Maxing out pressure

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
cgill
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 11, 2023 7:41 pm
Location: Tennessee

Maxing out pressure

Post by cgill » Thu May 11, 2023 8:23 pm

Hello,

I had my annual appointment with my sleep specialist today. I have been wearing my CPAP machine since 2013. I have the refurbished Dreamstation One with a heated humidifier and wear a petite Amara full face mask. My specialist noticed that I'm maxing out the pressures again, A-flex 5-20. She ordered another sleep study since the last one was in 2011. The high pressures are hard to tolerate, hard to seal leaks, and I'm getting aerophagia. I'm a mouth breather and CPAP makes my nose congested. I was diagnosed with mild hypothyroidism last year and I will be 43.

What does one do when the pressure is not enough?

Thanks, Corinne

User avatar
palerider
Posts: 32300
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: Maxing out pressure

Post by palerider » Thu May 11, 2023 9:03 pm

cgill wrote:
Thu May 11, 2023 8:23 pm
Hello,

I had my annual appointment with my sleep specialist today. I have been wearing my CPAP machine since 2013. I have the refurbished Dreamstation One with a heated humidifier and wear a petite Amara full face mask. My specialist noticed that I'm maxing out the pressures again, A-flex 5-20. She ordered another sleep study since the last one was in 2011. The high pressures are hard to tolerate, hard to seal leaks, and I'm getting aerophagia. I'm a mouth breather and CPAP makes my nose congested. I was diagnosed with mild hypothyroidism last year and I will be 43.

What does one do when the pressure is not enough?

Thanks, Corinne
Raising the *minimum" pressure to keep the process from running away is often effective, if you're hitting 20 then 5 is *way too low* of a minimum pressure.

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

cgill
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu May 11, 2023 7:41 pm
Location: Tennessee

Re: Maxing out pressure

Post by cgill » Thu May 11, 2023 9:08 pm

Thanks @palerider! So keeping a less broad range of pressures help resolve the AHIs over 5?

User avatar
ozij
Posts: 10120
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:52 pm

Re: Maxing out pressure

Post by ozij » Thu May 11, 2023 9:17 pm

cgill wrote:
Thu May 11, 2023 9:08 pm
Thanks @palerider! So keeping a less broad range of pressures help resolve the AHIs over 5?
Yes.
Your APAP raises pressure after obstructive evnets happen, and lets it down when your breathing is smooth. So it consistently lets you drop into "AH range", you have an event, and it corrects itself.
No only may raising the minimum lower you AHI, it may also, and palerider said, keep the machine from going higher and higher.
palerider wrote:
Thu May 11, 2023 9:03 pm
Raising the *minimum" pressure to keep the process from running away is often effective, if you're hitting 20 then 5 is *way too low* of a minimum pressure.
If you download OSCAR you will be able to track you own results and see the effects of changes you make.
See viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... STING.html for detailed instructions and explanations.

_________________
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Machine: Resmed AirSense10 for Her with Climateline heated hose ; alternating masks.
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Good advice is compromised by missing data
Forum member Dog Slobber Nov. 2023

User avatar
palerider
Posts: 32300
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Dallas(ish).

Re: Maxing out pressure

Post by palerider » Thu May 11, 2023 10:17 pm

cgill wrote:
Thu May 11, 2023 9:08 pm
Thanks @palerider! So keeping a less broad range of pressures help resolve the AHIs over 5?
It's not good to think of it as "a broad range" rather what's important is a high enough minimum pressure to prevent *most* apneas in the first place. If your min pressure is too low, then the machine has to keep increasing pressure *while you're having breathing problems. This is even worse when you have a machine that is slow to respond like the Philips machines. By the time pressure gets up to a high enough level, sometimes you're in a cycle of breathing problems that just keep happening. I've seen people who, if they stop the series of apneas from getting started, they end up never going as high with their pressure. (not that I have an explanation of *why* this happens).

For most people, the max pressure set on the machine is immaterial, because the machine won't ever get to the max limit.

Also, an AHI of 5 is a terrible target to shoot for, because an AHI of 5 means, that on average, your sleep is interrupted every 12 minutes. an AHI of 1.5 or less is a much better target to actually get rest.

_________________
Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
Additional Comments: S9 VPAP Auto
Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.