palerider wrote:Wulfman... wrote:Since Flow Limitations and Snores are the two primary causes for pressure increases,
AND apneas. this is the problem, you just can't be balanced about apaps,
just because you hate them in your own therapy.
Wulfman... wrote:SOMETIMES.......CPAP mode is just better therapy than ranges of pressures. And, sometimes the ranges work better for them.
and if you'd remember that, instead of galloping to the conclusion that it's that devil apap and pressure changes disturbing sleep, without finding out *anything* else about the person and their situation, we'd all be better off.
Wulfman... wrote:The users who monitor their own therapy need to be able to recognize which modes and settings work best for them and why. For all intents and purposes, if they understand all that and are NOT having problems......they won't be posting here wondering why their therapy isn't working and why they're still tired after months or years of therapy.
well, obviously.
"Hate" is such an ugly word. And, no, I don't hate them or even dislike them. Heck, if I disliked them so much, why would I accumulate FOUR of them?
When I started my therapy, I was buying out-of-pocket and could have had any machine I wanted (my insurance provider reimbursed me for 80% of my equipment). But, I knew (after reading on this forum) that one of the things that APAPs increased pressure on were Snores......and I knew I was a horrendous snorer at that time. I was also uncertain as to how this therapy was going to work for me, so I opted to get one of the "new" REMstar Pro 2 machines. At that point, I knew my prescription was for 18 cm. and the Pro 2 collected data......and it was much cheaper than the APAPs back then. I could tiptoe into this therapy and sort of feel my way though it.
Well, I used straight pressure ( 10 cm. ) for about a year and then a lightly used APAP came up for sale by one of the forum members. The price was right and I wanted to learn more about the Autos and see if the pressure I had come up with on my own ( 12 cm. ) was what the APAP would agree with.
After a week of a pressure range of 10 - 15, I found that I only hit 15 for about 1 1/2 minutes on only one night. So, that told me that my sleep study pressure of 16 and the prescription of 18 were bogus. The best pressure during that week was right around 12 cm., which was what I'd been using. I also discovered that the pressure changes disturbed my sleep and that I had virtually none of the supposed preceding events to my apneas. I had a few apneas (one each night for the last five of the seven nights), but my AHI was higher with the range of pressures in that week than I had had with my straight pressure. AHI for the week was average 1.1 whereas it had been somewhat less than 1.0 otherwise ( about 0.8 ).
Flow Limitations ranged from 0.0 - 1.2 with the majority being in the 0.1 - 0.3 range. Snore Index was 5.7 (Auto) as opposed to 3.6 straight pressure. Hypopneas have always made up the majority of my AHI.
In reality, I don't have enough events (then or now) to warrant using a range of pressures. For the last several years since I turned off C-Flex, my AHI went from about 0.4 to 0.2 and 0.3.
I can't justify using a range of pressures to prevent hardly any events and there's no reason to have the pressure changes disturbing my sleep. And, with a pressure range that small (only a couple of centimeters of spread), it comes down to "eenie, meenie, minie, moe"........pick a pressure that does the job.
For me, it's a matter of "numbers" and "sleep quality"........straight pressure gives me the best in both categories.
Your extreme exaggeration of my feelings about APAPs is out of line and totally unwarranted.
Den
.
(5) REMstar Autos w/C-Flex & (6) REMstar Pro 2 CPAPs w/C-Flex - Pressure Setting = 14 cm.
"Passover" Humidification - ResMed Ultra Mirage FF - Encore Pro w/Card Reader & MyEncore software - Chiroflow pillow
User since 05/14/05
