?--why set an auto to less than your straight cpap press.

my sleep study indicated 11 and had no apneas---why would i set an auto machine lower than this?----i understand why to set it up a couple...thanks

During your titration study they ascertain the pressure that stops all or most all of your apnea events WITHOUT causing central apneas.

MOST of the night you don't need that high a pressure. So you can sleep most of the night at a lower and more comfortable pressure. The auto can "read" when you need your pressure raised to prevent or stop an apnea. Thus it only makes sense to set the lower pressure 2-3 cms below your titrated pressure. Higher pressure is not always the way to go to prevent apneas. Generally a good pressure range for an auto is a 4 to 6 cm spread w/your titrated pressure being smack dab in the middle of that pressure range. At least that is the way it was explained to me.

will i actually start to have an apnea before the machine knows --and then raises my press?

sleepie wrote:my sleep study indicated 11 and had no apneas---why would i set an auto machine lower than this?----i understand why to set it up a couple...thanks

I would be wondering why anything? IF no apneas? but hey that me.

i asked the ? because i have read here that people are doing this--i just WONDERED why?

sleepie wrote:my sleep study indicated 11 and had no apneas---why would i set an auto machine lower than this?----i understand why to set it up a couple...thanks

A somewhat different opinion......

IF you don't believe your titration was correct OR if you want to verify your pressure, then I'd agree to a wider spread for a limited time. Otherwise, I feel that the bottom pressure should be right at what the titrated pressure and the top number a few numbers higher.

will i actually start to have an apnea before the machine knows --and then raises my press?

Yes. And in my opinion, this is the problem with setting the bottom pressure too low......it probably can't raise it in time to stop the one that may be occurring. It may start to bump up on a snore, flow limitation or hypopnea, but some events can occur "out of nowhere"......and if your pressure is sitting 2 or 3 cm (or more) below where it needs to be, it can't get there fast enough.
Even at a fixed pressure, a person is bound to have events.....the trick is to find the right pressure to keep the vast majority of them from happening.

I also personally don't believe in the "2 up - 2 down" or "3 up - 3 down" philosophies that have been spoken about on the forum for the last couple of years. WHY have events that could be avoided?

The Autos can also raise pressures on snores and leaks.....which can make for uncomfortable/disturbed sleep.

Den

thanks for all your typing--your thoughts are mine,, i just did'nt know what the machine was using as a trigger to raise the pressure---if its using an apnea i'm having, then i think thats no good---thanks

there are many reasons you may want to use a autopap:

1. Insomnia: use of a lower pressure can allow you to fall asleep easier. Many times the pressure found in the lab is designed to address your apnea at 4AM in the morning, not at 10PM at night. SO you spend the whole night dealing with that pressure and machine noise for maybe what is only needed for 2-3 minutes at 4AM.

2. Aerophagia: some studies have shown an autopap can lower your pressure requirements overall by some 38%. Setting a lower range may help you avoid complications associated with aerophagia. Autopaps only increase pressure when needed then lower that pressure automatically when it is not needed.

3. Positional Sleep: If you toss and turn during sleep, you will have more events sleeping in the supine position as opposed to sleeping on your side, autopaps automatically compensate for those changes.

Using an autopap with its minimum set to your CPAP pressure is only some people's philosophy here on use of the machine. Maybe if your only goal is the lowest AHI you might want to set it up that way, but that is not the gold standard way of setting them up or their sole purpose on use of the machine.

4. Compliance: autopaps not only add more features such as data logging, use of minimum pressure needed but they mainly add comfort. Greater comfort means better compliance and longer use. So if a machine helps you use it more your sleep quality should improve.

If doctors and insurance had half a brain they would see that benefit and be prescribing autopaps to nearly every patient because overall dollar for dollar those medical dollars would be much better spent than current modality of treatment.

1. Insomnia: use of a lower pressure can allow you to fall asleep easier. Many times the pressure found in the lab is designed to address your apnea at 4AM in the morning, not at 10PM at night. SO you spend the whole night dealing with that pressure and machine noise for maybe what is only needed for 2-3 minutes at 4AM.

2. Aerophagia: some studies have shown an autopap can lower your pressure requirements overall by some 38%. Setting a lower range may help you avoid complications associated with aerophagia. Autopaps only increase pressure when needed then lower that pressure automatically when it is not needed.

3. Positional Sleep: If you toss and turn during sleep, you will have more events sleeping in the supine position as opposed to sleeping on your side, autopaps automatically compensate for those changes.

What snoredog said. They all apply to me.

Snoredog wrote:there are many reasons you may want to use a autopap:

1. Insomnia: use of a lower pressure can allow you to fall asleep easier. Many times the pressure found in the lab is designed to address your apnea at 4AM in the morning, not at 10PM at night. SO you spend the whole night dealing with that pressure and machine noise for maybe what is only needed for 2-3 minutes at 4AM.

2. Aerophagia: some studies have shown an autopap can lower your pressure requirements overall by some 38%. Setting a lower range may help you avoid complications associated with aerophagia. Autopaps only increase pressure when needed then lower that pressure automatically when it is not needed.

3. Positional Sleep: If you toss and turn during sleep, you will have more events sleeping in the supine position as opposed to sleeping on your side, autopaps automatically compensate for those changes.

Using an autopap with its minimum set to your CPAP pressure is only some people's philosophy here on use of the machine. Maybe if your only goal is the lowest AHI you might want to set it up that way, but that is not the gold standard way of setting them up or their sole purpose on use of the machine.

4. Compliance: autopaps not only add more features such as data logging, use of minimum pressure needed but they mainly add comfort. Greater comfort means better compliance and longer use. So if a machine helps you use it more your sleep quality should improve.

If doctors and insurance had half a brain they would see that benefit and be prescribing autopaps to nearly every patient because overall dollar for dollar those medical dollars would be much better spent than current modality of treatment.

I REALLY don't disagree with any of that.
I own two Autos (and one CPAP), myself and use them all in single-pressure (CPAP) mode. I've had only had 2 apneas this month and only 2 nights that scored (slightly) above 1.0.....(and they weren't the same nights that the apneas occurred).

The half-brained doctors that set their patients up with ranges of 4 - 20 cm. are what bother me.

With an Auto, the patient who chooses to take control of their own therapy has a wide variety of options for a multitude of situations. In my opinion, software is really a MUST for the proper tweaking of an Auto.

Den