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some newbie concerns?
#11
RE: some newbie concerns?
duh - of course. Sorry for not thinking about that. Of course the AHI over a 3 month period would be an average. Sigh - obviously math was not my strong suit - majored in philosophy in college. I can BS really well, does that count?
Thanks for your replies. I dowloaded the software and will see if I can make sense of it. My leak rate is good or so it seems on my machine - averaging about 6. Why aren't APAPs set up to just be open ended at the top and actuallly at the bottom for that matter. If it takes you where you need to be then why have actual settings of pressure? The last few nights my 95th percentile -pressure has been 8.8 so I believe I will raise the upper pressure to somehwat over 9 and see what happens. My AHI was 5.0, 5.1, 3.2 (when I deliberately slept primarily on my right side) and 4.8 last night. My doctor and his office was excellent when I was getting the machine and sleep studies, after care not so much. Told me I was the first patient that ever asked about seeing their data and getting reports...Really? I find that hard to believe.
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#12
RE: some newbie concerns?
Sometimes you need to go down instead of up. After giving the new settings a fair chance- really a good fair chance is a month though it seems like forever, perhaps go down a cm, or .5 at a time.
Good luck. Also AHI less than one is unrealistic- stay under five, or under three or four for sure. Anything less is icing on the cake.

Just read the post after mine and I concur you can titrate fine with a CPAP. I think it's easier. The reason you don't want an open ending setting on an AUTO is that it takes the machine time to "hunt" for the optimum pressure. I would set the bottom number at my CPAP prescription and the top number a few cm about what your 95% pressure is.
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#13
RE: some newbie concerns?
(03-15-2012, 08:51 AM)Beth T. Wrote: Why aren't APAPs set up to just be open ended at the top and actually at the bottom for that matter. If it takes you where you need to be then why have actual settings of pressure?

Apparently, APAP's don't always find your correct pressure. They may overshoot or undershoot, so they need to be monitored and corraled.

Humans can essentially do the same, or perhaps even better, when adjusting a CPAP.

The thing a APAP will do that a CPAP won't is adjust the pressure throughout the night, while you're sleeping. Now, whether this is an advantage or not, and for which patients, is something that hasn't been made clear to me.
Sleepster

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#14
RE: some newbie concerns?
(03-15-2012, 08:51 AM)Beth T. Wrote: Why aren't APAPs set up to just be open ended at the top and actuallly at the bottom for that matter. If it takes you where you need to be then why have actual settings of pressure?

There are two beliefs here.

Those who feel that it should be open ended (top & bottom - i.e. 4 - 20).

And those who feel there should be a much narrower range.
I fall in this 2nd category.

While I believe that having the top pressure at it's max of 20 may not be that bad, since you will probably never get there, my preference is for a narrower range of about 3 lower than & 4 higher than your titrated pressure.
So, if your pressure should be 15, I would set it at 12 - 19.
As time goes by & you review your data, you can change either one either up or down as the data suggests.

While having the upper limit at its max of 20 may be OK, having the lower limit at 4 could produce problems because it does take some time for the machine to realize that you may need a pressure of 15 & get up to that. It starts off & 4 & gradually goes up to 15.
So, while it is going from 4 to 15, you are not getting the optimum pressure that you really need.

Whereas if you start at 12, it allows for the pressure to go down when you don't really need 15. But it starts off at a high enough pressure to be helping you.

The reason I don't set my APAP at the max pressure of 20 is that in some very isolated instances the machine goes up to a higher pressure for some unknown reason that may not be a valid reason for a pressure increase.
I don't want it to have to take the time to trend back down to the pressure I really need (say 15) from that high of 20.

Now if my APAP was consistently at the high end of the range I have set (which it is not), I would move the high end even higher.
Using the ResMed Mirage SoftGel Nasal Mask with a chinstrap

I do not use either the Ramp nor the EPR Comfort features

Have been on CPAP since December 1998

This is my 3rd machine

I use the ResMed ResScan Software (Version 3.16)
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#15
RE: some newbie concerns?
(03-15-2012, 03:40 PM)Sleepster Wrote: [quote='Beth T.' pid='3005' dateline='1331819505']
The thing a APAP will do that a CPAP won't is adjust the pressure throughout the night, while you're sleeping. Now, whether this is an advantage or not, and for which patients, is something that hasn't been made clear to me.

Having experienced both - with an APAP range of 12 to 20 vs CPAP at 18, then 16 when I yelped...

It's an advantage.

The biggest thing I noticed was that, with the fixed pressure, I never slept as soundly or without being woken up by the pressure, or a leak, or whatever, as I changed position. With the APAP, when I start to rouse, the pressure backs off, and I settle again without really being disturbed. I never felt as rested or refreshed on fixed CPAP as I did on APAP before, and after, a couple months with fixed CPAP.


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#16
RE: some newbie concerns?
(03-15-2012, 04:02 PM)Steven Wrote:
(03-15-2012, 08:51 AM)Beth T. Wrote: Why aren't APAPs set up to just be open ended at the top and actuallly at the bottom for that matter. If it takes you where you need to be then why have actual settings of pressure?


While I believe that having the top pressure at it's max of 20 may not be that bad, since you will probably never get there, my preference is for a narrower range of about 3 lower than & 4 higher than your titrated pressure.
So, if your pressure should be 15, I would set it at 12 - 19.
As time goes by & you review your data, you can change either one either up or down as the data suggests.

While having the upper limit at its max of 20 may be OK, having the lower limit at 4 could produce problems because it does take some time for the machine to realize that you may need a pressure of 15 & get up to that.

I agree - and I've actually experimented with it. I have to have 20 upper, because often I'm 19+ (as a high, less often that's the 95% average, but that happens too...) but I found the 10 - 20 range that I was prescribed didn't work as well as the 12 to 20 I have it at now. 13 to 20 might be better...but I've noticed a trend downward in the last couple months, as I've lost weight, so I'm not going to tinker just yet.
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