are there BIPAPs with A-Flex?

agoroman · Post by **agoroman** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:23 am

Hello. I'm a really new to all this; had my first split study yesterday and they put the CPAP on me midway through so I'm pretty sure I have sleep apnea, but my question isn't related to my particular situation. Here's what I've learned from this awesome forum (or think I've learned).

So any machine can be auto be it BIPAP or CPAP. The BIPAP lets you have one pressure for inhale and a totally different one for exhale. The CPAP with C-Flex is sort of like a BIPAP, but the inhale and exhale pressure needs to be pretty close or else you really need a BIPAP to offer more variation pressure from inhale to exhale.

Now to my question. It seems like the switch from inhale pressure to exhale pressure is pretty abrupt and this can be distracting. There is this new A-Flex thing that people seem to like. What it does (correct me if I'm wrong) is to make the pressure changes from inhale to exhale more gradual and comfortable. This seems like a good thing since it mimics our own breathing patterns; we don't breathe in and out at a constant speed. You sort of take more breath in initially and less towards the end of your inhale. Then you expel more breath at the beginning of your exhale. The amount of exhaled air your put out diminishes as your exhale progresses timewise. SO, A-Flex is similar to C-Flex, but it has a gradual and comfortable pressure change. So do they have BIPAPs with the A-Flex feature of gradually shifting pressures on inhale and exhale switchover? It seems like this would be the sort of gold standard right now - although I understand none of this would matter for mild cases requiring minimal pressure. Thanks everybody for educationing everyone. Isn't this great?

socknitster · Post by **socknitster** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 12:27 pm

C-flex and A-flex are fairly similar, I just think A-flex is an improvement over c-flex in allowing a more easy breathing experience.

Bi-flex is a different machine altogether (and 2-3x the price) and allows for greater relief on exhale. It is warranted if higher pressures cause central apnea or if a person just needs that extra comfort because of inability to comply. Whether or not bi-flex contains the same parameters as a-flex, I'm not sure. Maybe someone else can answer that for you.

I do know it is very natural and comfy, as a bipap user myself.

Jen

preemiern · Post by **preemiern** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 1:32 pm

It also helps ease the transition between exhale and inhale--thus the name bi-flex...
bipap with biflex is what c-flex is to cpap and a-flex to autopap. I think biflex is the most natural way to go--it is VERY comfortable--I use it as well.
Cindy

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 4:31 pm

A-Flex is a complete breathing management (for the full breathing cycle) whereas C-Flex is relief on a small part of the exhale cycle.

A-Flex is a big advance. It is closer to bilevel in the way it works - this is most noticable in the inhale cycle where A-Flex can adjust the pressure by up to 2 CMS in rhythm with the breather.

Think of it this way ...

C-Flex was a small exhale relief facility

A-Flex is a full breathing cycle relief facility.

DSM

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