Dreamstation auto set up

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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tiredNorlando
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Location: orlando florida

Dreamstation auto set up

Post by tiredNorlando » Wed Jul 12, 2017 9:42 am

Going to try my first night with the new machine tonight.. Had a few questions

Which setting should I start with ? There are so many! Opti start, ez start, a trial, a trial days, auto min, auto max.. The list goes on and on!

Also what about humidification and heated hose settings?

I just want to try it tonight and make sure I have the basic settings set up correct

Thanks !

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Pugsy
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Re: Dreamstation auto set up

Post by Pugsy » Wed Jul 12, 2017 10:12 am

My suggestion is start with given you are pretty much self diagnosing and self treating and have no idea about anything

Auto mode
Minimum of 6 cm if that is comfortable for you...any less and some people feel a bit air starved or like they are suffocating. They won't suffocate but it can sure feel like it.
Maximum....two ways to think about it...set it to 20 and see where it wants to go (it won't go up unless it has a good reason but sometimes the going up causes problems...mainly aerophagia or gassy bloated stomach)
Or set a modest 10 max and see if the machine ever goes there and if it does how long (need the software to see the pressure graphs).

When people are brand new to this therapy and never having experienced it the changing pressures can disturb a person's sleep and we don't want that. Just having the mask on and blowing air in your mouth and up your nose is disturbing all by itself. I see no sense in adding in other potential disturbing factors if I can help it.
This is what I did when I screened my sister and her husband using my auto machine...6 minimum and 10 max.
She never made it off 6 but her husband topped out at 9.5.

Play with the Flex settings available...try all of them including off and choose one that simply feels the best to you regardless of the number. I personally felt like AFlex at 2 pretty much matched my own breathing rhythm but you may feel that a different setting feels better for you. It's all personal preference when it comes to Flex exhale relief.

Humidity...again personal preference and I suggest a middle of the road setting to start with.
Heated hose...again personal preference but since it is now summer I would probably go with a setting on the cooler side of medium.
In the winter you might want warmer.
A while back I did a little poll to see where people tended to be in terms of humidity settings and medium to slightly above medium was where the bulk of the responders tended to be.
Humidity needs and preferences are highly individualized and there's really no right or wrong...there's just what works for the individual. I know couples who are both on cpap and one prefers maximum humidity and the other prefers minimal to none added moisture. Same house breathing same ambient air and each prefers totally different moisture setting in their nose.
You are using a full face mask ...if you do much mouth breathing the added moisture might help with the dryness that mouth breathing can cause. No guarantee because serious dryness the humidifier can't keep up with but worth trying if mouth dryness ends up being a problem.

Did I give you the software link?
If not
https://sleep.tnet.com/equipment

and if you want to share your report for member input read these
viewtopic/t103468/Need-help-with-screen-shots.html has some examples of what we like to see and how we like to see the graphs
https://sleep.tnet.com/resources/sleepyhead/shorganize how to organize the graphs..3 pages be sure to read all 3 pages.
You won't have a flow limitation graph with your Respironics machine so all we really need in terms of graphs on the right are
Events
Flow rate
Pressure
Leaks
I prefer imgur to host the images...
https://sleep.tnet.com/reference/tips/imgur

On the left hide the calendar and turn off the pie chart (Preferences/appearance tab remove check mark) and the AHI and each category of event along with statistics will move easily into view.
All that we need to see can be shown easily on one screen shot. Saves you work and saves us work. If we need something else we can ask. SleepyHead gives you a lot more graphs but they really aren't all that critical that we see them first. Normally the basics are sufficient.

Oh...before I forget go to Preferences/CPAP tab and on the right lower side changed the red line threshold number from 24 to something that is closer to what the Respironics red line leak threshold might be. Maybe around 60 L/min. The 24 L/min number is a ResMed leak threshold number and doesn't work well for Respironics machines and sometimes SH tells people they are having bad leaks when they really aren't. Respironics never gives us an exact number because the threshold can vary so much with the pressures used and the mask type used. 60 is likely a low conservative number and in reality the threshold is likely higher but it hurts nothing to have a bit of a cushion. The final decision about large leaks is made by the machine and the Respironics will flagged the large leaks in the Events graph and they are easily seen. If none are flagged then they didn't happen no matter what the statistic might say for % of time over threshold.

So you end up with an image similar to the one below...this one doesn't exactly match yours since it is mine and I use a different machine but I think you can get an idea as to graph size and what to see.
This one shows some really, really bad leaks. I was trying a new mask and it was moving around a lot because of various things...not having straps tight enough and wrong size frame. I think you can get an idea with this image.

At this point your goal isn't a perfect AHI or perfect leak line...your main goal is to sleep with the mask and machine...we will worry about fixing or tweaking something once we know what is going on and that's what the software reports are for.

Image

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Pugsy
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Re: Dreamstation auto set up

Post by Pugsy » Wed Jul 12, 2017 12:02 pm

xxyzx wrote:you will have to guess at the other pressures if you were not titrated Emax and min, i max and min , Ps Max and min and tweak from the data report
The DreamStation Auto CPAP doesn't have EMax or min or PS of anything. What you offered is only available on bilevel machines and even then on auto bilevel.
It's confusing enough without using the wrong terminology.

In auto mode....available settings are minimum pressure and a maximum pressure it could go to.
There is no PS at all. Not offered so please don't confuse someone or he will be looking for something that simply isn't there.
There is Flex exhale relief (which is similar to PS) but there is no min or max. Just one setting number and it doesn't equal cm reduction because Respironics actual amount of reduction during exhale is base on how forcefully a person breathes...ResMed exhale relief...yes a per cm reduction per setting but not with Respironics.

Full time Auto mode would be my recommended choice to start with. OptiStart takes 30 days to do anything and then all it does is fixed pressures and isn't a good starting option for someone self diagnosing or self treating.. EZ start just makes use of lower pressures to start with and my original suggestion of 6 is plenty low enough. Too low and someone is likely to feel like they are suffocating.

_________________
Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Additional Comments: Mask Bleep Eclipse https://bleepsleep.com/the-eclipse/
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.

If you want to try the Eclipse mask and want a special promo code to get a little off the price...send me a private message.

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LSAT
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Location: SE Wisconsin

Re: Dreamstation auto set up

Post by LSAT » Wed Jul 12, 2017 2:17 pm

Pugsy wrote:
xxyzx wrote:you will have to guess at the other pressures if you were not titrated Emax and min, i max and min , Ps Max and min and tweak from the data report
The DreamStation Auto CPAP doesn't have EMax or min or PS of anything. What you offered is only available on bilevel machines and even then on auto bilevel.
It's confusing enough without using the wrong terminology.

In auto mode....available settings are minimum pressure and a maximum pressure it could go to.
There is no PS at all. Not offered so please don't confuse someone or he will be looking for something that simply isn't there.
There is Flex exhale relief (which is similar to PS) but there is no min or max. Just one setting number and it doesn't equal cm reduction because Respironics actual amount of reduction during exhale is base on how forcefully a person breathes...ResMed exhale relief...yes a per cm reduction per setting but not with Respironics.

Full time Auto mode would be my recommended choice to start with. OptiStart takes 30 days to do anything and then all it does is fixed pressures and isn't a good starting option for someone self diagnosing or self treating.. EZ start just makes use of lower pressures to start with and my original suggestion of 6 is plenty low enough. Too low and someone is likely to feel like they are suffocating.
Shame on you Pugsy...Don't you know that "end of alphabet boy" is never wrong?

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Machine: ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
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