Standard vs Soft Response for people having trouble adapting to PAP

LSAT wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 14, 2023 7:44 am

If you go in and reset the machine to factory defaults it will go to standard. The Soft is similar to the "For Her" setting.

That's like saying a lit match is similar to an acetylene torch, after all, they're both hot.

AutoSet for Her mode
AutoSet for Her mode is based on key aspects of ResMed’s AutoSet algorithm and delivers therapeutic responses tailored to the characteristics of female OSA patients.
The AutoSet for Her is similar to ResMed’s AutoSet algorithm with the following modifications:

* Reduced rate of pressure increments designed to help prevent arousals.
* Slower pressure decays.
* Treats apneas up to 12 cm H2O and continues to respond to flow limitation and snore up to 20 cm H2O.
* Minimum pressure (Min. Pressure) that adjusts according to the frequency of apneas: If two apneas occur within a minute, the pressure reached in response to the second apnea will become the new minimum treatment pressure until the next treatment session.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 11:09 am

For people that enjoyed those statistics,

Along with AHI, I would consider factoring in (1) how one feels subjectively the next morning and through the day over time, (2) how many hours of mask-on time one records, (3) how many full-on awakenings one has, and (4) what the specific makeup of the AHI is.

For example, if someone begins having more REM on average after a change in therapy settings, AHI may tend to creep up a bit, but that still may be better for overall sleep quality than getting less REM.

That is one of dozens of possible variations.

Although home-treatment-machine-reported "AHI" is never something to be ignored and has long been considered the cornerstone of what self-tweakers use as objective data for over-time comparisons of treatment tweaks, if that "AHI" stays within acceptable parameters while other factors, both objective and subjective, appear to improve, I would not allow minor AHI increase alone to shoot down the possible benefits of a tweak.

Hey, just me.

palerider wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 11:38 am

* Reduced rate of pressure increments designed to help prevent arousals.

I would consider that a significant similarity, myself.

So although I realize a newbie could misread the 'similar to' statement, I got where LSAT was coming from.

Then again, I'm the guy who doesn't mind when docs and patients in non-technical settings refer to all brands of bilevels as "bipaps," so what do I know.

I find most spellcheck programs only have a basic 3rd grade vocabulary.
At work, I had to disable autocorrect in order to do technical writing.
Looks like I need to do it again.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 2:29 pm

I find most spellcheck programs only have a basic 3rd grade vocabulary.
At work, I had to disable autocorrect in order to do technical writing.
Looks like I need to do it again.

I always assumed I'd get extra credit for my creative spelling. After all, who can trust a person who can only spell a word one way?

So don't trust me.
I simply can't help myself.
I read a lot--and tend to remember how words are spelled.
Non-typical spelling makes me uncomfortable.
Just my own brand of OCD.

lazarus wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 11:51 am

palerider wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 11:38 am

* Reduced rate of pressure increments designed to help prevent arousals.

I would consider that a significant similarity, myself.

So although I realize a newbie could misread the 'similar to' statement, I got where LSAT was coming from.

Then again, I'm the guy who doesn't mind when docs and patients in non-technical settings refer to all brands of bilevels as "bipaps," so what do I know.

"similar to *one of the four key differences* in the 'For Her' algorithm, and probably one of the less significant ones at that.

lazarus wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 3:00 pm

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 15, 2023 2:29 pm

I find most spellcheck programs only have a basic 3rd grade vocabulary.
At work, I had to disable autocorrect in order to do technical writing.
Looks like I need to do it again.

I always assumed I'd get extra credit for my creative spelling. After all, who can trust a person who can only spell a word one way?

ozij wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 16, 2023 12:56 am

All credit to whoever originally said what Twain has often been credited with saying: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/06/25/spelling/

Back on Standard.

My AHI went up too much--oddly enough, more open-airway apneas. Not sure why. I would have expected closed-airway apneas.

Anyway, glad I tried it.

Just mad that Granny was proved right. I really HATE that!

And my very best long-term AHI and restful sleep was back when I had and used the For Her mode when I was using a For Her AS10 machine for a while, even tho I ain't. Only by a slim margin over my present AS10 in Standard (not Soft), though. So I'm happy with what I got.

Thanks for reporting back, Lazarus! I'm on standard, too, but my numbers and my sleep quality don't seem to ever change much no matter what I do. I notice coaching new users often involves pressure and EPR setting changes, so I wondered if fiddling with this might be a good tool to have in the toolkit. Glad you checked it out.

Pugsy's comment "the only rule is there are no rules" and "everyone is different" is certainly true. This setting is probably not as significant as other changes, but who knows? As a last resort for someone having real problems adapting, maybe make it the last change you suggest they try? May or may not work, but it's there. Thanks again. So far all three of us who have tried it went back to standard for what that's worth.

When I was self-titrating, as I got close to what I thought was my optimum pressure, I then started applying Soft response (yellow high-lighted) as a comparison.



Soft Response didn't perform as well for me, but the pressures were lower.

I would specifically suggest people try Soft Response in the following circumstances:

• When one has aerophagia issues
• When one has CPAP (pressure) tolerance issues, especially when new
• When one has leak issues, at higher pressures
• When one is moving from a less responsive device to ResMed (ie DreamWear)
• When one experiences Centrals at higher pressures
• When one is sensitive to CPAP pressure increases

The gentler increase in pressure and lower pressures, may lessen some of the problems experienced with Standard Response.