Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Too much pressure?
#1
Too much pressure?
I've been using my CPAP machine for a few months.  Overall, it has had a positive impact.  However, I frequently find myself removing the mask about 2-3 hours into sleep.  I feel as though I can't breathe.  I'm wondering if this could be too much pressure?

Has anyone else run into this?  Is there anything I can try to remedy this?

A little background.  I have very mild apnea.  My reports indicate I have approx 1 apnea incident per hour while using the therapy.
I have the Resmed Autoset10 using the nasal pillows.
I'm using the 20-min ramp feature.  I have the temp set to 81f and humidity set to 5.
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: Too much pressure?
You probably need to fine-tune the settings on your machine. The best way to do this is to get the free #Sleepyhead software. You can also see useful data on your machine's sleep data by setting Essentials to PLUS rather than just ON. This gives more detailed event data and pressure information to help you find out what your effective pressure range is. A setting of 5-20 is basically a wide-open default and is not the best approach once you have some baseline data.

In addition, your use of Ramp is simply unnecessary. With a minimum pressure of 5.0, I would turn off ramp, or set it to Auto so that it detects sleep onset and resumes therapy pressure. Your humidity setting appears very high, and may be contributing to humidity induced congestion.

Once you know the range of pressure you need, and can analyze the events or the cause of therapy discontinuations, we can help you limit the pressure and find a more effective range. Please consider downloading #Sleepyhead and use the links in my signature to learn how to post charts to the forum. I'm sure we can make you comfortable, and help you to understand your therapy better.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: Too much pressure?
Thanks so much for the quick reply Sleeprider. I will download the software and look to set essentials to plus. I'd thought about dialing down the humidity to 4, which was the factory default.

I'll post back in the coming days with an update (hopefully with Sleepyhead data).
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: Too much pressure?
In addition to what SleepRider said, take a note of your EPR setting. The feeling of inability to breathe may be due to pressure being too low (ie starved for air) or too high (drowning in air). If you are drowning in air and can't exhale then increasing your EPR setting may help.

EPR = "expiratory pressure relief" is a reduction in pressure when the machine detects you're trying to exhale. It can be set to 0 (off) through to 3 (highest amount of relief).

But as SR said, it's best to get some solid #SleepyHead data to see exactly what's happening.
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: Too much pressure?
Speaking for myself. A minimum of 5 (which is what you indicated you have in your settings on the sidebar) would not give me enough air. It could be why you are gasping. As Sleeprider already mentioned, you should post your Sleepyhead data and then you can get specific advice. Don't be surprised if your minimum will need to go a bit higher...
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: Too much pressure?
(07-14-2017, 08:07 AM)jorourke Wrote: I've been using my CPAP machine for a few months.  Overall, it has had a positive impact.  However, I frequently find myself removing the mask about 2-3 hours into sleep.  I feel as though I can't breathe.  I'm wondering if this could be too much pressure?
Newbies use the phrase "I feel like I can't breathe" to describe two very different scenarios with very different fixes.

When you say you can't breathe, which of these two statements better captures what you are feeling?

1) There is too much air coming in through the mask for you to exhale fully and comfortably and/or you feel the machine is rushing you to inhale before you are ready to inhale.

2) There is too little air coming in through the mask for you to comfortably inhale and you feel like you are struggling to get enough air into your lungs



Quote:Has anyone else run into this?  Is there anything I can try to remedy this?
Lots of newbies have the "I can't breathe" problems.  What to do to fix the problem depends on which "I can't breathe" problem you are dealing with.

Quote:I have the Resmed Autoset10 using the nasal pillows.
I'm using the 20-min ramp feature.  I have the temp set to 81f and humidity set to 5.
What are your pressure settings?  Are you in AutoSet mode or CPAP mode?  And do you have EPR turned on or off? If EPR is turned on, what's it set for.

We need all that information to help you figure out what to do about the "I can't breathe" problem.
Questions about SleepyHead?  
See my Guide to SleepyHead
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: Too much pressure?
robysue, according to the settings he indicated in his sidebar, he is at pressure 5-20. I would suspect it is the lack of enough air pressure that is bothering him.
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: Too much pressure?
(07-15-2017, 12:55 PM)Marillion Wrote: robysue, according to the settings he indicated in his sidebar, he is at pressure 5-20.  I would suspect it is the lack of enough air pressure that is bothering him.
Except the problem with "I can't breathe" occurs 2-3 hours after he first goes to bed and falls asleep. At that point, he's likely coming out of a REM cycle, and hence the pressure is unlikely to still be at 5 cm. It could well be that higher pressures are triggering the wakes and the "I can't breathe" feeling.

In my opinion, we need to first figure out what he means by "I can't breathe" rather than making assumptions that we know what he means by this phrase.
Questions about SleepyHead?  
See my Guide to SleepyHead
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: Too much pressure?
(07-16-2017, 12:30 AM)robysue Wrote:
(07-15-2017, 12:55 PM)Marillion Wrote: robysue, according to the settings he indicated in his sidebar, he is at pressure 5-20.  I would suspect it is the lack of enough air pressure that is bothering him.
Except the problem with "I can't breathe" occurs 2-3 hours after he first goes to bed and falls asleep.  At that point, he's likely coming out of a REM cycle, and hence the pressure is unlikely to still be at 5 cm.  It could well be that higher pressures are triggering the wakes and the "I can't breathe" feeling.

In my opinion, we need to first figure out what he means by "I can't breathe" rather than making assumptions that we know what he means by this phrase.

Don't forget, though....ResMed machine are always trying to get back to the minimum pressure they can (5 in the OP's case). It could be that he's had a decent sleep cycle without incident and the machine has backed off....which as he comes out of the sleep cycle and is "less asleep" his body then picks up on it and reacts to it.

Definitely would want to see Sleepyhead data, but my suspicions lay on the side of the minimum pressure being a little too low.
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.
Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: Too much pressure?
Agreed about needing to see the data for sure!
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Isn't Resmed's Expiratory Pressure Relief really Inspiratory Pressure Support?? Reznik 122 18,637 12-09-2023, 12:54 PM
Last Post: Kathy14225
  Any downside to using static pressure vs range pressure? hejohoo 6 922 09-08-2023, 11:50 AM
Last Post: Gideon
  [Pressure] Pressure suggestions to reduce ear pressure? rv88 0 646 05-24-2023, 05:43 AM
Last Post: rv88
  FFM HELP: no leaks, no nose bridge pressure and no headgear pressure on back of neck? koy23 6 1,556 01-22-2023, 07:33 PM
Last Post: koy23
  Is expiratory pressure relief similar to BiPAP on lower pressure settings? drmaestro 11 3,349 05-18-2020, 01:35 PM
Last Post: Gideon
  [Pressure] Difference between EPAP set pressure and operational pressure brugerard 8 2,350 01-02-2020, 10:03 PM
Last Post: brugerard
Question 90% Pressure meaning & Setting Correct Pressure for Auto-CPAP dk2011 2 3,646 12-28-2018, 05:37 PM
Last Post: Gideon


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.