Quick question for those using apap

[snoringmountain]

For those of you with apap machines, do most of you us in auto mode all the time or do you run a titration sample occasionally the use in cpap mode?

thanks Jason

[msradar65]

running is CPAP mode and my AHI stays below 1 all the time.

[Alshain]

For those of you with apap machines, do most of you us in auto mode all the time or do you run a titration sample occasionally the use in cpap mode?

thanks Jason

I don't use an APAP, but I've already been here long enough to see the answer several times. Most people who modify their own settings use it to sample and then use the CPAP mode. Running it all the time doesn't serve any useful purpose, because if you know you need a higher pressure setting, then starting at a lower one at the beginning of every night is just a waste of good 'ol sleepy time.

[rosacer]

Hi Jason

I have an APAP and I run it on APAP ''ALL THE TIME''.

I started my treatment with a CPAP and then I changed to an APAP because my apnea is very positional.

I need a range of pressure throughout the night if I want to be the more of time at the lowest possible pressure. Sometimes I need 8.6 and other time I need 9.5 or 10. If I want to have the lower possible AHI I would need to be all the night at let's say 10 even if I don't need 10 the whole night. If I'm too long at high pressure I wake up with stomach pain because of aerophagia.

There are people whom are not able to tolerate the change of pressures (it wakes them up), they choose to use a CPAP, it could be other reasons too but for me and other people I prefer to run on APAP with a very narrow range.

[JointPain]

I run it in APAP mode, but with a small range. I set the minimum pressure to my prescribed pressure and the maximum pressure three cm higher. If I reduce the minimum pressure I just get apneas whenever the pressure drops below my prescribed pressure, so no point in that.

The machine reacts to my hypopneas and occasional obstructive apneas by rapidly raising the pressure and then slowly dropping it down. So the pressure graph looks like a saw tooth. On some nights it stays close to my minimum all night long, other nights it hardly ever gets close to the minimum.

The pressure differential isn't a problem for me. I don't even notice it. (Of course, most of the time it happens I'm asleep, but the changes don't wake me.)

[Pugsy]

I use APAP mode all the time. 10 cm minimum and 20 cm maximum. I use this range because I have found that probably 80 percent of the time I don't get past 13 cm but sometimes I see 18 or 19 cm and can't blame it on leaks. Just some extra tough events to deal with is my best explanation. It works for me. The pressure changes don't bother me, I sleep right through them. If they did I would use a tighter range and compromise a bit on those super duper events.

[rested gal]

I use APAP mode all the time. 10 cm minimum and 20 cm maximum. I use this range because I have found that probably 80 percent of the time I don't get past 13 cm but sometimes I see 18 or 19 cm and can't blame it on leaks. Just some extra tough events to deal with is my best explanation. It works for me. The pressure changes don't bother me, I sleep right through them. If they did I would use a tighter range and compromise a bit on those super duper events.

My answer is almost exactly like Pugsy's. When using an autopap, I use APAP mode all the time. 11 - 20.
Much like Pugsy described, my autopap pressure rarely goes above 13, and then only briefly. Occasionally it has hit 15 or 16, but again only briefly...and not because of leaks.

The pressure changes don't seem to bother me, either.

[Lizistired]

I go back and forth. I think I sleep better on cpap. But my pressure requirements seem to change with weather, allergies, etc. I think some people are more sensitive to the pressure changes than others.

[Janknitz]

I Run APAP all the time 9 to 15 cm. I usually hang out below 12 but sometimes I need 14 -15. Not sure why as I sleep on my right side all night. On this setting my AHI's are well-controlled 0 to 0.6-no desire to change to CPAP.

[DaveLP]

I use mine in APAP mode mostly. I've found that the higher I raise my max range, the more exhale puffs I get (breathing out through the mouth). That usually occurs at higher pressures. 9 is my sleep study pressure and I set my range for 9-10.5 or 9-11. At 10.5 I get flat tops in the elevated pressure. At 11 I get rounded tops (normal) but higher EPI and more hypopneas. So, I am better off with 10.5 as my max.

I use a nasal pillow mask, so I have to use a chin strap to help prevent EPI and the lower the pressure, the better my number are to a point. Playing with settings and finding a narrow range is best for me. Higher pressures tend to blow my lips open. I can't use a FFM because I have a closely trimmed beard.

APAP with software has been great for determining just what happens while I'm sleeping.

[nanwilson]

I use mine in cpap mode at straight 11, every once in awhile I will run it in auto to make sure my pressure is spot on. I use cpap because I feel better and sleep better on straight cpap. When I use it in auto I find that the ramping up and down disrupts my sleep. Cpap verses auto is up to the individual....whatever feels better for you. For those of you that think running it in cpap mode will not catch those elusive events that only auto will get...BUNK!!!! I never go above a 0.3 ahi and am often at 0.0 on straight cpap or auto. My ahi prior to going on the hose was an average of 27 events per hour.

[Pugsy]

or those of you that think running it in cpap mode will not catch those elusive events that only auto will get...BUNK!!!! I never go above a 0.3 ahi and am often at 0.0 on straight cpap or auto

Straight cpap will certainly get the events IF the set pressure is set high enough to prevent them.
For me to use straight cpap pressure at a level to get those events that require the higher pressures I would have to use 18 cm pressure all the time.. I simply don't won't to go down that road.

Not everyone has those type of events that need a huge pressure difference to ward them off. Sounds like you are one of those that don't have a need for widely varying pressures. You are lucky in that regard since pressure variations do disturb your sleep.

I am lucky in the sense that when I do have events that seem to need extremely varying pressures, the pressure variations don't disturb my sleep.

[2flamingos]

I use APAP all the time, and have since I started PAP in Nov. 2008. It works for me. While I have never had (that I know of) AHI of 1 or less, 2-3 is not uncommon for me. But I have to admit, I do not check numbers as regularly as when I first started. I can pretty much tell by how I feel.

[Muse-Inc]

APAP all the time, set 9.8-16, haven't gone above 15 so far, if I do will likely set upper range to 17. I have horrible on and off congestion that shuts down my nose and narrows my airways, then mysteriously clears up so that range (and my Hybrid mask) easily handle that unpredictable need for increased pressure. Leaks average 0 so can't blame that. I sleep much better on APAP than I did on CPAP.

[jmelby]

I started on apap with a wide range prescribed by my doctor since they were unable to titrate me from the sleep study (7 - 15). After a couple of months, and the RT from my doctor's office changed me to straight cpap 11. Even though that is where my pressure often ends up on apap, my AHI was significantly higher and I felt awful during the day on that setting. So, changed back to apap with a more narrow range of 9 - 13 and that has worked very well for me.