AFlex set to 3 will give up to 2 cm reduction during exhale. You may or may not get the full 2 cm reduction because the actual amount of reduction is based on your own flow rate or forceful breathing....shallow breathing vs a more forceful breathing.
Use what feels the best or more comfortable to you...
http://aflex.respironics.com/
Quit worrying about the RX that apparently worked okay in the sleep lab setting. It may have worked then but it isn't working now. My in lab titration sleep study also missed the mark. It happens. I think that sometimes it's just because we don't sleep as well in the lab so the don't get the good deep sleep where our pressure needs may be higher.
Finally...sometimes the doctors don't understand just how critical that minimum pressure setting happens to be.
They think that the machine will respond a lot quicker than it will and they think that by starting out a lot lower will help the patient in terms of initial comfort breathing/exhaling against the machine. So he may simply thing that he is doing you a favor starting out the night at a lower setting and understanding full well that you probably need more and he thinks that the machine will go there fast enough that it doesn't matter....but it does matter.
It's a common error made as to how these apap machines actually work. They can't respond with more pressure in the blink of an eye and while the machine is taking it's own sweet time getting to where it needs to be...the airway closes and opens back up while the machine is still trying to increase.
So use a more optimal base pressure to hold the airway open better to start with and then it doesn't need to increase as much and the speed of the increase isn't a problem.
Prevention vs fixing...always better to prevent a problem than to have to try to fix a problem after the fact.
Looks like you came up with 11 cm minimum as being a very good minimum for you....I would use it if it were me and to heck with what the in lab titration came up with...you aren't in the sleep lab every night...you are in your own home in your own bed.
I may have to RISE but I refuse to SHINE.