I am on fixed CPAP a pressure of 9 but because I was still tired in the AM the Dr. gave me an Resmed APAP to take home for two nights to record the results.
I felt much better in the AM which is good, but had two gasping waking up apneas each during both nights on APAP. Since APAP senses your breathing and adjusts, how or why would an apnea occur?
Thanks very much....
Tried APAP question please....
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rested gal
- Posts: 12881
- Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2004 10:14 pm
- Location: Tennessee
Maybe the machine is set wide open 4 - 20 ? Not a good idea, imho. If that's the case, then when you and the machine are rocking along peacefully at a very low pressure and you have a sudden apnea, the machine might not be able to run up fast enough to stop that apnea from happening.
Autopaps are good at sensing impending events just from subtle changes in air flow and raising the pressure enough to correct the start of a collapse in the throat, but if apneas hit hard and suddenly, it's better to have the lower pressure in the range already up there close to what it takes to keep the throat open all the time. Just my two cents.
When using any machine, if I let my throat relax as much as possible while drifting off to sleep, I can feel my throat slam shut UNLESS I have the machine set to use at least 8 or 9 cm H2O pressure. So, I have the low pressure on my autopap set at 9 and the high pressure set at 16. It rarely ever has to use more than 14, but I like a little extra ceiling up there "just in case."
Given that your prescribed pressure was 9, a good range to set your machine for (imho...I'm not a doctor!) would be 7 - 15 or 8 - 15 or 9 - 15. I'd set it at one of those ranges and see how things go for awhile.
Also, you need to be sure you aren't mouth-breathing or leaking treatment air out your mouth while you sleep. If you're wearing a full face mask (covers nose and mouth) that won't matter, but with other masks, treatment air detouring out the mouth won't keep the throat open.
Autopaps are good at sensing impending events just from subtle changes in air flow and raising the pressure enough to correct the start of a collapse in the throat, but if apneas hit hard and suddenly, it's better to have the lower pressure in the range already up there close to what it takes to keep the throat open all the time. Just my two cents.
When using any machine, if I let my throat relax as much as possible while drifting off to sleep, I can feel my throat slam shut UNLESS I have the machine set to use at least 8 or 9 cm H2O pressure. So, I have the low pressure on my autopap set at 9 and the high pressure set at 16. It rarely ever has to use more than 14, but I like a little extra ceiling up there "just in case."
Given that your prescribed pressure was 9, a good range to set your machine for (imho...I'm not a doctor!) would be 7 - 15 or 8 - 15 or 9 - 15. I'd set it at one of those ranges and see how things go for awhile.
Also, you need to be sure you aren't mouth-breathing or leaking treatment air out your mouth while you sleep. If you're wearing a full face mask (covers nose and mouth) that won't matter, but with other masks, treatment air detouring out the mouth won't keep the throat open.
My APAP will try three times to release an apnea and then stops trying. So - if you have the low pressure setting set too low (like the wide open 4-20) you don't get the treatment that you should get.
I've set mine to start at 9 with a max of 16 at the suggestion of RestedGal and it's working very nicely (says he about to do just the 4th night but waking up refreshed and delighted with the entire process!).
Good luck to you.
Ken
I've set mine to start at 9 with a max of 16 at the suggestion of RestedGal and it's working very nicely (says he about to do just the 4th night but waking up refreshed and delighted with the entire process!).
Good luck to you.
Ken
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