Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
Ok I have been using the new Aircurve Vauto for five nights. First few nights made several tweaks here and there. Have a new mask, Pico, which I am getting used to.
Present setting are the ones given by the Doctor- 9/5 PS 4. Some suggested in an earlier post I had before getting the machine to try a little wider range of 13/5 PS 4 but I decided to save that in reserve and start with basic prescription.
Night five results have been the best so far. The Apneas and Hypopneas seem to be doing well. The biggest number is Centrals at this point but do not seem to be that large.
I have posted two charts (hopefully) of that night. A general overview and a smaller part of the night which shows a few of the Centrals in more detail.
Any comments on what you think of the results so far including the Centrals would be appreciated. Thanks.
https://imgur.com/a/MGOQu
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
13/5 sounds like pretty good advice. Your IPAP pressure is maxing out at 9cm. You may need higher than 13cm. I would though drop the PS to 3cm to see if that helps with the CA's.
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
You are using your Vauto in fixed pressure mode because with a minimum EPAP of 5.0, and PS at 4.0 the IPAP max limit of 9.0 prevents any movement. In this case we see some periodic breathing and central apnea, and some residual OA. I think you'd be more comfortable and have fewer events at EPAP min 6.0, PS 3.0 and IPAP max 12.0. Maximum pressure should actually be a non-issue. If you put it significantly higher the machine would still only use what is needed to resolve the events.
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
Thanks for the input and observations Walla Walla and Sleeprider. I will up the Ipap number and reduce the PS for tonight and see how that goes. I appreciate the help.
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
Ok here are the results from last night with settings of IPAP 12, EPAP 6, PS 3. Any thing catch your attention on the charts that might help me to know if I should tweak settings?
I know one night does not indicate a pattern and that I am still adjusting to moving from my APAP to the bilevel. Thanks.
https://imgur.com/a/7onp8
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
Well I would increase EPAP to 8cm and decrease PS to 1cm but lets see what Sleeprider says.
12-14-2017, 04:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-14-2017, 04:39 PM by Sleeprider.)
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
I don't see why the settings suggested by Walla would not work. Pretty smart member. Most of the issues are related to pressure support, and nothing indicates the need for higher pressure.
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
Thanks for the input and evaluations. I will tweak as suggested and see how it goes. Appreciate the help!
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
Ok used the newest suggested settings. Took a 1 hour afternoon nap to pre-test. Then used the new setting overnight. Results look positive to me (the novice bilevel user).
My only negative if it is a negative is the new feel in my breathing before falling asleep. The inhale/exhale feels a little short like I am not taking in a complete breath. This feeling could be just my body getting used to the new settings. Or if you have another suggestion about it let me know. Other than that I can't complain about the settings and resulting numbers.
Just a side question about PS. It seems the lower PS of 1 versus a 3 or 4 which I tried previously made a significant positive impact. Just curious why a lower PS helped my number in this situation?
And thanks Walla Walla and Sleeprider for your help here.
https://imgur.com/a/36GcX
RE: Five nights on new Aircurve Vauto
What happens is if the pressure support is too wide it can blow too much CO2 out of your lungs. CO2 is what triggers your brain to breath to exchange with O2. If there's not enough CO2 your brain stops breathing until the CO2 builds back up. The amount of pressure support you can use is different for everyone.
That said I think I'd try increasing your PS to 2cm to see if your numbers hold. This would also make it easier to breath.