Recommended Settings for First Night of APAP

[jaredtaskin]

Hello all,

Today I will receive my machine and begin my CPAP therapy. I received my at-home sleep test and prescription from an online vendor; the prescription indicates a pressure range of 4-20. My untreated AHI in this test was 33. I also did a sleep lab test several years ago that I had disregarded for a variety of reasons. My AHI in that test was higher, I believe it was in the 50s, I don't recall exactly. I have attached my sleep study report from my recent test to this post. I'm definitely interested in any insights you have on that.

I have been scouring this board and others for information, and I now understand that 4-20 is just the default out of the box. So I wonder if there are better settings to start with. Based on what I've read here, it seems that at a minimum I should set a min pressure of 7 with an EPR of 3. Should I bring down the max pressure to start, or leave it at 20? I plan to read in bed for a while using the mask tonight. Should I turn on the ramp up feature, or just try to get used to the 7/4 min pressure while reading?

I will be using the P10 mask. I know that my mouth opens occasionally while sleeping, but I'm not sure how much. I have been observed sleeping with my mouth closed, so I know it's not all the time. I have some mouth tape ready to use, but I'm wondering if I should start with that on night 1, or wait and see how it goes without first. If I am mouth breathing, how do I detect that in the data?

I have an SD card and reader on the way, so I should be able to start importing that data into Oscar soon.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Pugsy]

Based on what I've read here, it seems that at a minimum I should set a min pressure of 7 with an EPR of 3. Should I bring down the max pressure to start, or leave it at 20? I plan to read in bed for a while using the mask tonight. Should I turn on the ramp up feature, or just try to get used to the 7/4 min pressure while reading?

Leave the max at 20 for the time being. The machine in auto adjusting mode won't be increasing the pressure without having a good reason. If it going higher creates any problems we can worry about that later if needed.
I do suggest the minimum of 7 and using EPR at 3 as a good starting point.
You shouldn't need the ramp at these settings so I would turn it off. The lowest the machine can go is 4 cm and with 7 minimum and EPR at 3....you are exhaling against that 4 cm level anyway.
Lower minimums or using ramp can cause symptoms feeling like suffocation....simply not enough air moving for comfort when only 4 is used.

You can play with the settings while awake and figure out your own comfort levels.

Good luck.
And yes...play with it while awake to help your body and mind to get used to things.

[Miss Emerita]

Welcome, and congratulations on starting your PAP therapy! The forum no longer has the ability to host attachments, so could you use an image-hosting site like Imgur for your sleep report and then put a link in a post in this thread? It'd also be helpful if you could add your machine and mask information to your profile so that everyone can see it when you post.

It's great that you're going to be acclimating yourself to the new experience by using your mask and machine while you read. Smart idea. Although it's a bit of a pain, you might try this by setting up your machine outside your bedroom. This will help you associate bed/sleep/machine more clearly.

If you don't have a chance to post your sleep study before your machine arrives, I think it's fine to set your minimum to 7 and use an EPR of 3. Leave your maximum at 20 for now. The machine won't go any higher than it needs to, given how you're breathing.