Newbie Question About Low Pressure

Hi All. I am so excited to be part of such a knowledge community. I am very new to using a cpap machine. I have bounced from pillows to full mask back to pillows over the last week. Over the past few nights the pillows are feeling much better than the mask. When I start my night I notice I am really trying to breathe deeply for air. The low pressure on my machine is set to 4 and max at 20. Ramp time is shut off. I am wondering if increasing my low temperature would be ok to do. I think it would feel less like I was having to work so hard to bring air into my lungs. Any suggestions or advice would be great. I have also listed some of the numbers from my report below. I would love to hear comments about my levels and if my machine pressure setting max is correct. I have gone to a sleep clinic but just looking for feedback for those in the community.

Flow evaluation period-4 hrs
AHI-10.6
RI-13.2
ODI-3.8
Low saturation/desaturation-86
Min Pulse-44
Max Pulse 91
Avg Pulse 53
Apneas: 6
Overall risk indicator: 13

many people feel 4 is too low a pressure,
the best thing to do is look at your data with sleepyhead, and set the minimum pressure near where it ends up going to take care of the majority of your events.

I have downloaded the data. Can you tell me where to find the pressure setting that would take care of the majority of my events? Average pressure shows 5.78. Last night got as high as 10 for a short time.AHI was .31.

Thanks.

Try a low setting of 6 or 7 and see how that works for a few nights. It's still very low, so highly unlikely to cause any damage.

You need to get the clinicians manual to reset the pressure. I don't have one for your machine. Do a search on this sight.

Sheriff

Apneaboard.com has clinician's manuals.

Thanks all. I have increased pressure to 6 and it's better but still a bit labored. Can I safely go any higher?

Ryan D wrote:Thanks all. I have increased pressure to 6 and it's better but still a bit labored. Can I safely go any higher?

Yeah, I would definitely give 7 a try if 6 still feels a bit labored.

49er

Anything up to 10 is usually completely harmless (been at it for years), considering how many are much, much higher anyway.

My IPAP min is 13 and the max is 19. If I use an IPAP less than 12 I feel like I cannot breathe. Everyone's experience will vary. No harm in bumping up by 1 as long as REM sleep still occurs.

edit: Are you using the RAMP feature?

No, I have the ramp turned off.

Ryan D wrote:Thanks all. I have increased pressure to 6 and it's better but still a bit labored. Can I safely go any higher?

you're going up to 10, according to what you said. so, yes.

I have my low end on 6 which is where it spends most of the time. Some nights I'll hit 12 but usually don't go more than 8 once or twice. My AHI is usually below 1. Some nights I put my mask on and feel like the first few breaths are slightly labored but quickly get to where I don't even feel the pressure at all.

When I first put my nasal mask on I feel like I am struggling a little. Once I settle down and relax that sensation goes away. I have the same machine as you. I have been using my CPAP now for less than a month. Still learning. My settings are 4 -10 and ramping is turned off.

On SleepyHead is the mask pressure the pressure we are looking for?