AirCurve 10 vauto setup

[Timmyt]

Hi All - I’m newly diagnosed with apnea and purchased my machine outside of insurance ...now that I have it, I don’t really know how to set it up or use it. Im hoping there may be someone here that is familiar with my specific machine and wouldn’t mind helping me get to the point where I can begin my therapy? The first thing I’ve been trying to do is the mask fit test with my airfit p10 nasal mask and the air produced is intense, my breathing can’t keep up with it...I feel somethings not right w/ it, I just don’t know what or how to fix it...again, any help with my AirCurve 10 vauto is very much appreciated...it’s so frustrating to finally have a handle on what should help me feel much better, but not really having a clue on how to get started...machine is pretty much brand new, so it should be working fine.

[Okie bipap]

For a starting place, I would recommend an initial EPAP minimum of 6 or 7, with a max IPAP of 20, and pressure support (PS) of 3 or 4. These setting will get you started and give you an idea of where the machine want to go when you are sleeping. When you use the mask fit option, the machine will go to the highest pressure it is programmed for. I believe the machines come from the factory with minimum EPAP of 4 and maximum IPAP of 25.

[palerider]

Hi All - I’m newly diagnosed with apnea and purchased my machine outside of insurance ...now that I have it, I don’t really know how to set it up or use it. Im hoping there may be someone here that is familiar with my specific machine

Well, the first thing to do is fill out the equipment profile with your specific machine and mask, so people know what you've got from now on.

and wouldn’t mind helping me get to the point where I can begin my therapy? The first thing I’ve been trying to do is the mask fit test with my airfit p10 nasal mask and the air produced is intense,

Because it's trying to pressurize the entire room. When the mask is on your face, the blower slows *WAY* down, and just produces a gentle airflow, and gentle pressure.

my breathing can’t keep up with it...I feel somethings not right w/ it, I just don’t know what or how to fix it...again, any help with my AirCurve 10 vauto is very much appreciated...it’s so frustrating to finally have a handle on what should help me feel much better, but not really having a clue on how to get started...machine is pretty much brand new, so it should be working fine.

Well, first, the machine follows *YOU*, not the other way around, don't fall into the misconception that it's trying to drive your breathing. YOU control how fast you breath.

[LSAT]

What was your diagnosis from your sleep study...Why was an AirCurve recommended vs an Airsense? If you had a sleep study, there would be a recommended starting point.

[Timmyt]

Thank you for the comments. I will give these settings a shot and go from there...new to this kind of chat so didn’t know to note my equipment, but I will...and there was no specific machine recommendation from my study...it didn’t get that far because it was much cheaper to buy my own than use insurance...got the AirCurve 10 auto v never used (from a daughter whose father passed away before ever using it) for $225...was told that was too good a deal to pass up and it can do what I need it to do... still not understanding what to do or if it’s even possible for me to pass the mask fit test then, if the machine wants to fill up the whole room? Thanks all !

[Timmyt]

Mainly use my iPhone for this forum, so I’m not sure where to find the equipment profile...don’t see it?

[Pugsy]

How to add your equipment to your profile
wiki/index.php/Registering_Equipment_in_User_Profile

Quit worrying about the air flow when trying the mask fit thing. Don't use it right now....only use it later if needed.

Instead put the mask on and then start the machine and try fitting it so it will seal.

[loggerhead12]

That's my exact machine. You really can't find a finer piece of equipment to start with.

The mask fit does indeed blow hard, probably much harder than you will need for therapy. It's just designed to help you find the leaks and deal with them. Don't worry too much it you can't get it perfect right away. As you get more familiar with the process it will be easier to get a good seal. Just know that the machine can deal with a pretty significant amount of leakage and still keep your airway open. It really is amazing technology.

There are a lot of people with way more knowledge than me who can help with settings. Get into the clinical settings by holding the round button and rectangular one below it for 3 seconds. Here's a good place to start:

Mode - VAuto
Max IPAP - 20
Min EPAP - 6
Pressure Support 4.0
Mask - Nasal

There are several other things you can tweak if need be, but that should at least get you going. Read as much as possible here, everything from pressure to masks to leaks to position to cleaning (which I don't do) to insurance to brands to online suppliers- and much more. Fill out your equipment profile so the gurus can help out more easily. To really get the best benefit you'll need to download the free Sleepyhead software on a PC or Mac, not your phone. Once you start transferring your data daily from the SD card in your machine into Sleepyhead and start posting charts you can get serious about optimizing your therapy. This stuff works. The CPAP uber-geeks here are really good at what they do, too, so the sooner you get with the program the quicker you can expect results.

[Timmyt]

see A few other settings in the clinical that I’m not sure of...
Ti max
Ti min
Trigger
Cycle
Ramp time
Start epap
Any ideas on what a good starting point would be for me on these? Thanks

[chartle]

This was posted above but to start make sure the machine is set to the type of mask you are using. Its a regular menu setting, not one of the deep clinical settings.