Decreased EPR = Decreased Clear Airways

[Chuck Connors]

My Clear Airways in the past couple of months have been giving me readings ranging from 8 to 15 every night and even a 27 and 32 during a couple of nights. The corresponding events for those Clear Airways have many times numbered over 100, and even hit 397 events when I had the reading of 27. My EPR had been set at 3 during all of those higher readings. After reading all of the good information on this site, I decided to drop my EPR from 3 down to completely off. Since I turned the EPR off a few nights ago, my Clear Airways have dropped dramatically. During the past 3 nights, I have had Clear Airway readings of 2.87 (23 events); 2.01 (12 events); 1.83 (15 events). Needless to say, I'm pleased to see that particular number going in the right direction! -Chuck-

[Lizistired]

I think for some of us the comfort features disrupt our breathing more than they help.
Last year during a storm,I walked outside into a very strong wind. A take your breath away wind. I realized that I alternated between closing my airway, and just not breathing, without thinking about it. My brain did that, and I have no doubt that it does it in response to xpap pressure when I am in some stage of sleep.
I had a lot of spontaneous arousals during my sleep study, and it makes sense to me that I would respond the same way to air blowing in my airway during an arousal as I do when I am standing outside in the wind.
EPR makes me feel like I need to breathe when the machine tells me to.
I find it much more comfortable to breathe against a lower pressure, but it took me awhile to figure that out.
I try to keep my pressure as low as possible. When I have used auto, the machine always wants to go to the top of the range. I think my responses are just driving it higher.
But that's just me, ymmv

[drog]

I find an EPR of 3 is strictly a comfort thing to help you get used to the mask (though setting EPR inhale to fast helps at the expense of comfort -- it feels like someone is jamming something up my nose). A setting of 2 works fairly well and a setting of 1 works very well (at least for me).

[-SWS]

My Clear Airways in the past couple of months have been giving me readings ranging from 8 to 15 every night and even a 27 and 32 during a couple of nights. The corresponding events for those Clear Airways have many times numbered over 100, and even hit 397 events when I had the reading of 27. My EPR had been set at 3 during all of those higher readings. After reading all of the good information on this site, I decided to drop my EPR from 3 down to completely off. Since I turned the EPR off a few nights ago, my Clear Airways have dropped dramatically. During the past 3 nights, I have had Clear Airway readings of 2.87 (23 events); 2.01 (12 events); 1.83 (15 events). Needless to say, I'm pleased to see that particular number going in the right direction! -Chuck-

I think for some of us the comfort features disrupt our breathing more than they help.

EPR is essentially BiLevel, and when it comes to BiLevel:
Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure Worsens Central Apneas During Sleep (in only some cases)

In other words, SOME users find CPAP to be less destabilizing to their central respiration than BiLevel.

[Chuck Connors]

Thank you for the responses and the link to additional information. -Chuck-