Need Help Adjusting CPAP Settings

[KKWinOK]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine. I had an in-home study in November during a weekend. One report showed 1 obstructive, 1 central, 13 hypopneas and an AHI of 3.7. A different night had 3 obstructive, 4 central, 28 hypopneas, and an AHI of 7.9. I've been dealing with sleep apnea for some time and I suspect it's been going on for around 5 years, maybe a little longer. I started CPAP on 12-10-19 and the sleep clinic has made several adjustments to my machine already. The changes were primarily centered around trying to lower the AHI and addressing aerophagia. It was on auto from about 5 to 15, then changed to CPAP of 7 and now 8. The current settings are CPAP of 8cm, ramping up from 4cm and EPR now at 1 (EPR was turned on to 3 due to aerophagia and is now at 1). It did help but my AHI increased from roughly around 5 to 7 to as high as 14.55 and now down to about 9. I'm wondering if the increase in central events was due to EPR. What changes do you suggest to lower AHI while also decreasing aerophagia? (The aerophagia wakes me up because I need to burp which causes broken sleep)

Thanks!

OSCAR - 12-23-19.png (115.56 KiB) Viewed 15328 times

[Julie]

Is there a reason you don't use auto instead of cpap mode on a fixed pressure setting?

[KKWinOK]

Julie, I forgot to include in my original post that it was setup initially on auto from 5 to 15 but was changed to 7, then to 8. I think they were trying to address aerophagia. Do you suggest changing it to auto?

[LSAT]

You should keep to one post so everyone can follow. The Centrals cannot be fixed with pressure changes. Try dropping the EPR back to 1 if it's not already there. How are you sleeping?

[KKWinOK]

LSAT, I wake up a few times during the night and I suspect it’s due to events. Last night I woke up and I found out there were centrals right before. I don’t know if the CPAP machine is causing them though. Today I’ve felt tired all day and I just want to nap.

Regarding the centrals, it’s my understanding that I have to “play the game” by starting out with a CPAP machine first. If the central apneas don’t go away, then other options can be explored.

[LSAT]

When you wake up, do you spend much time awake before you fall back to sleep? If so, that may be the cause of the Centrals...your breathing changes when you are awake.

[KKWinOK]

LSAT, I usually go right back to sleep unless I use the bathroom. I also wake up to belch too, so that’s causing problems.

[palerider]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine. I had an in-home study in November during a weekend. One report showed 1 obstructive, 1 central, 13 hypopneas and an AHI of 3.7. A different night had 3 obstructive, 4 central, 28 hypopneas, and an AHI of 7.9. I've been dealing with sleep apnea for some time and I suspect it's been going on for around 5 years, maybe a little longer. I started CPAP on 12-10-19 and the sleep clinic has made several adjustments to my machine already. The changes were primarily centered around trying to lower the AHI and addressing aerophagia. It was on auto from about 5 to 15, then changed to CPAP of 7 and now 8. The current settings are CPAP of 8cm, ramping up from 4cm and EPR now at 1 (EPR was turned on to 3 due to aerophagia and is now at 1). It did help but my AHI increased from roughly around 5 to 7 to as high as 14.55 and now down to about 9. I'm wondering if the increase in central events was due to EPR. What changes do you suggest to lower AHI while also decreasing aerophagia? (The aerophagia wakes me up because I need to burp which causes broken sleep)

Thanks!
OSCAR - 12-23-19.png

It's quite possible that the EPR is driving up your centrals, can you try turning it off?

[palerider]

Is there a reason you don't use an autopap machine instead of plain cpap (which has fewer options for therapy) on a fixed pressure setting?

Please try actually LOOKING at the charts instead of just blindly throwing up questions.

The OP HAS AN AUTOSET. It's right there on the chart.

[KKWinOK]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine. I had an in-home study in November during a weekend. One report showed 1 obstructive, 1 central, 13 hypopneas and an AHI of 3.7. A different night had 3 obstructive, 4 central, 28 hypopneas, and an AHI of 7.9. I've been dealing with sleep apnea for some time and I suspect it's been going on for around 5 years, maybe a little longer. I started CPAP on 12-10-19 and the sleep clinic has made several adjustments to my machine already. The changes were primarily centered around trying to lower the AHI and addressing aerophagia. It was on auto from about 5 to 15, then changed to CPAP of 7 and now 8. The current settings are CPAP of 8cm, ramping up from 4cm and EPR now at 1 (EPR was turned on to 3 due to aerophagia and is now at 1). It did help but my AHI increased from roughly around 5 to 7 to as high as 14.55 and now down to about 9. I'm wondering if the increase in central events was due to EPR. What changes do you suggest to lower AHI while also decreasing aerophagia? (The aerophagia wakes me up because I need to burp which causes broken sleep)

Thanks!
OSCAR - 12-23-19.png

It's quite possible that the EPR is driving up your centrals, can you try turning it off?

palerider, I plan to tonight. But turning it down to 1 increased aerophagia to the point that it was waking me up. Do you have any suggestions to minimize it?

[zonker]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine.

welcome to the zoo! now, i may not have my reading comprehension skills with me today. but was there any time when you did NOT suffer aerophagia on cpap? or has this been a problem from the start?

i'm asking because i, too, have suffered from aerophagia. and i'm just wondering if there is a starting point here from which you can build.

good luck!

[KKWinOK]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine.

welcome to the zoo! now, i may not have my reading comprehension skills with me today. but was there any time when you did NOT suffer aerophagia on cpap? or has this been a problem from the start?

i'm asking because i, too, have suffered from aerophagia. and i'm just wondering if there is a starting point here from which you can build.

good luck!

zonker, since starting about 2 weeks ago, I would say it’s been an issue. However, when the aerophagia is less severe, I usually sleep better. This occurred when EPR was turned on and set at 3. It was even pretty tolerable at 2 but 1 was more noticeable and the pain seemed to last a little longer after waking up. I woke up several times last night because of it.

[zonker]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine.

welcome to the zoo! now, i may not have my reading comprehension skills with me today. but was there any time when you did NOT suffer aerophagia on cpap? or has this been a problem from the start?

i'm asking because i, too, have suffered from aerophagia. and i'm just wondering if there is a starting point here from which you can build.

good luck!

zonker, since starting about 2 weeks ago, I would say it’s been an issue. However, when the aerophagia is less severe, I usually sleep better. This occurred when EPR was turned on and set at 3. It was even pretty good at 2 but 1 was more noticeable and the pain seemed to last a little longer after waking up.

hmmm....i was hoping you'd say something like"i don't remember it happening when i was at a min of 6" as an example.

i went through hell with aerophagia for a very long time. i finally got a the resmed you see in my signature. before i got this current machine, i could not get rid of the aerophagia monster. i couldn't raise the minimum. yet conventional wisdom on this board stated i HAD to or else my ahi wouldn't go down. so for the longest time, i tried to just be satisfied with an ahi of between 2 and 3.

i wasn't satisfied! but fortunately, i got ahold of a resmed machine after spending too much time on a resperonics. what was the difference? a resperonics machine can be change upwards by increments of .5. and a resmed can be increased by .2!

that is what saved me. i gave up the notion that i was going to get improvement overnight. instead, i stuck the course by going that.2 at a time. and left it there for weeks if necessary. sometimes, i backed off and let it ride then started again.

if you want to plow through the whole boring story-

viewtopic/t173195/zonkers-cribsomewhere ... r%27s+crib

the result is that i'm under an ahi of 1. in the last 6 months, i've had zero on four occasions. and my minimum now is 15.4 and my max is 20.

i'm not saying it'll work for you, but it certainly did for me.

[palerider]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine. I had an in-home study in November during a weekend. One report showed 1 obstructive, 1 central, 13 hypopneas and an AHI of 3.7. A different night had 3 obstructive, 4 central, 28 hypopneas, and an AHI of 7.9. I've been dealing with sleep apnea for some time and I suspect it's been going on for around 5 years, maybe a little longer. I started CPAP on 12-10-19 and the sleep clinic has made several adjustments to my machine already. The changes were primarily centered around trying to lower the AHI and addressing aerophagia. It was on auto from about 5 to 15, then changed to CPAP of 7 and now 8. The current settings are CPAP of 8cm, ramping up from 4cm and EPR now at 1 (EPR was turned on to 3 due to aerophagia and is now at 1). It did help but my AHI increased from roughly around 5 to 7 to as high as 14.55 and now down to about 9. I'm wondering if the increase in central events was due to EPR. What changes do you suggest to lower AHI while also decreasing aerophagia? (The aerophagia wakes me up because I need to burp which causes broken sleep)

Thanks!
OSCAR - 12-23-19.png

It's quite possible that the EPR is driving up your centrals, can you try turning it off?

palerider, I plan to tonight. But turning it down to 1 increased aerophagia to the point that it was waking me up. Do you have any suggestions to minimize it?

Try dropping the pressure to 7

[KKWinOK]

Hi, I'm new to CPAP and I would like some pointers on adjustments to make to my CPAP machine.

welcome to the zoo! now, i may not have my reading comprehension skills with me today. but was there any time when you did NOT suffer aerophagia on cpap? or has this been a problem from the start?

i'm asking because i, too, have suffered from aerophagia. and i'm just wondering if there is a starting point here from which you can build.

good luck!

zonker, since starting about 2 weeks ago, I would say it’s been an issue. However, when the aerophagia is less severe, I usually sleep better. This occurred when EPR was turned on and set at 3. It was even pretty good at 2 but 1 was more noticeable and the pain seemed to last a little longer after waking up.

hmmm....i was hoping you'd say something like"i don't remember it happening when i was at a min of 6" as an example.

i went through hell with aerophagia for a very long time. i finally got a the resmed you see in my signature. before i got this current machine, i could not get rid of the aerophagia monster. i couldn't raise the minimum. yet conventional wisdom on this board stated i HAD to or else my ahi wouldn't go down. so for the longest time, i tried to just be satisfied with an ahi of between 2 and 3.

i wasn't satisfied! but fortunately, i got ahold of a resmed machine after spending too much time on a resperonics. what was the difference? a resperonics machine can be change upwards by increments of .5. and a resmed can be increased by .2!

that is what saved me. i gave up the notion that i was going to get improvement overnight. instead, i stuck the course by going that.2 at a time. and left it there for weeks if necessary. sometimes, i backed off and let it ride then started again.

if you want to plow through the whole boring story-

viewtopic/t173195/zonkers-cribsomewhere ... r%27s+crib

the result is that i'm under an ahi of 1. in the last 6 months, i've had zero on four occasions. and my minimum now is 15.4 and my max is 20.

i'm not saying it'll work for you, but it certainly did for me.

zonker, I can certainly do some trial and error and I plan on looking through your post. Thank you for sharing!