Taking control and it feels good

I'm a little over two weeks on CPAP and it's been a roller coaster ride but it seems things are evening out now. THANKS to all of the knowledgeable people on this forum who give of their time to help out all the newbies like me.

So I've learned from reading here that a setting of 4 on the ramp feature may be too low and might give a person the feeling they can't get enough air. I realized that was a problem I was having so I boldly (lol) took the step to go into the forbidden area (jk) of the machine and changed the ramp to 6. It made a huge difference to the start up for the night. I only use the ramp for 5 minutes and I'm sure in the near future I may not need it at all, my max pressure is 9.

Changing this one thing just gave me a feeling of having a bit of control over my own health and comfort. Also ditching the mask the DME gave me and finding one that I could live with made a HUGE difference as well. Finding out you need CPAP can be scary so changing the things I can to help myself out a bit feels great.

Another huge step for me was downloading Sleepyhead so I can view my own statistics and not have to stay in the dark about what's happening while I sleep.

Finally I just want to ask a question, I have a Resmed S9 autoset but it is set to straight CPAP. What is the point in doing that? It seems like auto would be more useful? My pressure is set to 9 and my AHI is consistenly around 1.8 (most of those are clear airway events) so things are working good. Just wonder what the advantage would be, if any, to setting it to autoset.

Of course auto is more useful... can you not change the mode in your machine?

Yes I can change it, what I'm asking I guess is given my AHI do I need to at this point? What would be the advantage in doing so if my AHI is around 1.8 or lower most nights? Just trying to understand how autoset would be more useful, still learning about all this stuff.

Logies101 wrote:Yes I can change it, what I'm asking I guess is given my AHI do I need to at this point? What would be the advantage in doing so if my AHI is around 1.8 or lower most nights? Just trying to understand how autoset would be more useful, still learning about all this stuff.

if most of your events are centrals, then the autoset mode wouldn't do anything about them anyway.

autoset mode is handy if you have periods where you have more obstructive events than others, like some people do during rem sleep.

then it's nice to have auto keep the pressure lower for most of the night, and ramp it up in response to the increased needs of rem, or back sleeping, or whatever.

auto isn't for everybody, Den (wulfman) hates it and almost always recommends against it, for instance, but it's great to have the option available in your machine for future use.

palerider wrote:

Logies101 wrote:Yes I can change it, what I'm asking I guess is given my AHI do I need to at this point? What would be the advantage in doing so if my AHI is around 1.8 or lower most nights? Just trying to understand how autoset would be more useful, still learning about all this stuff.

if most of your events are centrals, then the autoset mode wouldn't do anything about them anyway.

autoset mode is handy if you have periods where you have more obstructive events than others, like some people do during rem sleep.

then it's nice to have auto keep the pressure lower for most of the night, and ramp it up in response to the increased needs of rem, or back sleeping, or whatever.

auto isn't for everybody, Den (wulfman) hates it and almost always recommends against it, for instance, but it's great to have the option available in your machine for future use.

Don't take me out of context. If given the option of being able to HAVE an APAP (or straight CPAP), I always suggest getting the APAP......because they're multi-mode machines. The problems arise when the users have them configured improperly (not optimally) or are very sensitive to the changing pressures. When I see people posting that they haven't been able to sleep well or haven't felt "rested" and have been using an APAP in a range of pressures for months to years, that's when I suggest they TRY a straight pressure to see if that helps.

So, while they can be "useful" for SOME people, they can be counterproductive for others. The users have to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the options and "try" them to see which works better for them.
Obviously (from my profile), I HAVE several APAPs and have tried them in ranges of pressures......which is how I came to know MY limitations.
In many ways, I'm a very sound sleeper, but for some reason, the pressure bumps from an Auto (in a range of pressures) will jolt me awake in a heartbeat or leave me feeling unrested.


Den

.

Thanks for the response Palerider and Wulfman. According to what you both are saying there would be no advantage for me at the present time. Good to know for future reference.

Logies101 wrote:Thanks for the response Palerider and Wulfman. According to what you both are saying there would be no advantage for me at the present time. Good to know for future reference.

People who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea need GOOD, restorative sleep to begin their therapy. Too many times, the changing pressures can not only disrupt the sleep stages, but can also exacerbate leaks and other things that keep new users from getting used to this new way of sleeping and breathing. In my opinion, it's best to start out with as many "constants" as possible to begin with. Then, if and when it becomes "old hat", go for the experimentation if you feel the need.

SOME people need the Bi-Level or ASV type of machines and "changing pressures" may be a part of that therapy. But, for the "garden variety" of OSA, the simpler the better.


Den

.

Wulfman... wrote:

palerider wrote: auto isn't for everybody, Den (wulfman) hates it and almost always recommends against it, for instance, but it's great to have the option available in your machine for future use.

Don't take me out of context.

oh, c'mon, that's basically what you said, just in a lot more words than I did...

you don't recommend anybody use apap, because everybody else does that

palerider wrote:

Wulfman... wrote:

palerider wrote: auto isn't for everybody, Den (wulfman) hates it and almost always recommends against it, for instance, but it's great to have the option available in your machine for future use.

Don't take me out of context.

oh, c'mon, that's basically what you said, just in a lot more words than I did...

you don't recommend anybody use apap, because everybody else does that

The vast majority of the folks to whom I recommend trying straight pressure are the ones who seem to be having "issues" with their therapy using ranges of pressure.

With so many variables, new users have enough difficulties getting underway with this therapy.
I'm an advocate of the "K.I.S.S." principle.

Edit: And, besides......I rather enjoy being a contrarian. Why do things just because "EVERYONE" else does it?
I made a computer screen background (which I have on both of my computers) from a calendar page someone left on my desk at work back in January of 2001. It's a "Far Side" calendar page picture of lemmings going over a cliff into the water......but the last one was wearing a life preserver. The person who left it on my desk, wrote on the bottom of the picture "The Survivor". (meaning me) Yeah, I try to resemble that caricature.


Den

.

Wulfman... wrote:Edit: And, besides......I rather enjoy being a contrarian.

now we're getting somewhere

you've got your views, I've got mine, and often enough, though certainly not always, they intersect.

you typically give sound advice, and have earned peoples respect, including mine.

now, I'll stop being all mushy.

palerider wrote:

Wulfman... wrote:Edit: And, besides......I rather enjoy being a contrarian.

now we're getting somewhere

you've got your views, I've got mine, and often enough, though certainly not always, they intersect.

you typically give sound advice, and have earned peoples respect, including mine.

now, I'll stop being all mushy.

I'll drink to that! (which is a somewhat rare occasion)

Happy New Year.


Den

.