POLL: How Have You Handled The Ramp Setting On Your Machine?

[echo]

That is interesting how your body adapts. I felt like the pressure was overwhelming when they raised my pressure to 14. I ramped it for the 1st couple of nights. Now I do the same thing I have my hand in front of my face when i fire it up full on 14 to make sure it is running.

same here but at 10.5cm. used it for a few days then suffocation hit.
Some mornings I freak out thinking I took the mask off, but no it's still there running at full pressure

[RachelM]

Respironics M Series was set originally with ramp beginning at 4, with 10 minute ramp. The rapid pressure changes were keeping me alert, plus I felt like I was suffocating. DME changed ramp to a 20 or 30 minute ramp, wouldn't tell me how to change it myself. Thanks to this forum I learned how to change the ramp and had it start at 6 or 7, on its way up to 11. After a few weeks of getting used to CPAP I no longer needed ramp. I only very occasionally use it now. If there's congestion, starting the night low seems to help.

[lhpangler]

My pressure setting is 17 now, adjusted from 18.
Ramp 10 Mins seems to work best for me.
It gives me time to settle in. I believe that is starts at a pressure of about 8.
Someone earlier said "funny how the body learns..."
Do you ever wake up in the morning unsure if you CPAP is running???
You get so in tune with it, other than the mask, you don't know it is there.

[maggie22561]

Well, I can't change my vote now, but after reading how several of you either never used the ramp or no longer use it I decided to try a night without it. The first gush of air was a bit much but I kept breathing on through and got very comfortable with the pressure very quickly. I've used no ramp for 3 nights now and don't think I'll return to using it again. I also decided it was time since I was nearing one months use. Today marks that one month.

[thewetlizard]

my pressure is so low that I couldn't see the reasoning for using the ramp

[bigk]

I set my new S9 to emulate the old S8II with it's settling feature. I set a 30 min ramp at my minimum pressure of 10 - so it gives me 30 minutes to get to sleep before it adjusts. My range is 10-15. I also have EPR turned off.

[newhosehead]

I am certainly not in the majority here (something I have become accustomed to in many areas of life ) I always use ramp, although I upped it to 7 from the 4 my DME originally set it at. My pressure is 12 and if I dont use ramp, getting to sleep is not going to happen easily for me. Funny thing is, on the rare occasion that I wake up for a bathroom visit in the middle of the night, I have no problem returning to full pressure. Oh well, whatever works. And it works, for me.

Jeanette

[D-mo]

2nd post here ... so please bear with me.
I have only been using my S8 for about a week now and now find the ramping to be a real wierd sensation. I end up breathing through my mouth for the inital setup and gradually start breathing inhaling and exhaling through my nose. I am wondering why this ramp feature does not have the same program as the "non ramp" mode, where it lets you easily exhale into the the nose piece . Or perhaps I have my Resmed Swift FX positioned incorrectly.

D-mo

[bearded_two]

CPAP ramp is the work of the devil.

[nobody]

I think the ramp is pointless. I seem to always have an apnea immediately after I fall asleep, so I always would wake up gasping if the ramp was on. I just turned it off and never gave it another thought!

[Scarlet834]

I don't need the ramp setting for comfort at all. At one point I used it for an alternate purpose--to track middle-of-the-night awakenings. I reset the ramp to 5 minutes, one notch below my normal pressure setting. While I was trying to closely scrutinize what was going on in the middle of the night I would hit the ramp button and try to go back to sleep without looking at the time on the clock. It made a little tick mark on my printouts.

I don't do this any longer. I do wake up in the morning hours, but less than I used to and I'm doing pretty well during the day. I have to say I never did tie a reason for awakening into the print outs, but psychologically I find it better not to clock-watch in the early morning. Using the ramp for this purpose gave me an out.

[Joetan82]

I am fairly new user and have used it now for 18 or 19 nights. I am getting used to it as far as the mask being comfortable and falling asleep with it. I have no issues once I am asleep except that I have taken off the mask while I am sleeping about 3 times thus far. The ramp is crucial I think as I have it start at 7 cm/h2O and it goes up to my prescribed pressure of 15 in 30 minutes. If I start to fall asleep faster, which I already have,I may reduce ramp time to 15 or 20 but I find the ramp very useful as it allows me to fall asleep with lower more comfortable pressure.

[TheTwinsMom1]

My DME had the ramp set to start at 4 over 20 minutes and that was too low.

I ended up changing the ramp to 15 minutes and it starts at 6. This seems to work well for me.

[Paula J]

DME started my ramp at 8 (my prescribed pressure is 18) for 30 min. After a year of this, I moved my ramp up to 10. It's very comfortable going to sleep and I will probably always use my ramp. It seems as if it lets me set my own breathing pattern easier. When it moves up to 18, it seems I have to breathe faster, which is OK, after I am asleep!

[SleepingDVader]

I kept cutting down the ramp time for the first couple of weeks, then turned it off altogether. My pressure setting is 19 IPAP/15 EPAP and have switched from the Quattro FX FFM to the Aloha nasal pillows mask using papcap w/chinstrap and blue painters tape. I'm done experimenting with masks and setup and have no leak or high AHI problems anymore. AHI numbers are now consistently below 5 with lowest thus far of 0.5, and leaks are negligible. Just passed the 6 month mark with my therapy.