Setting APAP to static pressure?

SO I was wondering once we figured out that pressure of 10 gets rid of most of apneas....

Can I set up the APAP to only give 10 pressure and let it run through the night only on that pressure.

I mean I know I can but I wonder.. should I?

Would that be beneficial?

Yes you can, but no you should not. For part of the night 10 may be too high and for part of the night 10 may be too low. I

oh I understand

Fejsbukpejdz wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 07, 2020 5:17 pm

SO I was wondering once we figured out that pressure of 10 gets rid of most of apneas....

Can I set up the APAP to only give 10 pressure and let it run through the night only on that pressure.

I mean I know I can but I wonder.. should I?

Would that be beneficial?

Could very well be beneficial. Some people sleep better with a constant pressure. Some people feel their sleep is disturbed with the changing pressures all night. And, some people don't have the kinds of precursor events (Flow Limitations and Snores) which the APAPs are programmed to trigger pressure increases. I speak from personal experience because I fall into all of those sets of circumstances. I've also found that it's much easier to get used to a single pressure.
The advantage with having an APAP is that it offers multiple settings to be able for the user to find the BEST/OPTIMAL settings which work the best for THEIR therapy.
It's up to YOU to find which settings work best for YOU because it's YOUR therapy. Be "adventurous" and find out for yourself.


Den

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hello, thank you..

I am just a very curious person and I plan to specialize in this after I've seen how much it can impair human lives and how much proper sleep therapy can save lives.

My brother suffers from apnea and it is an eye opener reading this forum and learning from you guys

You could definetly set the minimum to 10, and I probably would do that since that's where he's generally getting relief. But limiting the maximum only stops the machine from helping if he needs it...

I’ve tried APAP but always get better results set to static pressure.

Fejsbukpejdz wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 07, 2020 5:17 pm

SO I was wondering once we figured out that pressure of 10 gets rid of most of apneas....

Can I set up the APAP to only give 10 pressure and let it run through the night only on that pressure.

I mean I know I can but I wonder.. should I?

Would that be beneficial?

There are some people who (I believe) have confused WHY they wake up during the night, they blame pressure changes, but disregard the fact that pressure increases are caused by breathing problems, and it's the breathing problems that disturb sleep anyway.

If a pressure of 10 takes care of *most* apneas, what about the ones that it doesn't take care of? setting the machine to fixed pressure just means that it can't do anything to help reduce your breathing issue count.

Fejsbukpejdz wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 07, 2020 6:33 pm

hello, thank you..

I am just a very curious person and I plan to specialize in this after I've seen how much it can impair human lives and how much proper sleep therapy can save lives.

My brother suffers from apnea and it is an eye opener reading this forum and learning from you guys

Remember the CAT, being curious did not turn out well for it!! Another thing about APAP, you sleep position may change many times in the night, causing a needed change in treatment pressure over a single CPAP pressure.

The object of APAP. is to stop the apnea events at the lowest effective treatment pressure. To use CPAP effectively would require the highest treatment pressure needed for the whole night. With APAP Only using the pressure needed for different sleeping positions cuts down on leaks, swallowing air. (Good Things) Jim

Goofproof wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 07, 2020 8:36 pm

Remember the CAT, being curious did not turn out well for it!!

I do think it is worth experimenting with using the CPAP setting on your Auto PAP machine. Why not, it won't hurt as long as you are looking at your OSCAR charts in the morning to see if what you did is an improvement. Give each change a chance for a few days try to see the average AHI because for me at least, sometimes I just randomly have a bad night and it isn't a pattern.

When I was using an AutoPap machine, it seemed that the CPAP mode worked better for me, I'm not sure why, my AHI was lower than in Auto mode. But things have changed for me and I think for others, as they age and also as they gain or lose weight. I have had to increase my pressure. I also didn't used to find a ramp helpful and now I do after upping my pressure. So something that works for one person might not work for others, or the situation may change over time.

Also, it depends on what brand of machine, I think I read on this forum the 'auto' algorithm of ResMed is 'more responsive' than that of Philips Dreamstation. I think people said that the algorithms both had their pluses and minuses, so it isn't necessarily true that one brand is 'better'. I've always had a Dreamstation but plan to try a ResMed someday. I think the Dreamstation 'auto' algorithm didn't handle very well if I set the pressure below the average of what I really need to keep my airway open.

Now I've learned that I really need at least 13 cm pressure to keep my airway open. I sleep only on my back all night due to a back injury so my pressure needs are more constant than most people. I agree with Goofproof that you might benefit from a variable pressure if you change position during the night since most people who have less apnea on their sides compared to on their back.

Now I use a BiPap (Bi-level) machine, and I'm still using constant pressure but I have two pressures now (just changed to 13.5 EPAP and 15 IPAP). I might change to 'Auto' mode again as an experiment but keep the minimum EPAP at 13.5. Maybe my problem with 'Auto' mode was only due to setting the minimum too low.

My sleep doctor thinks CPAP mode is better than Auto for most of his patients but it might be because he doesn't do sleep lab titration for Auto machines and just gives them a wide range. His patients with plain CPAP machines probably are more carefully titrated or monitored (to find their optimal pressure) and that is really what is making the difference.

I think it's too early in the OP''s experiment with a machine to look at this question now... it could cause problems which I won't go into here, but it's too soon to make the call. One thing at a time, one feature of either the machine or patient's results at a time... understanding those now is more important than the decision to cut off Apap. The poster 'Wulfman' made his change only after time with the machine in different settings and modes, not a few nights into trying things, deciding on what mask works, etc, otherwise, how will you ever really know which changes helped and which ones didn't - and certainly 1-2 nights with any change of any kind is not enough to base decisions on.

Also when using APAP mode, keeping the pressure range narrow one or two cm over and under your best CPAP pressure according to your needed CPAP pressure, APAP doesn't switch pressure fast, (To Keep From Waking You). So if the range is too wide it may not be able to get to where you need it to be fast enough. Jim

Only make one change at a time and give it a few days at each setting for your body to adjust before deciding on the change.