Should user change own settings

[JayTea26wy]

I've been reading posts on this forum. I'm so glad I'm here! I noticed some folks are changing things like pressure, ramp time, humidifier settings, etc.
My home care provider set my Dreamstation machine per doctors specification.
Does that mean that I should not attempt to make any setting changes myself?

[DWaldman]

Depends. Ramp time and humidifier settings are for your comfort, and you should feel free to adjust them to your liking. Same with exhale relief settings. Pressure settings are set to the range or fixed pressure your Dr. recommended.
Many of us here monitor or own therapy using data collected by the machine and read in a software program like Sleepyhead. With the help of the clinicians manual for our machine, we access the menus that allow us to set fixed pressure for CPAP or a range of pressures for APAP. Most DR.s do not take a lot of time to help patients get the best from their therapy, so many people remain uncomfortable, or the therapy isn't as effective as it could be.
Now, do you want to dive in and learn what you will need to know to set your own pressure settings? Or are you more comfortable trying to get your DR. and med supplier set you up with your treatment. It's a choice, and only you can answer if you feel comfortable taking charge of your treatment.
I did it right from the start, and never looked back.

[chill]

My attitude is that it is ME not my doctor strapped to this mask all night. And I am going to learn and do everything that I can to make this work better for me. I have a lot more time to devote to that than my doctor does.

I can't see how you would cause anything other than a poor night's sleep mis-adjusting a standard CPAP machine. I am not sure about the higher pressure BiPAP and ASV machines.

[Mosquitobait]

FWIW, your home care provider or DME can only change settings with a doctor's order because law states this. The owner of a machine can do what they choose to do because....they own the machine.

[trish6hundred]

Hi JayTea26wy,
WELCOMME! to the forum.!
Good luck to you with your CPAP therapy and hang in there for more answers to your question.

[DariaVader]

what MosquitoBait said.... plus

You should not change settings unless you first collect data and learn to understand something about that data. However, if you do that - then you will be in a better position than your doc to say what the settings should be as 90% of them never look at the data.

[Sn00zeAlarm]

So do not change it yourself until the insurance payments stop? I think for Medicare that is 13 months. The paperwork says Medicare is *renting* the machine for me, not making time payments toward ownership. I am not clear that I would ever actually own this specific machine. Where is that spelled out?

[OpalRose]

You should not be changing your pressure settings until you have analized your data by using software. You should download SleepyHead software and look at your data for a week or so, and keep track of your AHI and the breakdown of that number. You can study the graphs to see what apnea events you are having and the pressures needed. If you don't feel well, or the numbers are too high, then its time to take a closer look.

Now I'm not talking about EPR, FLEX, or Humidifer settings. These are for your comfort and you should change them as needed.

Medicare Compliance:
Medicare pays rent to the DME for 13 months, provided you have met compliance during the first 90 days.

Must use CPAP a minimum of 4 hours a day, 70% of the time, for 30 consecutive days within the first 90-day period.
Must also have a face to face Doctor Appointment after the first 31 days, but before the 90-day period is up.

Once the 13 months has ended, you own the machine.


You can find this information on the Medicare.gov website.

Now as far as not changing pressure, this is usually a scare tatic from providers and DME's. It has nothing to do with compliance and insurance paying. Insurance (Medicare) only looks at Compliance (hours used), not pressure settings.