High "Clear Airway" events

[zzzzk]

BiPAP's induce CA apneas, so it's not surprising that EPR does too. It's probably an effect that subsides with time.

That seems to be highly variable. Bilevel seems to help some people with CA, but it may harm or be ineffective for others. Bilevel is one of the first things they tend to try for people with CA.

The study results were posted here recently and are consistent with my experience. Patients with simple OSA wer put on BiPAP's and they induced CA's. In my case it drove my AHI up above 15 for about 10 consectutive days. My doctor's remedy was to lower the pressure. My AHI now averages between 1.1 and 1.4.

Respironics has "CFlex, AFlex, CFlex+, and BiFlex". There are differences in the shape of the pressure waveforms between Flex versions.

Yup, I realize that now. My BiPAP has has Bi-Flex and according to the manual it does alter the shape of the presssure curve. It's the only Flex option available in BiPAP mode. I don't know if putting the machine in CPAP mode would make a C-Flex option available. I'll have to do some tinkering. Since it's a BiPAP I could lower the Flex and raise the EPAP. See if that makes a difference.

Hi Sleepster, interesting, you said that people with standard OSA were automatically given a BiPAP rather than an APAP? Can you tell me why? I thought BiPAP's were only usually given with people who probably had centrals? Thank you.

[Sleepster]

Hi Sleepster, interesting, you said that people with standard OSA were automatically given a BiPAP rather than an APAP? Can you tell me why?
I thought BiPAP's were only usually given with people who probably had centrals? Thank you.

I don't recall saying that. People with simple OSA are given a CPAP, a BiPAP, or a APAP. When people are put on a CPAP during their sleep study and have trouble exhaling against the pressure, they will often be given a BiPAP. I spent the first couple of weeks on CPAP and then was switched to BiPAP because I had aerophagia.

More sophisticated BiPAP's are prescribed for patients who have central or mixed apnea.

The other thing I said was that when patients with OSA are put on a BiPAP it sometimes induces central apnea events. The same thing is true of CPAP machines, but there are some people, myself included, for whom a CPAP does not induce CSA, but a BiPAP does.

I'm using the tem BiPAP to refer to bilevel machines. Respironics calls their bilevel machines BiPAP's. Respironics calls theirs VPAP's.