Pressure at Higher Altitude

[Somnambulist]

My wife and I are preparing to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary and will be traveling to Flagstaff, AZ to celebrate, (and to scope out a potential area for retirement.) We currently live at sea level.

Should I consider making any adjustments to my IPAP/EPAP pressures to compensate for the higher elevation? (7000+ ft.) Or will the machine do that for me? (PR System One REMStar 60 Series BiPAP Auto with Bi-Flex - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-sys ... chine.html ) With my current settings, my AHI is consistently under 2.0.

Also, I'll be seeing my Doctor before I go. Is Acetazolamide something that should be considered? Supplemental oxygen perhaps?

Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I want my wife to enjoy herself. If I'm feeling lousy, she'll just worry about me.

Thanks for your input!

[JDS74]

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary.

Here are links in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the med you referenced.
The first is a brief description of high altitude breathing and references Acetazolamide, the second is a study about using the drug. Having a chat with your doc about this is a really good idea.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=1484517
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=1484516

Of course, go on the trip and have a great time.
If the Hole-in-the-Wall restaurant is still in business and you choose to go there, DON'T WEAR A TIE!
It was a great place to eat when I was last out there many years ago. It's in Phoenix, not in Flagstaff though.

[Wulfman...]

Your machine SHOULD (automatically) adjust to those altitudes.


Den

.

[RogerSC]

The spec'd limit for automatic compensation is 7500 ft., so your only concern is use above that point.

[watergauge]

The CPAP unit produces a regulated differential pressure (DP) from ambient atmospheric pressure, a so-called "gauge" pressure, up to the machine design limit. The level of therapy is provided by this DP, not the absolute pressure.
Cheers,
WG

[Somnambulist]

Here are links in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the med you referenced.
The first is a brief description of high altitude breathing and references Acetazolamide, the second is a study about using the drug. Having a chat with your doc about this is a really good idea.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=1484517
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=1484516

Of course, go on the trip and have a great time.
If the Hole-in-the-Wall restaurant is still in business and you choose to go there, DON'T WEAR A TIE!
It was a great place to eat when I was last out there many years ago. It's in Phoenix, not in Flagstaff though.

Great articles, thanks! I read them and have printed them out and will bring them with me to my Doctor's appointment. (I don't think we'll end up anywhere near Phoenix, but I have a pretty good idea what happens to the tie! )

Thanks to all who responded. It's good to know that my machine should adjust.

Sleep well!

[poorflick]

Congrats on your anniversary. Flagstaff is beautiful. I live in n. Utah ( elevation aprox. 4300ft). I recently spent a week in anaheim (elevation like 100ft.) and took my machine with me. I didnt notice a difference or change with the machine but maybe it's different with going from high to low.

[TheDuke]

Practically all machines made in the modern era have automatic altitude compensation built into the machine. My elevation here in Western Kentucky is about 350 feet, and I have traveled many times to locations in the West and in Europe at elevations up to 11,000 feet and my machine and sleep worked fine. Incidentally, I stayed in Flagstaff last October with my DeVilbiss IntelliPap machine and had no problems whatever. Northern Arizona is great-may I recommend the Lowell Observatory Tour and the Museum of Northern Arizona. Both are only a very few miles out of town in Flagstaff.

TheDuke

TheDuke