Inhale/Exhale Rate on BIPAP

Hi -

I used my new BIPAP over the weekend. All was well except the timing of the inhale/exhale. The machine does this faster than I do. I exhale at about 3 sec./inhale; the machine does it about 2 sec..inhale/exhale. Can you reset the machine to slow down the inhale/exhale so it coincides with your own breathing? Sure hope so. Thanks.

Depends of the mode you are using there is a setting for Ti min and Ti Max and those are the settings that can be adjusted so that the inhale and exhale timing is changed to be more in tune with your respiration rate and timing.

Did you get the clinical manual for your machine that explains all the various settings and functions?
If not you can request it here
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual

Looked in my manual for the AirCurve10ST. (Sorry, thought it was AirSense 10) Didn't see that you can adjust the inhale/exhale.

Anyone using the AirCurve10ST know if there's a way to adjust the how long the inhale and exhale is? Left 2 messages for the DME; 1 for my doctor's office. Just trying to find an answer before 5 so I can use the machine all night tonight instead of just a few hours.

Thanks.

Is your manual the user manual or the clinical/provider manual?
The user manual won't cover the Ti min and max but the clinical manual does.

I know this for a fact because I am currently using the AirCurve 10 ST machine...trust me...it's there.
If you go to the link above that I gave you and follow the instructions and request that manual via email...you can get it and the clinical manual has a lot more information in it than your user manual does.

Ok, Pugs. Thank you. I did find instructions for the clinical manual there. Can you think of any medical reason why the doctor wouldn't want me to adjust the inhale/exhale feature?

I can't think of any reason why changing the timing of the inhale/exhale would be a problem. It's mainly a comfort feature anyway.

Yes, thinking the same. DME called and said they had to call the doc to make the settings change. Why do they do that? Liability?

lwieland11 wrote:Hi -

I used my new BIPAP over the weekend. All was well except the timing of the inhale/exhale. The machine does this faster than I do. I exhale at about 3 sec./inhale; the machine does it about 2 sec..inhale/exhale. Can you reset the machine to slow down the inhale/exhale so it coincides with your own breathing? Sure hope so. Thanks.

I thought you got an aircurve ST, if so, you've got the wrong machine picked in your profile.

It appears that AirCurve 10 ST is not an available choice in the profile equipment menu.
So you chose the wrong machine and it's going to lead to confusion.
It's best if you just omit the machine and humidifier choice and add the machine in the comments section of your profile like I have mine. We can then easily see which machine you are using. We are used to seeing machines listed in the comments section.

Are you saying that your inhalations get cut off and then the machine switches over to EPAP before you're finished breathing in?

What is your Ti min setting at currently? I believe the default Ti settings are 0.3 sec min and 2.0 sec max on the AirCurve series.

If I was correct in my original query, try increasing the Ti min and see if the machine stops prematurely cycling.

I don't know if this will help you or not but I wanted to share something I just discovered with my ST machine.
Now I am using it in S mode so I don't know if the options are the same but I think they are.

I was feeling like the machine was going to IPAP too fast or faster than I wanted anyway.
I played with some of the other settings like cycle and trigger so that their response time was slower but it still didn't give me what I was wanting.
I watched the screen during my experiments.

Rise time was the setting that ended up giving me what I was wanting. The default rise time is "min" which means it goes from EPAP to IPAP fairly quickly and I was okay with it but it just wasn't quite matching my own respiration to my liking. I changed the rise time so that the transition from EPAP to IPAP is much slower (you can watch the screen and see how long it takes) and I now have it quite comfortable and suiting my own respiration rate more to my liking.

I had to try 3 or 4 of the choices available for rise time to get me want I wanted but it now feels just like normal breathing even with EPAP at 10.8 and IPAP at 15.
Plus it doesn't cause such a quick inflation of the Brevida pillow that I have been using and the fast inflation was a bit annoying.

Thanks for the suggestions.

The DME therapist adjusted the inhale/exhale rate to be closer to my own breathing pattern. I found that helpful. I also found out a solution to the problem I was having with the humidity setting slipping during the night. I was setting it up improperly. Last night I was hoping to use the machine all night for the first time and still couldn't. My mouth was still bone dry despite turning the humidity up to an 8. There was visible condensation on the inside of the mask and the mask started whistling when I turned up the humidity as well. Is this a problem that heated tubing will help? Was trying to avoid buying anything else since I"m paying off a huge sleep study bill and now a huge BIPAP bill.

There's always something, isn't there? Is it possible to have a problem-free, good night's sleep? I'm beginning to wonder. Been struggling with this for 14, yes 14, years now. So very frustrated.

How does one update the equipment info in the profile? Thanks.

The heated hose will help tremendously with the condensation happening in the mask or hose because of the higher humidity settings.
The heated hose has adjustable temperatures to keep the air warm enough in the hose that the moisture laden air doesn't cool to the point of condensation. It also puts warmer air into the mask and hopefully it stays warm enough so that condensation doesn't occur in the mask.
The air with a heated hose is warmer but not necessarily all that hot either. The highest the temp will go is 86 degrees.

Now you could make a hose cozy out of some old socks and maybe that would help keep the air in the hose and mask warm enough...just cut the toes out of some old socks and slide them over the hose and secure with tape or something. I did it years ago before heated hoses were available.
Another option is to warm up the ambient bedroom temperature so there's less likely a chance for the air to cool and release the moisture.
The moisture in the hose or mask is just physics in action.

I don't know what your DME charges for a heated hose...ask them...and I don't know how much your co pay is but you can buy them from cpap.com for around $40. I just ordered one yesterday for my AirCurve.

Now the dry mouth...unless you are taking meds that dry you out or you have some sort of health problem...most likely the dry mouth is from mouth breathing and sometimes even with a full face mask (like you show in your profile) the humidity cranked out by the humidifier isn't enough to keep the dry mouth from happening for everyone....even at mask humidity setting. These humidifiers weren't ever designed to hydrate the oral cavity..they were designed to hydrate the nasal cavity which is much smaller. Lots of full face mask users here have dry mouth to the point that they have to add some sort of oral product made for helping with moisture in the mouth like the Biotene produces and some others.

I have used a heated hose for years now because I prefer a cold bedroom and maximum humidity which is a recipe ripe for condensation/rain out in the hose and/or mask. I have found that not only does the heated hose help with the condensation it also seems to allow for more consistent humidity delivery which is something my nose likes. It doesn't like humidity bouncing around all over the place..my nose doesn't like change.
I use warmer temps in the winter and turn it down to mid 60s in the summer and the humidity delivered never changes from what I have it set on.

I just got my new AirCurve a week ago. I had a spare S9 heated hose but it won't work on the AirCurve machines. I tried going without the heated hose but I got major rain out one night and I put on an old hose cozy that I had and that has helped but it adds a bit of weight to the hose which annoys me a bit...then night before last I used up all the water in the water chamber and woke to stinky air. This never happened when I used a heated hose and kept the water chamber topped off. So that's why I ended up ordering the heated hose last night from cpap.com.

How to update the equipment profile? You go to the user control area..upper left of the main page next to the messages link and click on user control then profile the edit equipment in the profile. You won't find your machine in the choices though because cpap.com doesn't have that machine to sell.
So just deselect the machine and humidifier that you now have chosen and manually add the AirCurve 10 ST into the comments section of the equipment profile like I have my S9 Adapt noted.

Thanks, Pugsy. Sounds like I need to buy the heated hose...their price was $75. I guess insurance covers that...better check though.

I did change the equipment info in my profile. Let me know if it doesn't show up.