Variable pressure vs Constant

I have been using my machine set at 7-16 for about 2 years and feel great. I arrived at 7-16 after a month or so of experimentation and a huge amount of help from this forum. When I gave all my data to the Doc he told me to go with a constant 14. But I never did. I figured if it ain't broke why fix it. Now I see these very small machines that are easy to travel with, but it looks like they're all constant pressure. Should I go ahead and go with a constant pressure.

cnl390 wrote:I have been using my machine set at 7-16 for about 2 years and feel great. I arrived at 7-16 after a month or so of experimentation and a huge amount of help from this forum. When I gave all my data to the Doc he told me to go with a constant 14. But I never did. I figured if it ain't broke why fix it. Now I see these very small machines that are easy to travel with, but it looks like they're all constant pressure. Should I go ahead and go with a constant pressure.

Personally, I would purchase another S9 Autoset...that way you have a back up in case your S9 breaks. The humidifier would be interchangable. If you can go without the humidifier when you travel, the base S9 is probably the same size as some travel models. You can get a good buy on S9s on secondwindcpap.cpm or your local Craigslist.

I agree. Stick with what works for you already. The special travel units aren't really a deal. They are loud compared to what you are already using.

cnl390 wrote:I have been using my machine set at 7-16 for about 2 years and feel great. I arrived at 7-16 after a month or so of experimentation and a huge amount of help from this forum. When I gave all my data to the Doc he told me to go with a constant 14. But I never did. I figured if it ain't broke why fix it. Now I see these very small machines that are easy to travel with, but it looks like they're all constant pressure. Should I go ahead and go with a constant pressure.

Sooooooo........you've never even tried straight pressure?
Many people find their sleep disturbed by the pressure changes and do better with straight pressure.

I wonder what your doctor saw in your reports that caused him to make that suggestion.
If you've been monitoring your therapy with software, you should be able to see what he saw.
It's YOUR therapy, but I don't think it would hurt to try his suggestion for awhile and see what what the data shows.


Den

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I don't see a problem with trying a constant pressure with your S9. However, if it were me, and I was feeling great with what I was doing, and my data looked good, I'd just keep doing what I was doing. In any case, I wouldn't buy a straight single pressure cpap machine unless you'd tried that with your AutoSet (put it in cpap mode on the control panel). For me, I've tried single pressure for some time, and I definitely do better with a range of pressures.

But everyone's an individual, so if you feel like you want to try straight cpap-mode to see if things could be even better, go for it *smile*.

I did buy a backup used S9 AutoSet from secondwindcpap for traveling, myself. I look at it also as a backup if my home cpap goes down *smile*, so it serves a dual-purpose.

There's no reason why you couldn't try the straight pressure, but keep in mind that th loud need to do it for a week or so to see if it is problematic. I had a loaner machine and apparently don't do well with Respironics algorithm. I changed it to straight pressure and did better. I do much better on Resmed's auto-algorithm.

I think that there are even small travel size machines that will to apap mode if you really want to keep apap mode available.
Bear in mind that even cpap mode on your existing machine may not work out the same as cpap mode on the smaller travel machines. From what I have read the smaller travel machines are louder (let's face it there's simply no extra room for any extra insulation to deaden the motor sounds) and also remember that different brands will use different algorithms..

Thanks for all the great insight and suggestions.
I have zero problems with the adjustable pressure and sleep through the night without waking up.
i think I will try it without the humidifier and see if I really need it. I have been using the humidifier set at 0.05.
If I do well without it I will look into buying a backup machine without it.
I will post my latest stats and maybe someone can determine why the Doc recommended constant pressure.