3rd sleep study :(

[o2sleep]

Just got back from my third sleep study.
We tried so many masks and went back to the quattro but it still leaked.
They put me on a bipap this time but becasue the techs are not allowed to discuss my treatment with me, I have very little information. I kept asking her what is my pressure at? she told me 18/14 after I asked her about 5 times, I just asked like I did not udnerstand her, she quickly said we are not supposed to tell you. She said that bipap pressure is different than cpap pressure. I am not sure I understand that, I understand the exhale pressure is lower but is the inhalation pressure measured differently as well I would think it would be the same.
I did achieve REM twice becasue I remember the dreams, I really liked the hybrid mask we tried but she said it leaked too much and woke me up in the middle of my first REM and we put on a different mask. I was seriosuly ticked off, I was sleeping! I can say that I hope they let me have a bipap because it was soooo much more comfortable. I don't think that anyone with a high cpap pressure range should have to even try cpap.

[Gerald]

Your best move....is to absorb as much knowledge as possible....as fast as possible.......like you were cramming for university "finals".

Go to the top of the page where you see the yellow lightbulb.....and educate yourself.

You cannot depend on the "health professionals" to provide the perfect solution....or even one that's pretty good.

You have to do it yourself. You have to take charge of your own therapy.....to achieve the best results....at the lowest pressures.....with the most comfort.

To do this, you need the software that goes with your machine....and your own, good common sense.

Get busy....you can do it.

[JohnBFisher]

... They put me on a bipap this time ... I kept asking her what is my pressure at? she told me 18/14 after I asked her about 5 times ...

It is quite likely that if you reached REM sleep your doctor will prescribe a BiPAP machine.

I just created the following response in another post. It's appropriate here:

If you don't mind, I'll back up a bit and provide an overview of some of the different xPAP (various Positive Airway Pressure) devices.

We all know about CPAP. That provides a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. As the name implies it provides just one pressure that is continuous. Most people (80% to 90%) can take CPAP without any problem.

But in fact CPAP has one big downfall. It only provides one pressure. When we are on our backs we generally need more pressure than on our sides. When we are in REM sleep we generally need more pressure than in other stages of sleep. To address this need, researchers developed CPAP machines that adjust their pressure based on the needs of the patient. This Automatic CPAP units are generally called APAP units.

But some people have difficulty exhaling against a single pressure. Almost 18 years ago I had a sleep study where the sleep tech found that my sleep was disturbed while breathing against a constant pressure. So, he tried shifting me to a BiLevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) support. That did the trick. You could see in the graphs that the number of interruptions of my sleep fell off dramatically when I slept with BiPAP. So, a BiLevel PAP (BiPAP) unit provides a lower exhalation pressure than the inhalation pressure. This helps a smaller number of people than CPAP. Due to the difference in pressure and the need to sense the breathing of the user, these machines cost more. So, they are prescribed only as needed.

As with CPAP, researchers found that BiPAP did not address all needs, so they developed an automatic mode of BiPAP. Usually just called BiPAP Auto. In that case, the exhalation pressure is defined as a range of pressures (let's say from 8 to 12cm H2O) and the inhalation pressure is defined by a pressure support value. Let's say the sleep tech finds that you breathe best with a pressure support of 4cm H2O, then your inhalation pressure would range from 12 to 16cm H2O. This inhalation pressure is based on the CURRENT exhalation pressure. So, if you current exhalation pressure is 9.5, the inhalation pressure is 13.5 (9.5 plus 4).

There are a few other types of units, such as ASV and AVAPS. However, unless you REALLY need those, they are expensive and not something you need to know more about.

I agree with Gerald, you need to read up on your options. You want a data capable machine. You want to ask your doctor to prescribe that. That is important, since some DMEs (Durable Medical Equipment suppliers) tend to provide you with the cheapest machine they can. Unfortunately for you that leaves you with little way to monitor your therapy. If your doctor asks "Why?", then explain you want it for the same reason that a diabetic wants a blood glucose meter - so you can monitor your therapy.

There is also some benefit to having an auto-titrating BiPAP machine. You might want to ask your doctor if they could prescribe that, since you may have the need for differing pressures based on your level of sleep or whether you are sleeping on your back or side.

Hope that helps answer your question.

[o2sleep]

Thank you so much I have a more defined focus to research now so that I can learn more and be prepared Monday am. Thanks again, Molly