Just received my new M Series Auto C-Flex CPAP

I have a few questions:
1)On Rx the dx was 780.53 ..does this mean anything to the user (i.e. set up pressure)
2) DME set it at 5 min 15 max..is this a good starting point?
3) With usuage, is it desirable to minimize range?
4)Of information provided on readout, which is most important?
5)Is ramping necessary when a range is set?
6) When and why would you set it to regular CPAP?

Thanks
Bob

1) 780.53 is the diagnosis code for insurance, hypersomnia with sleep apnea
2)Depends on what your titration was. If I remember correctly it was 9.5 so most people would go 2 over and 2 under, making it 7.5-11.5. 5 as the low number seems a bit too low for to me.
3)I think it is best to minimize the range. The auto will sense an event and start raising the pressure slowly until the event stops. If you have too low a starting pressure it will take longer to stop the event. If you have to high a top pressure the machine can chase a snore.
4)For me the most important is AHI. The rest of the info is nice to have and helpful but the AHI is the most important to me.
5) I never use the ramp. My pressure is 9.5 and with the c-flex I have no problems breathing against the pressure. You can only go as low as 4, the machine is set at 5, you probably won't notice the ramp.
6)I didn't sleep as well with the machine on auto. I think I do better with a constant pressure. I had the least events at 9.5 so I keep it there and my AHI's have been 0.5 and lower, even had some 0.0's.

Of course this all just my opinion. I'm sure (at least I hope) if I have anything wrong someone will be by to correct me shortly.

Good luck with the new M!
Brenda

rozenbob wrote:I have a few questions:
1)On Rx the dx was 780.53 ..does this mean anything to the user (i.e. set up pressure)

I think that's just the insurance/Medicare billing code for a diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Has nothing to do with pressure.

rozenbob wrote:2) DME set it at 5 min 15 max..is this a good starting point?

I'd personally find 5 a little low for comfortable breathing, but that's a reasonable range, imho.

rozenbob wrote:3) With usuage, is it desirable to minimize range?

If by "minimize range" you mean bringing the maximum pressure down, I don't think it's generally a good idea to lower the max. I'm not a doctor though. If it were me, and I wanted to use a narrower range, I'd leave the max at 15 and raise the lower pressure up some. Each person's pressure needs are different. I'd do better with 8 - 15 or 9 - 15, or even 10 - 15.

rozenbob wrote:4)Of information provided on readout, which is most important?

I think AHI and leak rate are the most important info to have.

rozenbob wrote:5)Is ramping necessary when a range is set?

"Ramp" is purely a comfort feature for those who need it or like it. If the pressure range is set with the minimum at 5 or more (4 is the lowest it can be) and a person likes to start out even lower than 5, then even those people might like a ramp starting at pressure of 4. Most people need more than 4 to breathe comfortably through a mask, and quite a few need more than 5 or 6 to feel like they are getting enough air. Some like to have their full prescribed pressure to start right out, or want the autopap to immediately start "auto-titrating", and keep "ramp" turned off. I don't use ramp at all. When using autopap, my range is 9 - 16 and it starts right out at 9. It's just individual preference.

rozenbob wrote:6) When and why would you set it to regular CPAP?

Lots of reasons, but to oversimplify and put it in a nutshell... if a person found that a single straight pressure treated them better (getting a lower AHI and feeling better) than varying pressures treat them, they might want to run the autopap as a straight CPAP.

After hitting "submit" for my post, I see that Brenda had answered. I agree with Brenda. Only thing I do differently is I don't think it's particularly important to lower the maximum pressure when narrowing a range. I like a lot of unused ceiling up there after I see that a machine I've never used before "behaves." So, Brenda's "2 cm above prescribed" (I'd use 4 cm above) is a good way to start out the range.

If a person does start it out as tightly as 2 cm above a "prescribed" straight pressure, I think it's ok to loosen the leash on the max pressure after you see how things go for awhile. I agree with Brenda that for most people setting the minimum at 2 cm's below prescribed is usually best.

Autopap using a range suits me nicely. Using it to find a good single pressure and then switching to cpap use suits others. It's nice to have a machine that can be used either way depending on what works better.

I think they almost (RG,BDP, & bob) said it all.

I was lab titrated once at 10 and once at 8. I use "auto" because my "events" are very positional.

I set my range 14.5 max to 7.0 min with autoramp @6 using a UMFF.

The 90% press was 14
Leak was 44.2
AHI 4.4

Since I never used a pressure as high as 14 before, I presume I have a serious mask leak somewhere above the 12 level (my prreviou highest used pressure.

Should I manually go to say 15 and searcg the leak proble?

Bob,

That leak rate isn't "bad" for a UMFF at those pressures. REALLY!

Hang in there.

Den

[quote="rozenbob"]I set my range 14.5 max to 7.0 min with autoramp @6 using a UMFF.

The 90% press was 14
Leak was 44.2
AHI 4.4

Since I never used a pressure as high as 14 before, I presume I have a serious mask leak somewhere above the 12 level (my prreviou highest used pressure.

Should I manually go to say 15 and searcg the leak proble?

Bob - you might want to raise the upper end of your range a little bit. Your AHI could (probably) be better.

Glad you got the machine! Congrats!