Ideal pressure range

[Mopheus]

I was home diagnosed, and prescribed a VPAP at 5 to 15. I understand this is close to what is called "wide open".
After 3 months of feeling like it wasn't working, I came here.Taking advice from peeps, I have slowly upped my min. pressure to 8.
My data is still inconsistent, but I feel better, and that's the important part.
Sleepy head has told me in 4 months, I have never gone above 12. So I recently capped the max at 12.
I was the thinking of upping the min to 9. Too much pressure swings are disturbing. Is putting my machine
at 9-12 to narrow?

[Wulfman...]

I was home diagnosed, and prescribed a VPAP at 5 to 15. I understand this is close to what is called "wide open".
After 3 months of feeling like it wasn't working, I came here.Taking advice from peeps, I have slowly upped my min. pressure to 8.
My data is still inconsistent, but I feel better, and that's the important part.
Sleepy head has told me in 4 months, I have never gone above 12. So I recently capped the max at 12.
I was the thinking of upping the min to 9. Too much pressure swings are disturbing. Is putting my machine
at 9-12 to narrow?

Depends on what your data shows. You didn't say what your AHI numbers (or other numbers) were. Or, other settings like EPR. The two main things that trigger pressure increases are Flow Limitations and Snores. If you don't have many/any of them preceding your apnea events and are still having apnea events, then you'd probably need to increase your minimum.

By the time you get to a 3 - 4 centimeter spread on the pressure settings, you may just want to go "eenie, meenie, minie, moe" and pick one and then tweak a little if necessary.


Den

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[robysue]

I was home diagnosed, and prescribed a VPAP at 5 to 15. I understand this is close to what is called "wide open".

Do you mean an APAP instead of a VPAP? VPAP refers to Resmed's bi-level machines; they have two pressure settings: An IPAP (inhale pressure) and an EPAP (exhale pressure). The Resmed AirSense APAP has min pressure and a max pressure, but the difference in pressure between inhalation and exhalation is controlled by the EPR setting.

After 3 months of feeling like it wasn't working, I came here.Taking advice from peeps, I have slowly upped my min. pressure to 8.

This is why I think the machine you have is an APAP not a VPAP.

My data is still inconsistent, but I feel better, and that's the important part.
Sleepy head has told me in 4 months, I have never gone above 12. So I recently capped the max at 12.
I was the thinking of upping the min to 9. Too much pressure swings are disturbing. Is putting my machine
at 9-12 to narrow?

9-12 is NOT too narrow of a pressure range. And a lot of people sleep better with a tight pressure range because they are sensitive to wild swings in pressure.

So yes, I would strongly recommend tightening that range and keeping it there for a week or so. See if the narrower pressure range leads to better sleep without signficantly increasing your treated AHI

[Guest]

I found any pressure below 9 was bad for me, I set it to one above for a margin of safety, and 10 has been my thing ever since.

[OkyDoky]

We need to know exactly which machine you have. A VPAP is a bilevel machine by ResMed and you are describing your pressures as APAP pressures. Also your profile has a Respironics Humidifier listed.
Take the water out. Look on the bottom of a Respironics blower unit for a REF#. If it is ResMed There should be a name on the top. Tell us what you have for appropriate ideas.

[Mopheus]

sorry ,yes apap. I have my machine, PR One selected in my profile, yet it doesn't show up here.

[palerider]

sorry ,yes apap. I have my machine, PR One selected in my profile, yet it doesn't show up here.

turn it over (take out the water first) and verify what the REF number is, then put that in the 'additional comments' part of your profile.

[OkyDoky]

sorry ,yes apap. I have my machine, PR One selected in my profile, yet it doesn't show up here.

If it does't show up on your equipment profile just type it into the comment at the bottom of the equipment profile. So there is no confusion on the model, take the water out and look on the bottom of the blower for a REF# and type that there.

[Mopheus]

Rocking the PR 560 p. thanks for the help. I may bump up to nine next week. It has been slow to adjust to more pressure.
Tearing mask off, leaks, etc. The mouth breathing was pronounced at first,but diminished after a few days. So moving one notch per week has allowed me to get more comfortable. So a window of 9-12 maybe my sweet spot.?

[Wulfman...]

Rocking the PR 560 p. thanks for the help. I may bump up to nine next week. It has been slow to adjust to more pressure.
Tearing mask off, leaks, etc. The mouth breathing was pronounced at first,but diminished after a few days. So moving one notch per week has allowed me to get more comfortable. So a window of 9-12 maybe my sweet spot.?

Your reports should tell you. Also, another factor is......."How you feel". For some people, pressure changes are disturbing to their sleep........for others, not so much.


Den

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[Mopheus]

I was at a min pressure of 5 for 3 months. I felt way better than before apap, but.....meh. So I ended up here with some support finally.
Folks thought a higher pressure would help, and it has. My advice is go slowly, the first time upping the pressure led to several mask on floor nights. And the morning after is no fun. Things are far from ideal, but I feel a semblance of humanity returning to my soul. Namaste