CPAP vs. AutoPap

I'm new to this site; have found it VERY helpful. Newly diagnosed with OSA (39 events per hour) I have purchased a RemStar Plus with C-Flex. Dr. wants me on a pressure of 14. This pressure is giving me huge chest pain from bloating, which starts soon after I start the machine (I use the ramp). Had to have the pressure turned down to 10. Mask is the Respironics Comfort-Lite nasal pillow. I've propped myself up in the bed which has given me some relief, but the pain stays with me during the day.
So, now I have a RemStar Pro Autopap (pressure range is 6-14)for a week. I'm not waking with the chest pain, but I'm also not feeling as rested as I was with regular CPAP. The Respironics website, and their customer service person say that the Comfort-Lite CANNOT be used with autopap, but the Respironics rep. here in Toronto says it can be used.
Do any of you have any suggestions for me? Why am I not as rested on autopap? Are the autopap machines truely able to sense what the patient needs and adjust accordingly? Will I ever feel rested, or do I have to go back to the chest pain and bloating of CPAP? I'm getting discouraged.

Hi Will,

First off, I'll tell you if you have questions such as this try posting them on the cpap and sleep apnea forum. See Jump to: Select a forum in the lower right of this window. Most people look there for posts to reply to.

Now that we've got that out of the way. Do you have a Remstar pro or a Remstar Auto? they are two different machines. Assuming you have an auto are you saving your data to the smart card? If so with the proper software you or your DME/MD can see how the auto is working for you. Can you try the mask that they say is suppose to work? Some auto-paps are calibrated for certain masks but may work with others. The best way is to look at the software results with a mask that works and compare with the one you are using.

One other thing, did the c-flex on the plus see to be a helpful feature for you? The current version of the remstar auto does not have c-flex and if you are spending most of the time at 14cm it might be making exhalation difficult.

The are soon coming out with a remstar auto with c-flex.

Your best bet is to see what the software says. If all looks good then give it a little more time and experiment with different masks to see if you can come up with a match that works for you.

Good to hear you were able to get rid of the bloating. Some people have difficulty avoiding that no matter what they try.