changing the settings

[sharlan]

I am feeling better with my machine, but not quite "there" yet. Still wake up a bit tired, but not like before.

I was wondering if there was a way to up my setting a bit. My machine is set at 7 and I would like to try it at 8 to see if it makes a difference.

The DME was telling us in our little class not to even ask about it because it is illegal and he won't tell us how to do it.

Anybody know how?

[blarg]

Yes, it's actually pretty easy, but the reason you're getting discoraged by everyone is it's not a good idea to blindly go changing the pressure settings. Your machine seems to be an M-Series Plus, which won't collect detailed data for a night, so even if you got the software and the reader, it wouldn't tell you much.

Long story short, consult your doctor, but to change the settings, unplug the machine, hold the two arrow keys down at the same time, and plug it back in (still holding the arrow keys.) Let go of them when you hear the machine beep twice. You'll be in the provider mode now (and you'll see an unlocked padlock on the screen). Push the power button to exit the provider menu.

There's a huge long thread about whether or not it's illegal, but most people here see Sleep Apnea like diabetes. Why not monitor your own AHI and fix things? That said, it really would be better if you could manage to get an M-Series Pro out of your provider so that you could see what was going on, and it would be BEST if you brought this up with your doctor so that they can help you with your therapy.

[Guest]

Going too high can bring on central apneas. If you think you need to go more then 1 above your setting, I would make an appointment with the doctor.

[sharlan]

I was more curious than wanting to actually do it.

I was thinking MAYBE going one setting up, from 7 to 8.

I will wait until I see the ENT, first. I need to find out why I don't breathe out of the left side of my nose. Pulmonologist said I must have a deviated septum and refered me to an ENT. When I left the receptionist said that I wouldn't need to see him again. But, if I felt that I did, I would have to request a new referal from my PCP.

[Goofproof]

If you feel you may need more pressure, you need a smarter machine and software to safely change the pressure by much. Other factors may be the cause, such as mouthleaking. however at 7 cm, your pressure is below the avg treatment pressure of around 10 cm.

Blindly changing pressure, is a little like playing Russian Roulette, at 7 cm you aren't using more than one bullet, odds are 8 cm would be OK. If your pressure was 15 cm, going to 16 cm, could be like putting 5 shell in the six shooter, the higher the [ressure the worst the odds of Centrals, from the increased pressure. Without the machine and software to monitor what's going on, it's a Crap Shoot. Jim

It's safer to make sure leaks are controlled, and it does take time to see if you feel better, sometimes over six months.

[Wulfman]

I am feeling better with my machine, but not quite "there" yet. Still wake up a bit tired, but not like before.

I was wondering if there was a way to up my setting a bit. My machine is set at 7 and I would like to try it at 8 to see if it makes a difference.

The DME was telling us in our little class not to even ask about it because it is illegal and he won't tell us how to do it.

Anybody know how?

Your DME was lying to you!!! It's NOT illegal. It's YOUR therapy, not theirs.

As low as your pressure setting is, it doesn't sound like you'd be in a range that could cause "pressure induced central apneas". Do you know if there were any centrals in the titration portion of your sleep study?
If you DO decide to raise your pressure, you wouldn't want to go more than 1 cm. per week. That'll give you time to see if it helps.
It would be better if you had a machine that records nightly sleep data.

Best wishes,

Den

[rested gal]

Going too high can bring on central apneas. If you think you need to go more then 1 above your setting, I would make an appointment with the doctor.

While high pressure (and "high" is relative to each person) can bring on centrals in some people, I think the caution of going up no more than 1 cm without consulting a doctor is an overly conservative caution -- for most people. That's just my purely non-medical opinion.

A pressure of 7 cm is rather low. Even without software I wouldn't hesitate at all to raise the pressure setting to 8, or 9, or 10. Again, I'm not a doctor. That's just what I'd do. I certainly don't think there's any danger at all in using pressures of 10 and below unless a person has some very serious health conditions other than just OSA. Again, I'm not a doctor. Just my opinion.

sharlan, as for being able to breathe out of only one nostril, you can get perfectly effective cpap treatment that way. I usually have one nostril stuffed up during the day and at bedtime. Sometimes the stuffiness switches to the other side when I turn over. I find that nasal pillows masks let me feel like I get more air. As long as one nostril is open, cpap works fine.

[Wulfman]

It's possible that between the congestion and the low pressure, you're mouth breathing/leaking. Do what you can to open up the nasal passages before going to bed.....also try taping or other things to keep your mouth closed at night......or a full face mask. You might also experiment with humidity settings or trying passover......I know the cool air keeps MY nasal passages open while sleeping.

Best wishes,

Den

[sharlan]

Thank you for the info. I sleep alone, so I don't have anybody to let me know what is going on while I sleep.

I spent the night at my mom's the other night. She said she didn't hear anything until early morning. I took my mask off because I was so stuffed up that I couldn't breathe.

I bought some Polident tape the other day to try, to see if I breathe through my mouth during the night.

[GoofyUT]

[quote="blarg"]Yes, it's actually pretty easy, but the reason you're getting discoraged by everyone is it's not a good idea to blindly go changing the pressure settings. Your machine seems to be an M-Series Plus, which won't collect detailed data for a night, so even if you got the software and the reader, it wouldn't tell you much.

Long story short, consult your doctor, but to change the settings, unplug the machine, hold the two arrow keys down at the same time, and plug it back in (still holding the arrow keys.) Let go of them when you hear the machine beep twice. You'll be in the provider mode now (and you'll see an unlocked padlock on the screen). Push the power button to exit the provider menu.

There's a huge long thread about whether or not it's illegal, but most people here see Sleep Apnea like diabetes. Why not monitor your own AHI and fix things? That said, it really would be better if you could manage to get an M-Series Pro out of your provider so that you could see what was going on, and it would be BEST if you brought this up with your doctor so that they can help you with your therapy.

[rested gal]

I took my mask off because I was so stuffed up that I couldn't breathe.

I bought some Polident tape the other day to try, to see if I breathe through my mouth during the night.

sharlan, as much of a proponent as I am of taping (or using denture adhesive strips, or whatever means) to stop mouth air leaks/mouth breathing, I don't know if it would be a good idea for a person whose nose is SOOOOO stuffy they have to remove the mask, to try to seal the lips.

The only way I'd try sealing my mouth, if I were you and had as much nasal stuffiness as you're describing, would be if:

1. I were using a nasal pillows mask (like the Twilight NP, Breeze, or ComfortLite 2)

2. Turned the pressure up to 8 or 9.

3. Had a heated humidifier -- which your profile shows you do have. Some find that increased heated humidification helps clear stuffiness...some find more heat makes it worse. The only way to know which way suits you better is to have a heated humidifier. The heat can always be turned off.

sharlan, please send me a PM (click the "PM me" button at bottom of my post here) with your email address in it.

[Snoredog]

with all the precautions out of the way, it is simple to change; just hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the little power cord in the back, wait for 2 beeps release buttons. Then press the + key to enter setup mode, use the <- -> buttons to move to the next field, use the -/+ keys to decrease/increase values, when set press the On/Off button to exit Setup.

You should be fine increasing by 1cm, just don't go over 10cm and you should be okay.

[KansasRT]

You DME did not lie to you. It is illegal for them to change the pressure of you machine without a Dr's order. As far as telling you how to do it, that is not illegal, but probably not a standard practice.