I need some "honest" opinions about my theropy

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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rested gal
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Re: I need some "honest" opinions about my theropy

Post by rested gal » Wed Jan 13, 2010 9:59 am

abev wrote:am I ok with how I am treating my OSA for now?
I think so.

While I would personally always want a machine that could at least give me AHI and leak info via the little window on the machine (without using software) I was able to treat myself effectively for my first two months, using just a plain CPAP that didn't even show what pressure it was set at, much less give any data at all.

To know the pressure, I'd have had to use a manometer to see how much pressure it was blowing. The machine had a tiny little screw at the back that would increase/decrease the pressure, but it was still "guessing" how much the pressure got raised or lowered when fiddling with that. Without a manometer to check it, there was no way to know the pressure.

Years later, I checked that first old machine with a manometer. It was blowing 9, which I knew by then from having used other machines that recorded data, had been a sufficient pressure for me to keep my airway open most of the time. So, no wonder I was getting well rested with that first old machine.

My point: it is possible for people with plain garden-variety Obstructive Sleep Apnea to do quite well with a machine that doesn't tell them a thing about how the treatment is going. The more info, the better, but if finances don't allow getting a "full data" machine, most people probably can get perfectly effective CPAP treatment -- titrating themselves with a "plain CPAP."

The people in the study below had plain CPAP machines to work with, as far as I know. No software. No LCD data.

Link to a study that concluded, "yes."
"Can Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Titrate Their Own Continuous Positive Airway Pressure?"
http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/reprint/167/5/716
ResMed S9 VPAP Auto (ASV)
Humidifier: Integrated + Climate Control hose
Mask: Aeiomed Headrest (deconstructed, with homemade straps
3M painters tape over mouth
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