Newbie AHI=12.8 with APAP

Sleep center titrated pressure to 13 cm after they measured AHI of 28.6. CPAP provider left the default setting of 4-20. My first two night my AHI was 12-13. Not good. I am going to talk to the machine provider about changing the setting. Don't know why this didn't use straight CPAP of 13 cm per Dr. Seems like APAP should be about 10-20 not 4-20 but I am new. Comments?

Welcome to the forum!

You are probably correct that the CPAP provider dropped a ball here by leaving you with a setting of 4-20.

Your common sense tells you that you should use 10-20, and that is almost exactly what someone from here would advise you to go for, especially since you have a titrated value of 13. You might even find that your results improve if you creep the 10 close to that 13.

Many of us here on the forum change our own settings. Some sleep doctors frown on that - others love it when you take control of your own therapy.

What machine are you using? EDIT: Found it!

OK - what mask?

Welcome to the forum.

That minimum of 4 might work great if you only need around 8 cm pressure to hold the airway open but it's way too low when a person needs pressures in the teens. Simply takes to long for the machine to get to where it needs to go to do a good job.

Minimum of 10...would be a good starting point...might need a little more but I am betting 10 will do a darn good job and might be all the minimum you need.

Thanks for your input Pugsy & katestyles.

My DME found the prescription and reset my machine to 13 cm this morning. I tried it for a few minutes after I got home. It is a little hard to exhale but I guess I'll get used to it. Last night (before the change) my AHI was down to 7.25 (not good but a lot better than 12. so I am hoping with the change it will drop below 5 tonight. My machine doesn't allow me to change the pressure settings so at some point I will ask my doctor to okay a change from 13 to 10-20 or 11-20.

Is A-Flex worth doing?

pfar777 wrote: ↑

Mon May 06, 2019 1:19 pm

Thanks for your input Pugsy & katestyles.

My DME found the prescription and reset my machine to 13 cm this morning. I tried it for a few minutes after I got home. It is a little hard to exhale but I guess I'll get used to it. Last night (before the change) my AHI was down to 7.25 (not good but a lot better than 12. so I am hoping with the change it will drop below 5 tonight. My machine doesn't allow me to change the pressure settings so at some point I will ask my doctor to okay a change from 13 to 10-20 or 11-20.

Is A-Flex worth doing?

There is no lock preventing you from changing your own pressures if willing.

Go here https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap- ... tup-manual

Download the clinical manual for your machine and it will show you the settings that can be tweaked and how to change the pressures yourself

Jas_williams wrote: ↑

Mon May 06, 2019 1:34 pm

There is no lock preventing you from changing your own pressures if willing.

Go here https://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap- ... tup-manual

Download the clinical manual for your machine and it will show you the settings that can be tweaked and how to change the pressures yourself

Thanks. Good to know. At some point, I will start tweaking the settings myself but I want to wait until after the followup with my MD in July.

AFlex is definitely worth trying especially if you are using 13 cm pressure.
Try all the settings and use the one you are most comfortable with. I found it a huge plus.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Mon May 06, 2019 2:40 pm

AFlex is definitely worth trying especially if you are using 13 cm pressure.
Try all the settings and use the one you are most comfortable with. I found it a huge plus.

Agree strongly

I started on a pressure of 13, and found the flex to be crucial.

Do you know what time you fell asleep? Is it possible that you were lying in bed awake until about 11:30 or midnight? Did you wake up for 45 minutes or so around 3:30 am? The period between midnight and 3:30 doesn't look too bad.