New Guy here, feeling thrown to the wolves..

[chrissv]

Hi,
I've been on Auto CPAP since August and am still using the default range of 4 to 10. The 90% range is around 9-10.

If the machine can figure out what you need, why would you ever need to tighten up or adjust the range? I find starting out at night at the low end (which is the default I think) very comfortable, and my AHI numbers look good.

-- Steven

[archangle]

Hi,
I've been on Auto CPAP since August and am still using the default range of 4 to 10. The 90% range is around 9-10.

If the machine can figure out what you need, why would you ever need to tighten up or adjust the range? I find starting out at night at the low end (which is the default I think) very comfortable, and my AHI numbers look good.

-- Steven

If it works for you, that's great.

There are lots of reasons why a wide range of auto pressure may not be the right answer.

For some people, the machine simply won't find the best pressure. It will hunt around and never gets a set of results it "likes" and will be changing all the time. This can make problems with leaks and other problems worse. Sometimes, it's best to just set a manual pressure or narrow auto range and find what works well.

If you start at 4 and you really need 9, for instance, it takes the machine a while to adjust up to 9 when you turn it on. The machine starts back at 4 every time you turn it on.

Some people breathe fine for much of the night, and then get apneas when they move, change sleeep stage, whatever. Your pressure may drop to a low level and you will have apneas until it slowly adjusts back up. You may spend much of the night "on the edge" of apnea and not breathe well even if no events register.

Higher pressure can cause central apneas, which don't go away with higher pressure. Sometimes you have to strike a balance between central and obstructive apneas.

My machine wants to auto me up to about 12 or so. I feel much better if I simply set the minimum at 14 and leave the upper range at 20.