***WOULD YOU CHANGE PRESSURE WITHOUT DOCTOR'S KNOWLEDGE...??

[lars4life]

I changed my pressures the 1st week of therapy. My Rx for bipap was pressures of 25/21. That's max pressure!!
I figured I was a total wreck at the sleep study, and maybe I really did not require such high pressures. Using my
data recording machine and Encore Pro 2.4 software, I found I could lower my pressures to 18/14. This is optimum
for me for now. It may change? Who cares what the Doktors think? I went to the DME after a month with my SD chip
and they looked at it and noticed my pressure was lowered. I told them what I did and they did not care, as long as it's working!

[StillAnotherGuess]

But...that's just what I'd do, and I'm not a doctor.

I'm still impressed.

[Emilia]

If you were titrated at a pressure of 9, it would be perfectly fine to set your auto range at 6-11 and see how that goes. Please take a minute to go up to the User Control Panel, under the search window.... then to Profile--->Edit Equipment and then choose your gear from the pull down menus. Once done, choose to show them in TEXT not pictures. This puts your equipment listings at the bottom of each post written as mine shows below. Doing this help those with the same machine/mask to offer their expertise with those items.

Best of luck.... keep us posted on your progress.... and keep asking questions!

For the record, I bought and set up my own machine using my doctor's prescribed pressure range. I've adjusted it a few times and have settled nicely into a pressure of 7-10. I was titrated at 8. My doctor supports my hands on involvement 110%..... It is your health and life. A knowledgable patient is an empowered patient

[JoshT]

my doctor set my pressure to 11. i used encorepro to set it to 13 and within 15 minutes my eyes were watering and they felt like they were gonna pop out of my head using the Swift LT mask??

[Janknitz]

my doctor set my pressure to 11. i used encorepro to set it to 13 and within 15 minutes my eyes were watering and they felt like they were gonna pop out of my head using the Swift LT mask??

Umm, yeah, so????

Why did you set it to 13 when your titrated pressure was 11? We are NOT suggesting someone change pressures willy nilly--we are suggesting that people gather evidence (symptoms and data) and IF a change in pressure seems appropriate, to change it incrementally to see what changes symptom and data-wise. Changing pressure just because you feel like it makes no sense!

Besides, how do you know the pressure was the issue? Typically eyes watering and pressure behind them is SINUS related and has to do with the humidity setting on your machine, NOT pressure.

[JoshT]

my doctor set my pressure to 11. i used encorepro to set it to 13 and within 15 minutes my eyes were watering and they felt like they were gonna pop out of my head using the Swift LT mask??

Umm, yeah, so????

Why did you set it to 13 when your titrated pressure was 11? We are NOT suggesting someone change pressures willy nilly--we are suggesting that people gather evidence (symptoms and data) and IF a change in pressure seems appropriate, to change it incrementally to see what changes symptom and data-wise. Changing pressure just because you feel like it makes no sense!

Besides, how do you know the pressure was the issue? Typically eyes watering and pressure behind them is SINUS related and has to do with the humidity setting on your machine, NOT pressure.

im still feeling very fatigured and sleeping 10 hours so i wanted to try upping it to see how i feel.

[Janknitz]

Well, Josh, what does your data show? What are your AHI's? How are they broken down between OA, CA, and hypopneas? How about leaks? Don't rely on the LED screen--use software, Onkor, or Sleepyhead so you can see the REAL data.

Even if the data looks great it may be worth tweaking your pressure, but SLOWLY! 2 cm is a big jump all at once. You should make one change at a time, and collect several night's worth of data before deciding if it is better or worse.

And maybe turn that humidifier down a bit.

Finally, be sure to contact your doctor to rule out any other medical issues. The OSA could have been masking something else like low thyroid or narcolepsy.

[JoshT]

my results are posted here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64748&p=604046

[chunkyfrog]

My PSP was so pleased with my lab numbers, my weight change, etc;
it was a perfect opportunity to tell him I had bought an APAP, (in January)
and was using it to maintain effective treatment throughout my weight loss.
This guy seemed totally into my self-treatment.
I think I may have won him over.

[LinkC]

This guy seemed totally into my self-treatment.
I think I may have won him over.

I'm tellin' ya! Many of them are tickled to have a patient show interest. Especially if you can ask informed questions. I guess it's only the insecure docs who feel threatened by a knowledgeable patient.

[M.D.Hosehead]

1. Josh, the last data you posted is from 6/2, before you changed pressure; what's on the reports at 13 cm.?

2. A couple of those nights were short, around 6 hours. Was that all, or did you sleep some without the gear?

3. The reports on 11 cm. don't look bad, other than the VS. Considering that, I think Jan is right; if you make changes, go 0.5 cm. per week or so and look at the results. Also it may be easier to adapt to more gradual changes.

4. You are only 3 weeks or so into treatment. A lot of us hadn't started to feel better by that time. I think you are doing pretty well fat this stage.

[Janknitz]

MD Hosehead is right on. The charts look good, other than a possible leak issue. You need to give it some time. If you do make changes, make small, slow changes.

As for those sudden leak spikes: they are so sudden and sharp it makes me think that something is knocking your mask and causing it to leak? Any ideas what's causing that?

[JoshT]

MD Hosehead is right on. The charts look good, other than a possible leak issue. You need to give it some time. If you do make changes, make small, slow changes.

As for those sudden leak spikes: they are so sudden and sharp it makes me think that something is knocking your mask and causing it to leak? Any ideas what's causing that?

thank you all for the advice! i will bring my pressure back down and post more data soon. I do remove the mask for 1-2 minutes to pee late at night other than that i do roll around in my sleep so im not sure what might be causing it to leak. I made sure it is on nice and snug and not leaking when i goto sleep. The 6 hour nights were nights where i think i did remove the mask after some time due to insomnia issues. I did have some ambien that i was using but i just ran out of that last night so hopefully the insomnia isnt to bad tonight.

[natethegreat]

I was sent home from the Doc's office with my brand new APAP machine set at 5cm straight pressure. I had numerous episodes of waking up trying to breathe at this pressure. Calls to the Doc's office were extremely unhelpful as I was told I need to get used to the equipment and everything would get better. I ended adjusting the machines pressure myself. It was more important to me that I did everything I could to make my therapy the best I could, than what the Doc was going to say if he even notices I changed the machines settings myself. I would recommend starting slow though, even at 5cm the small changes I made seemed to make big changes in how the mask fit and the extra pressure was very noticeable.

[Bahumat]

I first experimented with changing my own titration two years ago, when I got ill with the swine flu. (Fun times.) At that sickness, 4 cm just wasn't doing it for me; I couldn't draw in enough air.

So I went into my clinical menu, upped my minimum pressure from 4 to 6, and my max from 10 to 12. Worked great.

Currently, my device is wide-open on range, from 4-20 (min-max) with the device automatically adjusting. Works great. I average a 12.4 on most every night, seldom spiking past 16, seldom dropping lower than six. Life is good. I did this without my doctor's approval, simply showed him the results, and he declared them "Great!".