Negative effects of too high of pressure? Symptoms?

Was just curious what the general negative affects might be for someone whom is rated at say a 13cm pressure, but is using the cpap therapy at say 17/18cm pressure.

Other than of course the comfort issue of such a higher pressure, would it cause any kind of loss of oxygen intake over the course of the night. Wasn't certain if there were some detrimental affect by chance. Was concerned for those whom loose large amounts of weight, 50-100lbs+, that in general would cause a lower rate adjustment on the cpap machine.

Sleepiness during the day? Headaches? Other sleep apnea-type symptom characteristics?

Thanks in advanced!

rumor has it, besides discomfort, you might have a higher rate of centrals, e.g. 'forgetting to breathe', not due to obstruction.

It should not cause any problems other than discomfort and maybe more awakenings.

The one exception is if you have a tendency to central sleep apnea. Too high pressure is thought to induce centrals in some cases.

But why would you want to run at a pressure higher than needed?

rooster wrote:It should not cause any problems other than discomfort and maybe more awakenings.

The one exception is if you have a tendency to central sleep apnea. Too high pressure is thought to induce centrals in some cases.

But why would you want to run at a pressure higher than needed?

Sorry wasn't meaning for someone to actually run it higher than prescribed, to rephrase it a better way: Patient A has sleep apnea, prescribed at 18cm pressure to resolve the episodes. Patient A looses a large amount of weight (for example 100lbs) which reduces somewhat the need to have a higher pressure setting. lets say now needs it at 10cm. Unfortunately...as health care goes...many people have to wait weeks until going in for a retesting of the pressure setting.

In that roughly few weeks (probably longer time) would being stuck on the 18cm pressure be detrimental to the patient, causing sleep apnea-like symptoms...until they can be reexamined and reset to the lower pressure setting?

Dug around....old thread I found touches on the subject and sheds light on it a bit.

http://www.sleepnet.com/apnea124/messages/432.html

Patient B may indeed be suffering from pressure induced apneas.

Pressure induced apneas can be just as bad for you as obstructive apneas.

Patient C joined cpaptalk, discovered that there are data tracking machines, bought one, and changed her pressure on her own when she discovered her weigth-loss resulted in the pressure being too high, inducing many apneas. She gradually lowered her pressure, keeping track of the reported data, until finding a new pressure at which her reported apnea dimished.

Patienc C on her self adjusted, data capable machine is feeling much better that patient B -- who is still struggling with unnecessarily high pressure, while waiting for the health care system to have the time to guess what his pressure should be.

Sex change is difficult, but otherwise it can be reltively simple for patient B to become patient C.
He need his cpap Rx, and (I'm guessing) about $400 or so to get a data capable machine online.

O.

Do you not know how to change the pressure yourself? It's easy! Do you have the clinician's manual?

Julie wrote:Do you not know how to change the pressure yourself? It's easy! Do you have the clinician's manual?

Most people here do know how to adjust their own machines. You need simply identify what the machine in question is. Someone here will know the answer.

Too high pressure for me leads to a stomach full of air!

datajack wrote:Was just curious what the general negative affects might be for someone whom is rated at say a 13cm pressure, but is using the cpap therapy at say 17/18cm pressure.

Other than of course the comfort issue of such a higher pressure, would it cause any kind of loss of oxygen intake over the course of the night. Wasn't certain if there were some detrimental affect by chance. Was concerned for those whom loose large amounts of weight, 50-100lbs+, that in general would cause a lower rate adjustment on the cpap machine.

Sleepiness during the day? Headaches? Other sleep apnea-type symptom characteristics?

Thanks in advanced!

I was in this very situation where the lab transcribed 13 CMs to 15 CMs due to a handwriting error. Over time I worked out I needed 13 & subsequently (next sleep eval 2 years later) went to see my RT who read my prior results & in doing so laid out the typo but I had corrected it from my own experimentations a year before. (next sleep study confirmed it).

The problems that can come from too high a pressure (from my non medical background) include ...

- Mask management problems (14-15-16 seems to be a boundary where mask management goes from easy to frustrating)
- possibility of feeling 'hyper' - i.e. not sleeping as much, leaping tall buildings in a single bound, feeling 'over' ventilated (what ever that might mean)
- onset of centrals from excessive pressure (a very real issue & am sure was happening to me)


Be aware that all the above vary depending on if nasal pillows (I just could not handle 15 CMs with an Adams ckt mask) or nasal mask or full face mask.

F/F masks tend to 'buffer' the effects of the machine. There is a large 'deadspace' compared to the pillows or a nasal only mask. That extra deadspace tends to change the effect of things like risetime (on bilevels) etc:.

But in balance, excess pressure is not going to be too harmful as my SV machine repeatedly goes to 20 CMs each night but mostly in small bursts.

DSM

When your SV machine goet into high pressure, DSM, it is not excess pressure for you; it's the right pressure - and it happens based on your breahing (non-breathing) just before that. That's very different from excessive pressure as a result of an arbitrary setting.

O.

timbalionguy wrote:

Julie wrote:Do you not know how to change the pressure yourself? It's easy! Do you have the clinician's manual?

Most people here do know how to adjust their own machines. You need simply identify what the machine in question is. Someone here will know the answer.

My husband has a Respironics Bi Pap with Bi Flex (model 1007216) which he got in 2003. How would he go about adjusting the pressure on it? Any help is much appreciated.

bipapwife wrote:
My husband has a Respironics Bi Pap with Bi Flex (model 1007216) which he got in 2003. How would he go about adjusting the pressure on it? Any help is much appreciated.

I would suggest he try to get a newer model machine that is fully data capable. According to RG get - from viewtopic.php?p=307168#p307168

BILEVEL ("bipap") machines which record full data:
Respironics BiPAP Auto with Bi-Flex M series
ResMed S8 VPAP and VPAP Auto

The older pre-M Respironics BiPAP Pro 2 with Bi-Flex and ResMed S7 VPAP III record full data.

That model he has isn't fully data capable even though it has a smart card.

Once he has it, he needs to get the software and a card reader. Then he can keep track of how he is doing and how he might need to adjust the pressure like Ozij's Patient C above.

bipapwife wrote: .......My husband has a Respironics Bi Pap with Bi Flex (model 1007216) which he got in 2003. How would he go about adjusting the pressure on it? Any help is much appreciated.

We can tell you how to change the pressure setting. However, if you do not have a data-capable machine, how will you know that it needs changing and how will you know if any changes you make create improvement?

What is your hubbie's pressure now and what are you trying to accomplish?

Regards,