Is there any reason NOT to be on "auto?"

Uncle_Bob wrote:My sleep doctor used to argue that APAP was not desirable because it needed an event to happen before the algorithm/machine got a chance to react. And that the waiting and resulting action was disruptive to sleep.
I still got his DME to get me an APAP though
I use APAP every now and again to kind simulate the sleep lab and see if I need to adjust my CPAP pressure which I then use on a nightly basis.

I guess you're saying that CPAP, at the correct pressure, can give you a better nights sleep than APAP? Is that your experience?

My pressure varies from night to night.
One pressure would not be ideal--and was not optimal for the nine months when I had no choice.
My sleep was interrupted much more with a single pressure than it is with the Auto setting.
I love my Autosets.
Straight pressure might be more comfortable FOR SOME,
and changing pressures contraindicated for some severe conditions,
but for many of us--it makes it possible to use cpap.

Holden4th wrote: I guess you're saying that CPAP, at the correct pressure, can give you a better nights sleep than APAP? Is that your experience?

Brief answer is yes, but that is just for me. If you get an APAP machine machine you have the flexibility to dial it into your own needs regarding APAP or CPAP.
Why not find out for yourself by getting an APAP machine and appropriate software and see for yourself.

Reading posts here makes it clear that treatment really does vary widely depending on individual needs.

For example, my first sleep study indicated that I have minimal variation of AHI between sleep stages and also between position (supine vs lateral). So in my case straight CPAP was prescribed.

Hi Esskay33,

Auto will show you what your body works best with. I think it was like ChunkyFrog that may have said, to set your auto two notches both ways for a couple of days. Then you'll know what works best for you, either CPAP or auto.

Starlette

>> I guess you're saying that CPAP, at the correct pressure, can give you a better nights sleep than APAP?

> Brief answer is yes, but that is just for me.

The answer may be in the settings.

For apap settings you have:
min: too low a min could be a problem
max: too high a max could be a problem
starting pressure: too far off the avg could be a problem

If any of those are too far off, you could have a problem, but the problem would not be apap, it would be the settings.

As for cpap:
Famous football coach Woody Hayes loathed to pass the football.
He famously said "three things can happen and two of them are bad." (Incomplete or intercepted)

cpap is like that. It can be too high or too low.
And since it's fixed, it can't adjust itself to your needs.
Your needs usually vary during the night and from night to night.

With apap and a data capable machine, you can see that your typical average pressure is (say) 14 with a range of (say) 12 to 16.

If min is set at 5, that's too low. Change it to maybe 11.
If the max is set at 20, that's too high. Change it to maybe 17.
Make the starting pressure 12.

That could be a different experience than if the settings are not optimum.

Experiment. Look at your data after every change. Keep notes.

Good advice there XYZ!

I think CPAP does not have the FOT pulse that occurs with APAP that can disrupt sleep, along with the continued pressure changes.
Like I said get an APAP and dial in your own therapy. And be aware software does not show everything.

Luckily, if you have an apap machine, it can also be run in cpap mode,
and, unless you have a counterindication,
you can try BOTH WAYS so you know what works best.
Cpap will ONLY run in cpap mode, so no choice there.

Uncle_Bob wrote:I think CPAP does not have the FOT pulse that occurs with APAP that can disrupt sleep, along with the continued pressure changes.

ResMed uses the FOT thing for figuring out if whatever reduction it is sensing is central or obstructive in nature and it uses FOT in both cpap and apap modes along with the regular fixed or auto adjusting bilevel modes.

Respironics uses something a little different in the pressure pulses but those are also used in both cpap and apap modes.

Think about it...if they didn't then we wouldn't/couldn't have central event flagging in cpap mode.

Pugsy wrote:
Think about it...if they didn't then we wouldn't/couldn't have central event flagging in cpap mode.

OK then (CPAP) continuous positive airway pressure without the FOT is a thing of the past then? My Resmed S8 is gold dust
If someone is just seeking a restful nights sleep without all the gimmicks?

Oh, Uncle Bob, are you a closet Luddite?
Please, say it ain't so.

Uncle_Bob wrote:OK then (CPAP) continuous positive airway pressure without the FOT is a thing of the past then? My Resmed S8 is gold dust
If someone is just seeking a restful nights sleep without all the gimmicks?

I don't know about the other brands and what they might use (if anything) for central identification.
I just know about Respironics and ResMed...and yes if a person is bugged by whatever is used for central identification they have to go back to the S8 or older or M Series or older...at least with those brands.

Now maybe one of the other brands in a new model isn't quite so fancy. I just haven't dug that deep into how they do things. I do well to keep up with the main 2 brands.

chunkyfrog wrote:Oh, Uncle Bob, are you a closet Luddite?
Please, say it ain't so.

definitely not, and I have a newt pond

What is FOT?