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Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
#1
Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
Just for fun, I tried the auto ramp feature last night. With my pressure requirements so low, the ramp feature was of little value. But, I tried it last night with very strange results. My AHI was .4 (yea!). Best night sleep ever.

I am wondering if letting the machine decide when to start therapy is a good thing. I hope it is not a one time thing. It took less than 10 minutes but I never knew when therapy started. I even wondered if it started at all.
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas. 
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#2
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
As long as you're in auto mode, which you are according to your profile, starting at a pressure of 6.

The pressure then rises as needed.

The ramp feature will allow you start at a smaller pressure, and then "ramp up" or increase over a period of time that you set. It's not automatic.

The reduced AHI may just be a coincidence, more than one day's data is needed.
Sleepster

INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#3
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I have my ramp to start at 5, then ramp to 6, then therapy starts and pressure rises according to the Resmed algorithems.

According to Resmed, the auto ramp starts once it has detected a probable sleep state. This way you should not detect the rise in pressure.
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas. 
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#4
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
(11-26-2016, 12:46 PM)Rcgop Wrote: Just for fun, I tried the auto ramp feature last night. With my pressure requirements so low, the ramp feature was of little value. But, I tried it last night with very strange results. My AHI was .4 (yea!). Best night sleep ever.

I am wondering if letting the machine decide when to start therapy is a good thing. I hope it is not a one time thing. It took less than 10 minutes but I never knew when therapy started. I even wondered if it started at all.

Thanks, I was not even aware of the "auto" ramp setting until you mentioned it. I plan to try it out tonight.

I was told by my ResTech to set the ramp to 5 minutes and that it was strictly a comfort issue that would help me acclimate and tolerate my nasal mask at higher pressures. I never thought to try the ramp "auto" setting and measure the results.

Thanks again.


"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius
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#5
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I sincerely doubt that your ramp had anything to do with the lower AHI. Your beginning pressure is 6 and you have the ramp set at 5. That's not any kind of difference at all. I'd be surprised if you noticed a difference in pressure between the two.

I do not use ramp. Primarily because my pressure is so high, starting out lower makes me feel smothered. I tried making it longer, shorter. start out higher. Didn't make a difference. I couldn't breathe. So I turned it off. Took me maybe three nights to get used to getting the full pressure all at once. And not all night, just about 10 minutes or so at the beginning of each night. Now I don't notice 15cmH2O blowing into my nose. Some nights I have to put my hand in front of the mask to make sure the machine came on.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#6
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I know for me when I started I thought ramp was the way to start your therapy, I felt like I was starving for air and couldn't wait on the ramp to get to my lower pressures soon enough, then someone on board said to turn it off, and that was exactly what I needed. so two things I found out by not ramping was 1.) able to get a better mask fit for no leaks , and 2.) not starving for air.
I'm also one who felt like I was drowning in my own air and use an EPR of 3 , which really made in more comfortable to exhale.
Were all different I guess.
Sleep-well
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#7
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I don't use any ramp, either. The "assist" that the additional pressure provides is not unpleasant to me. It even eases my inhaling and makes me relax better, which helps me fall asleep. But my equipment supplier had set my machine for a 20-minute ramp. Fortunately I could reset it to zero ramp without the clinician's manual, which I did not get until a few months later, here at Apnea Board.
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#8
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I use "initial pressure" of 5.5 on the Apex XT auto which climbs up to my min pressure of 8.0. They don't call it ramp. I tried starting with 8.0 as on some days I get lots of hypopneas during that start out period and had difficulty falling asleep due to the pressure. So went back to ramp.

The small difference between your ramp setting of 5 to minimum pressure of 6 should not feel too different after a while, if at all.
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#9
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I quit the ramp on the first try, no air. I start at 12 and stay their most of the night. I get some pressure rise most of the time to 13 or 14. A few times to 19. I have one lung that does not work very well. The pressure settings seem to have helped it stay inflated more. I have seen an improvement in my oxygen levels when sleeping and during the daytime. Sleep-well

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#10
RE: Auto ramp: Do you use, why or why not.
I don't use ramp. I don't see much sense if your minimum pressure is only 6 and setting a ramp at 4.

A minimum pressure of 6 is low and you shouldn't need ramp. I always felt "air starved" or suffocated by using ramp.

This is my 2 cents......If you feel you need to use the ramp feature with a start pressure of only 6, you will do better without. If you have a much higher minimum pressure (example) of 10, and you are not used to the pressure, then set ramp to start at 6cm for 15 minutes.

Eventually, you will get used to the higher pressure, and stop using ramp.
OpalRose
Apnea Board Administrator
www.apneaboard.com

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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.  ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA.  INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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