auto tritrating CPAP

I started out on the titrating machine with the computer chip inside and a humidifier made by ResMed. After being on that for 12 days I brought it in for her to download the information off of the machine. She told me that the machine was letting me continue to have my apnea episodes but would take care of them afterward. She said this is why I didn't feel better. So my question is: Are the titrating machines letting you have apnea and then taking care of it whereas, the straight CPAP machines that are set at one rate don't let you experience the apnea. The initial machine registered me as being at 12.4 95% of the time. Any input???

Do you have a copy of the report? Did it show a number called AHI? If not did it list how many apneas per hour? Hypopneas per hour? If you add these two together they should be at 5 or less. If not this machine is not working for you and you might want to try another. Two you could try are the Puritan Bennett 420E or the Remstar Auto w/C-flex. Sometimes a particular auto does not respond well to certain individuals. The Puritan Bennett has some adjustments that can be made, the Resmed and Remstar do not, they either work for you or they don't. You can alway set your machine to work as a fixed pressure cpap if you need to, but then you lose the benefit of the auto feature.

are you using a auto cpap, apap? I have the new 420E auto (or cpap if I want down the road) they upped my starting pressure floor of 8. I thought my nose and sinuses were blowing out the back of my head. I had to get a new scrip from the pulmonary doc to lower the starting pressure,which his Rt will take care of. I can't start that high. I ''practiced'' for a few hrs off & on, tonight's my big 1st night. I can wait to go to sleep. I am not anxious to go to bed, even tho' this is necessary for my health. Trying to keep a positive outlook. Reality check once it's staring at you...!

hhunt wrote:I started out on the titrating machine with the computer chip inside and a humidifier made by ResMed. After being on that for 12 days I brought it in for her to download the information off of the machine. She told me that the machine was letting me continue to have my apnea episodes but would take care of them afterward. She said this is why I didn't feel better. So my question is: Are the titrating machines letting you have apnea and then taking care of it whereas, the straight CPAP machines that are set at one rate don't let you experience the apnea. The initial machine registered me as being at 12.4 95% of the time. Any input???

Hello,
Just because a cpap is autotitrating doesnt mean you can just turn it on and forget it. The lower and upper pressures must be set correctly to get the most effective treatment. The only way to do this is to be actively involved in your treatment. Get the software or at least record the indices (pressure, apnea, hypopnes) daily from the Spirit along with how you feel when you awaken and your energy levels thruout the day. It is usually the lower pressure that is hardest to determine. You may have many hypopneas that are undetected or untreated. With the resmed you can slowly increase the lower pressure until the indices improve and you FEEL better as well.

There are many posters that do not get good results with the Resmed Spirit. Those with flow limitations such as sinusitis or stuffiness. SWS is the expert here (he hates being called an expert) . You wont find many Drs. that have his knowledge of cpap operation . Read some past posts on the Spirit and PB 420E.

Remember , good record keeping is the key to figuring this all out.

Ionizer