I like to use the ramp feature do you.

seagull · Post by **seagull** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 12:17 pm

I am experimenting with the remstar auto in auto and straight mode. So far I like the ramp feature in the straight
mode. It takes me along time to get to sleep and I like having time to get used to the varying pressure. I have the lower limits set to 8.5, but on the auto that is the only pressure I ever feel because I am asleep when it's pressure goes up. I kind of like the pressure variation with the ramp. Does anyone else prefer this.

lindas88 · Post by **lindas88** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 12:22 pm

seagull...I use a ramp setting...starts at 5 then in 45 minutes it goes to my set pressure of 11....I do like it too.

yawn · Post by **yawn** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 12:28 pm

Hi seagull, I have a Remstar CPAP and it also has the ramp feature. I really liked it when I was first getting used to this whole process. The pressure started at 4 and ramped up to 8...I was always asleep before I got to the 8. Now that I'm used to the CPAP, I don't feel the need to use the ramp anymore. A pressure of 4 leaves me feeling like I'm gasping for air so I just turn on the machine and start at 8. When I'm wearing my Activa mask, I sometimes feel like 8 isn't strong enough but if I'm wearing a nasal pillow system, 8 almost feels too strong and then I'm apt to hit the ramp button (which I adjusted to start at 5 now instead of 4).
Amy

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 1:41 pm

I don't understand why ramp couldn't have been implemented to work in auto mode. If I had done it I would ramp up to the minimum pressure setting for auto as if it was a non-auto machine, then switch to auto mode.

Seems simple to my engineering brain.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 2:03 pm

Does seem simple enough.

My guess (wild guess, since I've never really thought about it before) is that it's because Autopaps were originally developed (as I understand it) to do "auto-titrations" at home...for temporary use until a good pressure was determined, then the machine would be taken away and the person would be put on a straight cpap machine.

In a temporary period for "auto-titration" purposes the doctor usually has the machine set "wide open" (although I personally don't think that's a good idea, even for temporary titration) at 4 - 20 cm. The full range the autopap can use. That means a person would be getting a pressure of 4 to begin with, each time. Much like starting a ramp as low as it will go.

Since most of us who have autopaps use them for every-night treatment at home, not just for a trial auto-titration, I guess "ramp" matters only to us. And only if we are setting our low pressure up considerably.

Personally, I never liked ramp even on a straight cpap. I always kept ramp turned off on straight cpap, but I can understand why some like it.

SickAndTired · Post by **SickAndTired** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 2:25 pm

WAFlowers: My SWAG (as an engineer, I doubt if I need to define that acronym for you! <grin>), is that adding a ramp pressure setting to the auto-pap mode would have required the storage/maintenance of a third pressure setting.

I'm new enough to all of this that I may have overlooked the obvious, but it seems like...

For CPAP, there's the starting ramp pressure and the normal pressure, while for APAP, there's the lower and upper pressure settings.

Of course, the machine's memory resources shouldn't be so limited that an additional pressure setting would be difficult to add, so it may just be that someone got lazy somewhere along the design process!

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 3:17 pm

SWAG needs no translation.

I'd forgotten about the possibilty of a 3rd pressure and was just thinking about it ramping up from 4. However as you point out the little bit of memory needed to hold another number is nothing!

Maybe there's a good reason not to mix ramp and auto functionality, but from where I sit I think you hit the nail on the head: lazy designer!

4Katie · Post by **4Katie** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 4:58 pm

VERY interesting thread. My setting is only 6, but I use the ramp feature cuz the DME said it'd probably be more comfortable. But with such a low setting, I doubt it's necessary.

I've noticed that some nights I have trouble breathing at the beginning. I have to open my mouth and suck in air a few times til I'm ready to fall asleep. Maybe tonight I'll turn off the ramp feature and see how it goes.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this board???

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 6:53 pm

4Katie wrote:I've noticed that some nights I have trouble breathing at the beginning. I have to open my mouth and suck in air a few times til I'm ready to fall asleep. Maybe tonight I'll turn off the ramp feature and see how it goes.

If you do, be sure and report your results.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love this board???

Ditto!

OldSeaRock · Post by **OldSeaRock** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 7:30 pm

I'm so new to this... But, I like the ramp feature on my
machine. It's set at 7 minutes, that's about all I know
other than the function of the "ramp" feature.

Funny, I got out of bed last night and when I returned to
put on my mask, I turned the machine on and immediately hit
the ramp button - I was back to sleep in no time.

IMHO, Rampers have more fun.

rock and roll · Post by **rock and roll** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 9:12 pm

Put me in the camp of the negatives for ramping. I feel like I'm suffocating at the start. I just start off full blast. However, when I first started with a straight, I did like it.

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 9:26 pm

I have a Remstar Auto.
The ramp only works as a ramp when in straight CPAP mode.

BUT I like to use it to reset the machine back to its lowest setting in the range, when it gets stuck at the high end, even though I am wide awake and breathing normally. This is a feature (and a problem) they do NOT mention in the literature.

Barb (Seattle) · Post by **Barb (Seattle)** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 9:42 pm

If I use the ramp, I feel like I'm suffocating

There's a difference between autopap and bi-pap...auto moves to differing pressures, and bi-pap has two different pressures

rpalmer · Post by **rpalmer** » Wed Aug 03, 2005 9:50 pm

4Katie wrote:Have I mentioned lately how much I love this board???

Another ditto, 4Katie. This board has been a real lifesaver. Probably literally.

Put me in the camp of negatives for ramping, too, but apparently for a different reason than cited so far. I have a straight CPAP set @11cm & a ResMed Mirage f/f mask. The seal on that mask is designed so that the air pressure is supposed to "inflate" a double seal arrangement so that the air pressure will make & hold the seal, rather than cinching the headgear straps down real tight. Problem with the ramp feature is that there's insufficient air pressure to inflate the mask "skirt" & keep it sealed against the face.

With a pressure of 11cm the full pressure doesn't bother me when I 1st turn the CPAP on. Maybe @ higher pressure it would.

snowdog · Post by **snowdog** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 7:54 am

Negative on the ramp here. I've never felt that I needed it. I'm set on 12 and don't have any trouble breathing against it.

I like to use the ramp feature do you.

I like to use the ramp feature do you.

I Like To Use The Ramp Feature. Do You?