What a difference the software makes!!

LikwidFlux · Post by **LikwidFlux** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:19 pm

Alright, I shelled out the 100 bucks to get Encore Pro, and thanks to MyEncore and Encore Pro Analyzer I have a great view of my AHI.

Given that I was the person that said "Just write it for 4-13" I'm comfortable adjusting my lower limit ( I changed it to 8 ). Amazing what the software does! I would have never known this information!

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:32 pm

I love having the software if for nothing else just to confirm cpap is still working and also to track my sleeping habits.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:33 pm

That one graph says a lot, I would set your range from 8.5cm to 13.0cm.

If you have the M series Auto, you could enable AutoRamp and set it from 6.0cm to 8.5cm anywhere from 5 to 45 minutes. It is nice during the night should you awaken, hit the Ramp it drops even lower fall back asleep you are good to go.

LikwidFlux · Post by **LikwidFlux** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:43 pm

Thanks for the comments guys!

Unfortunately they didn't have the M Series auto in stock so they gave me a rental Remstar Auto, and it doesn't have ramp

However, I was trying the mask at 8 a little bit ago, it's not too bad, I can still barely tell it's on.

So since I don't have ramp, when I wake up to pressure >10 I just hit the power button twice and I'm back at 8.

Any other advice?!?!?!

tooly125 · Post by **tooly125** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:06 pm

LikwidFlux wrote: So since I don't have ramp, when I wake up to pressure >10 I just hit the power button twice and I'm back at 8.

Any other advice?!?!?!

Give it some time and i think you will find that you will get used to 10.

Before I got my auto I had straight cpap at 19 and after a few months stopped using the ramp button.

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 8:58 pm

I agree with Tooly about the ramp feature. I have it and only used it for the first few nights. After that, I went straight to my measly (compared to Tooly's) 9 cm. Using the ramp made me feel suffocated until the pressure reached 9 after the first few nights.

Congratulations, LikwidFlux--it seems you are becoming a full-fledged xPAP user!

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:34 pm

LikwidFlux wrote:Amazing what the software does! I would have never known this information!

Great, ain't it?!

Den

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:19 pm

LikwidFlux wrote: So since I don't have ramp, when I wake up to pressure >10 I just hit the power button twice and I'm back at 8.

Any other advice?!?!?!

Actually, try hitting the ramp button when it's >10. It should take you back down to 8 (at least mine does).

Also, if you do hit the power button twice, remember you have to hit the humidifier button also. The humidifier gets shut off every time you turn off the power. That is if you use your humidifier.

Bregory · Post by **Bregory** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:33 am

Data looks good, Just ordered my software and am looking forward to tracking my sleep better. Out of curiosity, if you have an auto machine what benefit is there to limit the upper range of your settings?

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Wed Nov 15, 2006 1:36 am

Bregory wrote:Out of curiosity, if you have an auto machine what benefit is there to limit the upper range of your settings?

I personally think it's a good idea to limit the upper range of an autopap when you first start to use that particular machine. Limit the maximum pressure to 2 or 3 cm's above the prescribed pressure ...or to a "guesstimate" moderately high pressure (like 15 or 16) if the sleep lab titration did not come up with a good single pressure. In other words, put a leash on the top pressure for at least a few nights, just to be sure the machine gees and haws well with your nighttime breathing and doesn't take off up into stratospheric pressures for no good reason.

Assuming you have software to see what the pressure does while you're sleeping, and assuming it turns out the machine never hits the "limited" maximum during those first few nights, then I think it would be perfectly ok to take the leash off if you wanted to. In that case, I think it's ok to set the top pressure way on up...even to 20. There's no particular reason to set it at 20, but there's no reason not to. (Remember, we're assuming the machine never did hit the "leashed" maximum.) After all, if higher pressures are not being used, it really doesn't matter how high the maximum pressure is set.

Far more important for most people, in my opinion, is setting the lower pressure up high enough that the machine doesn't have to travel up and down very far to deal with subtle signs of the airway becoming constricted.

Unfortunately, wide open at both ends (4 - 20) is often what the doctor or DME sets an autopap for during a trial titration. And they never take a look at anything until the end of the trial...a couple of weeks or a month later. Not smart, imho...as 4 is often way too low for many people to feel comfortable breathing through a mask.

As for leaving it at 20 at the top... while it wouldn't matter for most people (machine won't be going up anywhere near that for most people) I'd want a bit more leash on the top at first, "just in case." If there were no prescribed pressure from a study to go by, and the autopap was being used to try to find a single pressure to prescribe, I think a good range to use for the first few nights would be 5 or 6 minimum - 16 maximum. See how that goes for a few nights before opening the top up more.

After looking at several nights of data, if the machine has never touched that "leashed" maximum, it's fine (imho) to take the leash off since the machine has shown it's not going to run away.

Just my two cents, and I ain't no doctor.

Mask