Guys with CPAPS…..

[RandomMachine]

I’ll have to double check but I’m pretty sure my minimum pressure is 5, and my max is 14.5.

I know I raised my max pressure to like 18 and it made my events even worse. So I dropped it down to my original script pressure of 13, and increased by .5 every 2 weeks. That’s my plan to try and get back to normal.

Cage

That minimum pressure is way too low. Bump it up to 10 and see how you do.

 

[hevi-head]

I think you guys should look into dental pieces... I have one and works great. Kinda looks like a two piece mouth guard where bottom hooks into top and prevents the jaw from sliding back.

Google search "sleep apnea dentist" in your local area.

I’ve considered that. Essentially for weekend getaways

 

[cage99]

That minimum pressure is way too low. Bump it up to 10 and see how you do.

Well on the Airsense 11 it has a setting (think it’s called auto ramp) to where it’ll bump that pressure up when it senses me falling asleep. So it’ll be at 5 when I’m drifting off of snoring, then hit the +14 when I’m out. I dunno if that matters or not, but that was my understanding of it.

Cage

 

[RandomMachine]

Well on the Airsense 11 it has a setting (think it’s called auto ramp) to where it’ll bump that pressure up when it senses me falling asleep. So it’ll be at 5 when I’m drifting off of snoring, then hit the +14 when I’m out. I dunno if that matters or not, but that was my understanding of it.

Cage

I have a Dreamstation 2, so I'm not too familiar with Resmed.

You may want to double check that. My understanding of ramp was it started you out on a lower pressure then eventually (or auto in your case) ramps to your pressure settings.

You can download OSCAR and view your sleep quality and kind of see what's happening. Hopefully your machine isn't sitting at 5 then only raising pressure when it senses an event.

If so, it will keep lowering the pressure once you stop experiencing events, which means you'll start experiencing more apneas, it will raise the pressure again...the apneas stop, it will lower the pressure and the cycle repeats indefinitely.

Being that you have a higher number of events than people using a higher minimum pressure you may want to investigate. I run my minimum on 11 in APAP, I usually have less than 1 event per hour each night.

 

[MAD_SCIENTIST]

Would those auto sensing cpap correct the pressure while your sleeping?

MS

 

[magicelevator]

Less than 2 per night. One of the best things i did for recovery.

 

[RandomMachine]

Would those auto sensing cpap correct the pressure while your sleeping?

MS

If you see a range it's an APAP, which does what you're saying. It starts at the bottom of the range and can ramp the pressure as you have events to prevent them from occuring. When they stop happening the pressure begins go down again. So your pressure is fluctuating based on the amount of apnea events occuring.

CPAP is a fixed continuous pressure. If it's set at 12 it's always 12.

Most APAP machines can be set to CPAP.

 

[danieltx]

I think you guys should look into dental pieces... I have one and works great. Kinda looks like a two piece mouth guard where bottom hooks into top and prevents the jaw from sliding back.

Google search "sleep apnea dentist" in your local area.

Dr. Craig Schwimmer was a client of mine and he innovated some of the non-CPAP sleep apnea treatments. The problem with them is they only work for about 60% of patients. If you're one of the 60% then you're good, but CPAPs are by far the gold standard for sleep apnea treatment.

Would those auto sensing cpap correct the pressure while your sleeping?

MS

Despite being called CPAPs almost all models on the market today are actually APAPs. That's why you set minimum and maximum pressures - so they can adjust the airflow based on your breathing.

 

[paulallen]

How steep is the learning curve if I was to purchase one on my own without any prior knowledge?

 

[hevi-head]

How steep is the learning curve if I was to purchase one on my own without any prior knowledge?

What do you mean by learning curve? There really isn’t one. I’ve been tweaking my settings and still can’t get anywhere near what some of these guys get per hour but still feel a hundred times better. Even when I got first got it with the Dr settings on it I was still at 5 or so I think

 

[Mufasa123]

Test had me 50-60 events. I'm now almost always 2 or less.

 

[cage99]

What do you mean by learning curve? There really isn’t one. I’ve been tweaking my settings and still can’t get anywhere near what some of these guys get per hour but still feel a hundred times better. Even when I got first got it with the Dr settings on it I was still at 5 or so I think

I’m in the same boat as you! Feels like I’m spinning in the mud. I’ve tweaked mine sooooo many times but never ever get close to being below 1API. If I’m below 10/hr then I feel fine throughout the day.

My neck is 22” and that has a lot to do with it.

Cage

 

[Mufasa123]

I’m in the same boat as you! Feels like I’m spinning in the mud. I’ve tweaked mine sooooo many times but never ever get close to being below 1API. If I’m below 10/hr then I feel fine throughout the day.

My neck is 22” and that has a lot to do with it.

Cage

Sleep apnea starts at 5 or greater from memory so that's not too bad if coming down from a big level. I wouldn't stress. Also it's not just number of events but length of them. An event is just 10 secs or more but someone having 20 events of 10 secs vs 20 events of 20 secs each is a totally different realm.

If you notably feel better then great. I will say my pressures for me are sky high and nearly max my airsense machine. Over time I've brought them down a tad but not sure if I'm a better trained sleeper or a bodyweight decrease as it was concurrent. Even at lower weight my sleep apnesr is multiples of severe limit so probably both at best.

 

[hevi-head]

Sleep apnea starts at 5 or greater from memory so that's not too bad if coming down from a big level. I wouldn't stress. Also it's not just number of events but length of them. An event is just 10 secs or more but someone having 20 events of 10 secs vs 20 events of 20 secs each is a totally different realm.

If you notably feel better then great. I will say my pressures for me are sky high and nearly max my airsense machine. Over time I've brought them down a tad but not sure if I'm a better trained sleeper or a bodyweight decrease as it was concurrent. Even at lower weight my sleep apnesr is multiples of severe limit so probably both at best.

Yeah before I would stop breathing for 60-70 seconds

 

[Brock456]

Full face. I bought the nasal pillows but haven’t tried them yet. Sometimes my nose is a little too stopped up for them I think. Yeah it can dry the mouth out but the humidifier is adjustable too. Just gotta watch, I’ve cranked it up but ended up with water in the tube.
BUT a dry mouth far outweighs 70 episodes an hour and the feeling like I’m drugged all day like when before I had it.

What kind of mask do you use?
Looking to change mine.

 

[hevi-head]

What kind of mask do you use?
Looking to change mine.

Here’s what I use

DreamWear Full Face CPAP/BiPAP Mask FitPack with HeadgearFitPack with 1 Medium Cushion with 2 Frames (Small & Medium)

Designed to feel like you're wearing nothing at all the DreamWear Full Face CPAP/BiPAP Mask is a truly breakthrough sleep therapy interface. DreamWear's unique soft frame directs airflow through two tubes that meet at a single soft, under-the-nose full face cushion for a simple, minimalist fit...

cpapx.com

 

[EnhancedFatGrappler]

So how many episodes per hour have you been able to bring it down to with it?

I am around 0 - 0.5 AHI. If I eat a very big fatty meal right before bed, it is around 1.5-2 AHI, (but I try to keep this to really rare occasions, like once every 3-4 months )

I have not slept without my CPAP since I got it, and I don't think I could even fall asleep, I'd be too anxious.

I have tried several types of masks and different brands. My favourite is the F30 from Resmed https://www.resmed.com/en-us/sleep-...nea-full-products-list/cpap-masks/airfit-f30/

I get a new mask ever year, they get a bit worn out after a few months.

 

[Mufasa123]

If you are going Full face (it's what I use - wish I didn't have to) the brand Fisher & Paykel is usually associated with the best. I used their Simplus for years and now Vitera though I still use Simplus head straps as the Vitera strap design bites into my head some.

I've tried other types and sure wish I could use them. Nothing else works (even taping my mouth fails) and my pressures are very high so I basically need to bolt this thing to my face. Sucks but gets results.

 

[marssel]

Without the CPAP ~90 events per hour. Started treatment and averaged ~4-10/hr. Within the last month my events started trending upwards to ~25-30/hr. I made some tweaks in my settings and now am trending at ~8-12/hr. I’m still working to get back down to the ~4-10/hr.

I don’t know what changed to make me jump up like I did. I could definitely feel the difference during the work days. So that’s why I tweaked the settings. Hopefully I’ll be back to ~4-10/hr in another month.

Cage

I started at 15 an hour which seemed absurd to me to stop breathing that many times a fucking hour. I now prolly avg 0.8, I hacked my CPap and my start is 8.0 and ramps to 9.6 in 15 min. I can get my events a little lower at say 10.5-11.0 psi but when I wake up my head and ears feel worse than an extra few events. On hard training days-chest/back/legs my events are ALWAYS higher, I assume it’s bc I sleep deeper or am more fatigued.

 

[Mufasa123]

I started at 15 an hour which seemed absurd to me to stop breathing that many times a fucking hour. I now prolly avg 0.8, I hacked my CPap and my start is 8.0 and ramps to 9.6 in 15 min. I can get my events a little lower at say 10.5-11.0 psi but when I wake up my head and ears feel worse than an extra few events. On hard training days-chest/back/legs my events are ALWAYS higher, I assume it’s bc I sleep deeper or am more fatigued.

My max air is set at 21psi. Ramp time is off but it takes a few breaths to get up there. Always hated ramp but sounded cool so wanted to like it. I'd just rather start with a good pressure and stay there. I backed this down from 24ish I think. It would push a shit ton of air into my stomach at night which sucked. My 365 day average is 1.1 events per hour from memory. Been like 1.3 lately.

Those stupid ass high pressures are why that damn mask is strapped down hard to my face. Sucks but works.