Moving from Airsense Autoset to Aircurve VAuto

Hi All,

I recently purchased a used Aircurve VAuto to replace my Airsense Autoset. My doctor put me on CPAP therapy a few years ago and I have really come to depend on the machine for a good night's rest. My machine is still going strong but I know it's getting close to end of life so I found a used Aircurve VAuto to replace it. I wanted advice on how I should set up the new Aircurve machine so that it mimics my current Airsense.

I don't have access to my original sleep study results so I'll be relying on the settings on my Airsense that my medical provider set up for me based on the doctor's recommendation. According to the resmed app, i'm averaging around 1 AHI which I understand is a good number.

When i go to clinic mode on the Airsense Autoset, these are what I see
Mode: AutoSet
Max Pressure: 15.0
Min Pressure: 5.0
Mask: Pillows
Ramp Time: Auto
Start Pressure: 4.0
EPR: On
EPR Type: Full Time
EPR Level: 3

Oscar Report:

Here's what I think I should be setting based on Dog Slobber's thread

Mode: VAuto
Max IPAP: 25
Min EPAP: 4.0
PS: 3
Ti Max: 2.0s (default)
Ti Min: 0.3s (default)
Trigger: Med (default)
Cycle: Med (default)
Ramp Time: 20 min
Start EPAP: 4.0

Are these settings correct? Secondly, if i wanted to play with the values, which should I modify first? PS -> 4?

Last, I had a question about something I saw in Oscar. It mentions that my prescription was adjusted in 2018. I didn't do any adjustments or take it into the equipment guy. Was this done remotely through Resmed?

Thanks in advance.

The change in prescription settings so be a very minor change in some little setting that you did. Could have been something so small as ramp time.
Can you get a screen shot of that area?

Your proposed settings will likely work very well and be comfortable. It's about as close as you can get in your situation with using the 5 minimum on the AutoSet.
PS is what I would play with if it were me since that's the main difference in machines.
With EPR at 3...that's equal to 3 cm difference between inhale and exhale and you don't have 4 or more difference available on the AutoSet but you do on the AirCurve. I like 3 cm difference....I love 4 cm difference. It's minor but I really like it better.
Don't go over 6 PS though without extra watching of the results...it could trigger centrals. Not to mention it isn't all that comfortable.

magungo wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 16, 2019 5:02 am

... if i wanted to play with the values, which should I modify first? PS -> 4?

Yes.

Here's my first night's results with the Aircurve. It looks good based on the AHI number. It feels a little different breathing using the machine because I feel a pressure change before I'm finished with my inhale. It starts off easy, then it gets a little harder to inhale at the end. Is this related to ramp up?

I can't say if I feel better or worse than usual after 1 night.

Oscar Report:

Also, here's the screenshot of my prescription change: I started using my CPAP in 2015.

magungo wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 17, 2019 11:26 am

Here's my first night's results with the Aircurve. It looks good based on the AHI number. It feels a little different breathing using the machine because I feel a pressure change before I'm finished with my inhale. It starts off easy, then it gets a little harder to inhale at the end. Is this related to ramp up?

I can't say if I feel better or worse than usual after 1 night.

Oscar Report:
Screen Shot 2019-11-17 at 9.18.27 AM.png



Also, here's the screenshot of my prescription change:
Screen Shot 2019-11-17 at 9.08.47 AM.png

I started using my CPAP in 2015.

Look at your inspiration time chart, see if it's frequently hitting 2 seconds... you may be inhaling slowly, and getting IPAP clipped off.

If so, go into the settings and increase the TiMax time, as long as you don't have lung disease issues, there's no harm in increasing it, go ahead and set it to 3, or 4. (it defaults to 2 (seconds)).

Is this considered frequent enough?

magungo wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 17, 2019 11:52 am

Is this considered frequent enough?

Screen Shot 2019-11-17 at 9.51.12 AM.png

It's frequent enough if it bothers you. Like I guessed, it isn't an issue when you're asleep, only when you're laying there, taking those long deep breaths as you're relaxing to get to sleep.

Changing it won't hurt anything at all, and if it makes you more comfortable... I say, 'do it'.

Awesome. Thanks!

The prescription change thing you see....ignore it.
I suspect a bug in the settings being reported causing the anomaly. It's a known bug that sometimes shows up and sometimes doesn't.
Note the report from 1969 Obviously this model machine wasn't even a twinkle in someone's eye in 1969.
I suppose you could go back to Nov 6, 2018 and compare it to November 5, 2018 and see if the machine really was changed from cpap mode to apap mode...but nothing you can do about it anyway. If you changed it or someone changed it remotely (unlikely after multiple years worth of use)...or if it's just a bug...hurts nothing and you can't do anything about it anyway.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 31, 1969 6:00 pm

Note the report from 1969 Obviously this model machine wasn't even a twinkle in someone's eye in 1969.

The Dec 31, 1969 date error occurs when the time and date fields have all zeros in them. This suggests that when data was imported one of the days there was some corruption.

I had that occur on either SH or OSCAR. The solution is to drop the calendar, move back to Dec 31, 1969 and then delete that days data.

Boring background computer crap. One of the standard ways to internally store time and date is Epoch time. Where time is represented as the number of seconds since midnight the morning of January 1, 1970 UTC. I just set the the time field on Pugsy's post I quoted. Depending on local time zones, viewers should see a time in the range of Dec 31, 1969 - Jan 31, 1970.

Day 2. I adjusted the TiMax to 3.0 seconds and it helps. I am going to try 3.5 tonight. Probably a placebo but I feel tired in the mornings. Can't say if its better or worse than with the autoset but since I set it to be equal, I wouldn't expect it to be different.

Please format your charts like this:
wiki/index.php/Sleepyhead:Organize

Sorry about that. I didn't realize that I used the wrong pressure measurements.

Here's my last 2 days. I was a little worried about the jump to 3. Since it dropped down to 1.54 the next day I'm going to assume it was just an anomoly.

Sleep is so naturally variable from one night to the next that unless something horrific happens, it’s a good idea to let things ride for a few days and see if there’s any general trend. (Mind you, I find that advice easier to give than to follow!)

magungo wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:02 pm

Sorry about that. I didn't realize that I used the wrong pressure measurements.

That's ok.. the mask pressure is usable for whole night charts, but it is harder to read than the regular pressure... where mask pressure is best is when you're zooming in and looking at individual breaths, and you want to see the relation between the pressure change and the breath...

magungo wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:02 pm

Here's my last 2 days. I was a little worried about the jump to 3. Since it dropped down to 1.54 the next day I'm going to assume it was just an anomoly.

Something many people (and some of them are doctors) don't understand is that sleep is not a constant, it varies from hour to hour, and night to night, once you get 'pretty close' to having your machine adjusted well, work on averages, don't ever change something based on one night's report... because you may change nothing at all, and have a rather different result.. because the largest variable in the equation is the squidgy meatbag on the end of the hose