Philips Dreamstation auto or fixed

Hi all,
I have been trialing the dreamstation fixed and finding it takes along peroid before dosing of to sleep (up to 2 hours). Is that normal for starting on CPAP.
When I do get to sleep I might get 3-4 hours straight and wake up and then take it off so I can get back to sleep is that normal? Maybe the pressure at my set 9 wakes me up and keeps me awake. My latest sleep results before CPAP showed sleep apnoa per hour is 51 on back and 12 on sides. The sleep physcian said maybe try a auto machine and set it at 6-12.
The dreamstation fixed is around $1350 AUS and the auto is $2200 AUS (so much money).
Would it worth trying an auto, is it more comfortable and will I get more hours sleep. I tried to do a search on the internet and there seems to be mixed opinion, some prefer fixed especially at low pressure some prefer auto esp at higher pressures. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Steve

stephennic wrote:takes along peroid before dosing of to sleep (up to 2 hours). Is that normal for starting on CPAP.

No.

Before you make a big investment in another machine,

- Practice good sleep hygiene (Google it and read several sources)
- Eat a good diet
- Have a regular, moderate exercise program
- Try to avoid daytime naps
- Practice total abstinence of caffeine including sources like chocolate (sigh)
- Review all medicines, vitamins and supplements you are taking to make sure none are interfering with sleep
- Use the bedroom for sleeping (and sex) only, and make sure the bedroom and bed are comfortable.
- Learn to appropriately handle emotional stress in your life
- Use CPAP software, such as the free SleepyHead, to make sure your therapy is optimized
- If you still don't feel or sleep well, make sure you have regular medical checkups to confirm there are no other medical problems

CG

Before spending the extra money why not use the auto trial feature available on the DreamStation Pro model you already have?
Did you know about it? It should have 30 days auto trial available.
All this is explained in the provider manual for your machine...do you have it?
It should be an option in the clinical setup menu and the provider manual explains how to get to that special setup menu.
If you don't have the manual you can request it via email from here.
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual

stephennic wrote: it takes along peroid before dosing of to sleep (up to 2 hours).

Let me add, you should make sure to distract your mind by thinking of something pleasant while you are lying there. It's very common for newbies to think about their breathing and listen to the machine. Don't do that. When I started out, I would distract my mind by thinking of lying under an umbrella on a quiet beach in a warm breeze. Whatever works for you.

But don't forget that checklist I posted above.

1+ for grannie's sleep hygiene tips. Also Pugsy's 30 days auto trial suggestion. Grab the low hanging fruit first It's never a good idea to take your mask off and stop therapy during the night... that's just a bad habit that needs to be addressed ASAP.

There's been some crazy good deals on new auto CPAPs (previous generation) here during the last month or two... sorry I didn't bookmark them but maybe somebody can provide the info. Pugsy's good at keeping track of that sort of thing.

Hi all,
Thanks Chicagogranny and Pugsy for the tips. I have lost weight so in the healthy weight range, and avoid coffee and caffeine after mid afternoon. I probably don't get enough exercise at desk at work etc.
Well last night was better, I set the RAMP at 6 and exhale set at 2.It took about 1 hour to get to sleep. Had 5 hours but woke 3 times on my back but did go back to sleep. I had 9.1 AP per hour, normally have 51 without CPAP on back. Is that okay?
What would cause me to wake, the apneas, the 9cm pressure or just been on back?
Thanks to everyone for your help thus far.
Cheers
Steve

stephennic wrote:I had 9.1 AP per hour, normally have 51 without CPAP on back. Is that okay?

While 9.1 apnea events per hour is an improvement over 51 per hour there is definitely room for improvement and I wouldn't be satisfied with 9.

stephennic wrote:What would cause me to wake, the apneas, the 9cm pressure or just been on back?

Unknown. It could have been any of the above or none of the above or all of the above.

At some point you need to be using the software available to see exactly what is going on in terms of pressure and events so that you can make necessary improvements.

About sleeping on your back..it's very common for OSA to be worse when on our backs and so you could be having more apnea events on your back or your pressure when on your back simply isn't optimal because sleeping on your back makes those apnea events harder to prevent.

Without the software we don't know what that AHI of 9.1 is made up of. We assume most likely Obstructive apneas and hyponeas which would mean you need more pressure but it wouldn't be impossible for it to be central in nature and more pressure won't/can't fix centrals. So you really need to be using the software available in order to figure out what the problem is and then be able to try to fix the problem using available measures.

stephennic wrote: I had 9.1 AP per hour,

If you slept 7 hours, that is over 60 sleep interruptions during the night - very unhealthy.

Download Sleepyhead and get some help here with optimizing your CPAP therapy.

Thanks for all the replies, over 90 sounds a bit high for a night. Two nights ago it was about 6.1 AHI only for about 4 hours though.
I think the sleep physician uses encore. I had a download yesterday. Is encore any good?
I just trialling a dreamstation auto machine and they set the start pressure at 6, I feel its to low. I couldn't changed it as the sleep physician locked it at that. How do I up it to 6.5 or 7 as that is what I used on the fixed machine.
Also is the algorithm different on the auto at 6? as I noticed on the fixed set at 2 exhale it seem a little more comfortable to breath on the fixed, on 2 on the auto I seem to exhale to much and feel as if I am not getting enough air.
Cheers
Steve

Just to clarify what I meant - Is the algorithm different on the Dreamstation auto at 6 compared to the dreamstation fixed ?
I felt on the fixed dreamstation machine set at 2 exhale it seem a little more comfortable to breath on. On 2 on the auto I seem to exhale to much and feel as if I am not getting enough air. Any thoughts. Thanks in advance
Cheers
Steve

I don't think an auto will make a difference in how you sleep but if you still want to invest in one there is a great deal on amazon right now.

https://www.amazon.com/Respironics-dx50 ... ap+machine

a friend just bought one of these and is well pleased.

Thanks for the link for the amazon special.
I was having a noise issue with a fixed pressure dreamstation and the sleep tech checked it and noted it seemed noisier than usual so swapped it for another machine and now have it set on auto. Now most noise is gone. I have had my best sleep so far the last two night and the figures for it are:
First night: 7.2 hrs, AHI 6.5, mask fit 100% , periodic breathing 0 and 90% pressure 8.
The second night: 5.5 Hrs, AHI 7, mask fit 78%, periodic breathing 0, 90% pressure 9.
I found I slept better the first night. Just a few questions about the stats.
Mask fit : 78% does that mean I had mask leaks, I did wake up 3 times.
90% pressure 8 what does that mean?
AHI is a little high but better on first night.
Any thoughts? I will download better software soon either encore or sleepyhead. Are they both free? Do I just get the card out of the machine and put in the computer to read the stats
Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Steve

stephennic wrote:I will download better software soon either encore or sleepyhead. Are they both free? Do I just get the card out of the machine and put in the computer to read the stats

Yes both software free.
Yes just remove the card from the machine and put it in your computer to use the software.

stephennic wrote:Thanks for the link for the amazon special.
I was having a noise issue with a fixed pressure dreamstation and the sleep tech checked it and noted it seemed noisier than usual so swapped it for another machine and now have it set on auto. Now most noise is gone. I have had my best sleep so far the last two night and the figures for it are:
First night: 7.2 hrs, AHI 6.5, mask fit 100% , periodic breathing 0 and 90% pressure 8.
The second night: 5.5 Hrs, AHI 7, mask fit 78%, periodic breathing 0, 90% pressure 9.
I found I slept better the first night. Just a few questions about the stats.
Mask fit : 78% does that mean I had mask leaks, I did wake up 3 times.
90% pressure 8 what does that mean?
AHI is a little high but better on first night.
Any thoughts? I will download better software soon either encore or sleepyhead. Are they both free? Do I just get the card out of the machine and put in the computer to read the stats
Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Steve

It means for 90% of the night, you were AT or BELOW the pressure of 8 cm.


Den

.

stephennic wrote:Mask fit : 78% does that mean I had mask leaks, I did wake up 3 times.

From the machine's LCD screen mask fit means % of the night without large leaks.

So for 22% of the night you registered in large leak territory. Now some of it may have been related to wake ups and re-positioning the mask. It is also possible that some of the wake ups were related to a large leak or maybe even a small leak.

You really need to be getting the software up and running so you can monitor your therapy closer than what the machine's LCD screen data offers.

Like the AHI...it's higher than we want but we don't know what it is made up of...so we don't know if you maybe need a pressure adjustment or not. It all depends on which category those apnea events are made of. If they are Clear Airway/Central apneas more pressure won't help and could maybe hurt.
If they are Obstructive Apneas or hyponeas then you likely need a little more minimum/baseline pressure.