Has there been a Poll Done

I have been on Cpap for about 8 weeks now.....I have been letting the machine adjust pressures......while results on paper have looked good, I don't feel any better at all....So I'm wondering if It would be wise to experiment with pressure.....Now, I feel confident with my pressure ranges, 8-12......I also use EPR at level 1 on resmed airsense 10......But I was thinking, maybe I should try turning off epr, and see if having a constant flow of pressure would be better.....and then maybe try having EPR off and just set a constant pressure might work even better.....Now I know, I wont know until I try it, so I will be experimenting.........but I was curious for other members, how many folks have felt like cpap has really made a difference and if so, do you let the machine adjust the pressures thru the night, or do you set on constant pressure.....

EPR is for relief of too much pressure on exhalation, nothing to do with auto or plain Cpap which are determined by setting the mode feature on the machine (you can use. By all means turn off EPR but then put your machine in either auto mode or (fixed presssure) Cpap mode. Apple and oranges... Is your script for auto or cpap?

While input of others has its place, some of the things you're working through are specific to your response to the treatment. Won't matter much if a particular tweak worked for a dozen others if it doesn't help you. Too many variables from case to case. Are you using Sleepyhead to see if there are any clues in the data? It's best to make any changes one at a time and keep it the same for a few nights or long enough to see a trend. If you go to straight pressure and at the same time change the EPR you won't know which was at issue. Pick one to start with. Kinda doubt it matters much which but I'd probably pick the EPR. It's a comfort feature anyway, and if you don't feel a need for it, why complicate the picture? Now if you are using EPR because you need it to breath comfortably or due to air in the belly, you may want take a different approach. I'm sure you're disappointed at not feeling better by now. Have you already considered if there may be some other culprits influencing how you? CPAP can correct our breathing and doing so usually helps us feel better. When treatment is optimized and symptoms persist, it's wise to look for other possible contributors. Here's a few generic basics to consider...
Medication or supplements side effects
Deficiencies in things like Vitamin D, B Vitamins
Medical conditions like anemia or thyroid dysfunction (among others)
Getting too few hours of sleep
Frequent wakings disrupting sleep stages
Other sleep disorders such a limb movements, insomnia, etc
Mood disorders
Good luck with things.

First off you need to line up the Ducks. In Control Panel, list your correct equipment in TEXT, not ICONNY, your pressure setting, your mask and in comments anything else useful.

Then you need to get the Sleepyhead software, so you can see what is happening, and post it so others can help you. Get the manuals for your machine, so you can get access to the providers menu.

Poll's are useless, feel free to make dozens of them. The best use of time is reading posts, it's not necessary to post on all of them. If you have a question feel free to start a New post if you can't find a answer in what you read.

Welcome and Good PAPING! Jim

Understood guys....thank you for the response....

robz wrote:I have been on Cpap for about 8 weeks now.....I have been letting the machine adjust pressures......while results on paper have looked good, I don't feel any better at all....So I'm wondering if It would be wise to experiment with pressure.....Now, I feel confident with my pressure ranges, 8-12......I also use EPR at level 1 on resmed airsense 10......But I was thinking, maybe I should try turning off epr, and see if having a constant flow of pressure would be better.....and then maybe try having EPR off and just set a constant pressure might work even better.....Now I know, I wont know until I try it, so I will be experimenting.........but I was curious for other members, how many folks have felt like cpap has really made a difference and if so, do you let the machine adjust the pressures thru the night, or do you set on constant pressure.....

1)APAP
Millions of people do very well on APAP. It allows us to sleep at a lower/more comfortable pressure for much of the night. But, when our pressure requirements increase with a change in sleep stage, a change in body position or a change in nasal congestion, an APAP setting will slowly increase the pressure to compensate. It will return to a lower pressure when conditions allow. It's also true that our pressure needs will vary from night to night depending on many factors including what we ate that day, what our activity level was, whether we are sleeping in a different bedroom, etc.

2)EPR
This is a personal comfort feature. If you do not need a lower pressure to exhale comfortably, try turning it off and see how you sleep. Personally, I don't like EPR because the pressure cycles up and down on each breath.

3)As far as changing your pressure settings, this is best done after an analysis of your current Sleepyhead graphs. Much can be told by the charts of your breathing and the machine's response.

4)Feeling Better
CPAP helps you breathe better while sleeping. Here are some tips on sleeping and feeling better:

- Practice good sleep hygiene (Google it and read several sources)
- Eat a good diet
- Have a regular, moderate exercise program
- Try to avoid daytime naps
- Practice total abstinence of caffeine including sources like chocolate (sigh)
- Review all medicines, vitamins and supplements you are taking to make sure none are interfering with sleep
- Use the bedroom for sleeping (and sex) only, and make sure the bedroom and bed are comfortable.
- Learn to appropriately handle emotional stress in your life
- Do not listen to your breathing or the sound of the machine as you are falling asleep.
- Distract your mind by thinking of a pleasant, relaxing activity that you enjoy. Thinking of sitting under an umbrella on a quiet beach with a warm gentle breeze works for me.
- Use CPAP software, such as the free SleepyHead, to make sure your therapy is optimized
- If you still don't feel or sleep well, make sure you have regular medical checkups to confirm there are no other medical problems

CG

Apples and oranges - you already have a machine that adjusts to the needs of the moment - thus, the only way to achieve what you are saying would be to kill the APAP and switch to a CPAP with a pressure you must pick in advance, not letting the machine do its job of rallying to the need as dictated by your breathing. All EPR does in your case is to soften the pressure at exhale by a single cm/H2O - hardly noticeable.

JimW159 wrote:Apples and oranges - you already have a machine that adjusts to the needs of the moment - thus, the only way to achieve what you are saying would be to kill the APAP and switch to a CPAP with a pressure you must pick in advance, not letting the machine do its job of rallying to the need as dictated by your breathing. All EPR does in your case is to soften the pressure at exhale by a single cm/H2O - hardly noticeable.

I agree. You at least need to TRY straight pressure to see if that allows you to sleep better. For many users, the changing pressures of APAP ranges can disturb sleep. Pick a pressure within the range you're using or look at your reports and see if you can pick one that may be optimal.......set the machine with the minimum and maximum pressures being the same and try that for a few weeks. You can still tweak the pressure over time to find the setting(s) that work best for you.


Den

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