Self Titration w/ APAP Question

[dockaos]

I was speaking with a friend of mine over the weekend who described symptoms similar to what I was experiencing pre-CPAP (exhaustion in the afternoons, falling asleep in meetings, etc.). I let him use my CPAP for a night. No apeneas were indicated, but several hyponeas. Since RedMed units like mine seem to have a oversensitivity to hypopneas, I couldn't draw any conclusions (plus, he only used it for 1.5 hours).

Last night, he used his father's APAP (Resmed AutoSet Spirit) to see what to what pressure it would adjust. Starting at a pressure of 4, it finally settled in at 8.9 after four hours of use. I've suggested that he have a formal sleep study performed. Does this data indicate apnea as a possibility?

Thanks!
Scott

[Guest]

Could he possibly use it for a week or 2, to get a better feel for things? And to see if he started feeling better?
I know tons of people here love APAP, but I discovered that it woke me up 4-5 times a night. It is sooooo sensitive to almost everything that happens at night (coughing, sighing, turning, etc.) and interprets it as hypopneas and then jacks up the pressure.....which can wake you up.
I think most of us have mostly hypopneas.
Did you really clean all the tubings well and change the filter for him?
I think this might be a good test for him, but it needs to be several weeks long, if possible. And if he starts waking up alot at night, you could set it at a fixed CPAP pressure (7 would be a good starter pressure).

[Country4ever]

P.S. I forgot to mention.........if you have a DME company nearby, they are usually happy to (with the order from a doctor), lend an oximeter to you. That way your friend could see if his O2 saturation is dropping too much during the night. That's a good indication of apnea also.