can manage the discharge of the trailer batteries so they can be recharged the next day with solar chargers. We have not found any significant issues going without a humidifier, but once when it was quite cold I did get some condensation in the hose that was not heated. My advice to people considering a travel machine is to not bother. Not worth the hassle.