xyz wrote:> one of the guys that responded to one of my threads had mentioned straight CPAP being better and feeling better
It's difficult for me to imagine how that could possibly be true. Well, I can think of one, which I'll mention below (it was set up wrong).
> I am sure with time I would get used to the pressure changes
It has to be set up properly to work well. If apap worked less well for you than cpap, my guess is that the apap setting was wrong.
See the thread titled "Am I Missing Something." See zoocrewphoto's post ("your apap is set wide open").
Actually, I think it comes down to personal preference and what we are sensitive to. An apap can be adjusted properly and give excellent results. But if a person is sensitive to pressure changes, their sleep quality will go to hell. I can sleep through pressure changes. My machine gets up to 17 sometimes (usually only for a few minutes before going down). It goes up and down between 11 and 14 all the time. I really only notice if it if I am on my back and my mouth opens wider than normal and causes my cheeks to flap. I use a full face mask, so mouth open doesn't hurt my therapy. But I can't stand my cheeks flapping.
Now, I can sleep through the pressure changes, but even a slight leak drives me crazy. I get an almost zero leak line because I can't sleep with a leak. Even a slight hiss that I can't feel, or a slight feeling of air that I can't hear. I can't stand it. My mom can sleep through full blown major leaks. She even got the red frowny face on her machine for large leak. I've walked through the living room, and her mask is hissing away, and still an hour later. How did she sleep? Great. Nothing bothers her.
Some people really benefit from EPR or c-flex while others can't stand it.
We have to figure out what works for us, and it helps new people if we give them the options and help them try the possibilities. What works well for us may not work well for somebody else. But since we know that, we can offer suggestions. Just because something doesn't work well for somebody doesn't mean that the pressure range was wrong, just that that system wasn't ideal. If I had to go with straight cpap, it would probably be a 14 or 15 to prevent most of my events. But with apap, I can spend most of the night below 13 and let it spike as needed.
Who would have thought it would be this challenging to sleep and breathe at the same time?