Giving CPAP another try but need help

I had a sleep study about 3 years ago but only slept a couple hours during the whole thing. Results said I had moderate sleep apnea and I was given a Remstar auto CPAP machine with c-flex. Long story short I gave up on using the CPAP because I hadn't noticed any improvement in my quality of life.

Fast forward a few years later and I've got high blood pressure issues, feel fatigued and tired all day no matter how much I sleep, and my doctor and I decided to get another sleep study done because he and I both believe that sleep apnea is the culprit here. So I had a sleep study done last night and haven't got the results back from my doctor yet, but the tech put me on a CPAP halfway through the study and told me this morning that I definitely needed to be on CPAP.

After the sleep study was over we discussed some of the things that he observed during the night and I learned that he had me on a pressure of 17 and I was on my back in REM sleep after that point until I woke up this morning. He told me that the sleep doctor there at the sleep lab and my doctor would decide what pressure I needed to be at but that I was doing very well at a pressure of 17.

I also got to keep the mask that we used during the sleep study last night which was brand new which was pretty cool. It was a mirage quattro full face mask. I had previously had and still have a Mirage Ultra full face mask so I'm debating on which one to use.

I've got a completely different insurance carrier now as well, so I may be eligible for a new machine if thats needed, the sleep technician said that my doctor may decide to get me a new machine since the other one is a few years old but I'm not sure exactly whats going to happen with that yet.

My main question is if the auto CPAPS automatically decide what pressure to use or if they need to be set a certain pressure? Because I know mine wasn't ever set up correctly because the first study they never had a chance to experiment with the different pressures. Any help and/or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Your doctor will send a prescript to the DME telling them at what pressure to set the machine. If you are new DME stands for Those Crooks that rent the machine to your insurance company or Durable Medical Equipment.
My machine is also set on 17 and I use a full face quattro. I also used to be a powerlifter. HMMMM?

Welcome to the forum.

If your machine is the one in your profile, it's one of the best machines ever made (I have several of them). All you need is the software and card reader to see the information.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle.php?BundleID=64

As far as the mask, I have both of the ones you've mentioned and I prefer the UMFF to the Quattro......but that one works OK, too. I believe the UMFF stands up better at higher pressures.

Do you have the Setup instructions (or clinical manual) for your machine? I'll include them below.

Hang around and do lots of reading.


Den





REMstar Auto w/C-Flex Setup

When in the Setup Menu, the humidifier ^ and ramp v buttons operate as up and down keys to change the settings, the left/right user buttons < > allow you to go to the previous/next question or setting, and the pressure start/stop button is used to exit the Setup Menu. Holding the humidifier or ramp buttons down will cause the values to change more quickly.

To enter the Therapy Setup Menu, hold the two top user buttons < > down while plugging in the power cord.
Continue holding the buttons down until the REMstar Auto w/C-Flex beeps twice.

Note: The word "setup" will appear on all of the screens indicating that you are in the Therapy Setup Menu.
(If you press the Pressure start/stop button, you will exit the Setup Menu.)

A. Compliance hours/nights: (recommend leaving alone, but CAN be cleared at this point)
Select next setting with >

B. Therapy mode: (CPAP/CFLE/APAP/AFLE) select with ^ or v
Select next setting with >

B1. If CPAP or CFLE select pressure setting: Select with ^ or v
Select next setting with >

B1a. C-Flex mode (if you chose CFLE mode): Select setting 1, 2 or 3 with ^
Select next setting with >

B2. If APAP or AFLE, select minimum pressure setting: Select with ^ or v
Select next setting with >

B2a. If APAP or AFLE, select maximum pressure setting: Select with ^ or v
Select next setting with >

B2b. C-Flex mode (if you chose AFLE mode): Select setting 1, 2 or 3 with ^
Select next setting with >

C: Ramp time setting: Select with ^ or v
(ramp time will be turned off with a setting of 0:00)
(if using APAP or AFLE mode, Ramp setting MUST be set to 0:00)
Select next setting with >

D. Ramp pressure setting: Select with ^ or v (use only in CPAP or CFLE mode)
Select next setting with >

E. Patient disconnect setting: 1 = on 0 = off Select with ^ or v
Select next setting with >

F. Buttons lights setting: 1 = on 0 = off Select with ^ or v

(Last setting. Use On/Off button to exit Setup)

Bison William wrote:Your doctor will send a prescript to the DME telling them at what pressure to set the machine. If you are new DME stands for Those Crooks that rent the machine to your insurance company or Durable Medical Equipment.
My machine is also set on 17 and I use a full face quattro. I also used to be a powerlifter. HMMMM?

LOL thats pretty ironic.

Wow thanks Wulfman, that post is very much appreciated brother, thanks!

Powerlifter83 wrote:

Bison William wrote:Your doctor will send a prescript to the DME telling them at what pressure to set the machine. If you are new DME stands for Those Crooks that rent the machine to your insurance company or Durable Medical Equipment.
My machine is also set on 17 and I use a full face quattro. I also used to be a powerlifter. HMMMM?

LOL thats pretty ironic.

Yah! See where your big powerman muskles got you, yah? Big man with big neck can't breath at night.

Flashbacks of Steve Martin are invading my brain.

Ok i've got it set up to where its in auto mode with the C-Flex. I want to start using the machine again tonight, and I should probably wait till I talk to my doctor before I start messing with the pressure settings but from what I can see the pressure settings were too low(6.0 min and a 12.0 max). I needed a 17 during the sleep study last night so I'm gonna bump up the pressure. Was thinking a min of 12 and max of 18? Also there is 3 level settings for the CFlex, which I assume is how much the pressure decreases when you exhale? It's set at level 3 which is the max so i'm thinking of leaving that where it's at.

Powerlifter83 wrote:Ok i've got it set up to where its in auto mode with the C-Flex. I want to start using the machine again tonight, and I should probably wait till I talk to my doctor before I start messing with the pressure settings but from what I can see the pressure settings were too low(6.0 min and a 12.0 max). I needed a 17 during the sleep study last night so I'm gonna bump up the pressure. Was thinking a min of 12 and max of 18? Also there is 3 level settings for the CFlex, which I assume is how much the pressure decreases when you exhale? It's set at level 3 which is the max so i'm thinking of leaving that where it's at.

At least you'll get SOME therapy with those settings.
I was also prescribed a high pressure......18 cm. However, by using the software, I was able to find out that 10 cm. and then 12 cm. (ultimately) was the pressure that worked just fine for me.

You'll need the software and card reader to actually SEE what works best for you.

Hint: Snoring and mask leaks will drive an Auto crazy trying to keep up. If you have nasal congestion, try nasal rinses/cleansing before bedtime. These things interpret "air flow" and if it detects what it perceives as snoring, it'll start jacking up the pressure.
If you get lots of pressure variations (runaways), switch to CFLE mode (single pressure with C-Flex) and proceed from there.
I found that the pressure changes disturbed my sleep, so I use straight pressure.


Den

Hey Powerlifter, you think you're a strong guy eh? Just kidding. I competed in powerlifting for about 15 years in every weight class from 132 up to 198. I was 15 years old when I started. Anyway, at one point I had a 17" neck in the 165 lb. weight class. That's moderately thick, especially on a short frame. I wonder if that contributed to OSA? I used to do neck presses on a machine 3 nights a week because I thought it helped my deadlift.

Thanks for all the info Wulfman!!!! It is hopefully exactly what I'm looking for.

unclematt wrote:Hey Powerlifter, you think you're a strong guy eh? Just kidding. I competed in powerlifting for about 15 years in every weight class from 132 up to 198. I was 15 years old when I started. Anyway, at one point I had a 17" neck in the 165 lb. weight class. That's moderately thick, especially on a short frame. I wonder if that contributed to OSA? I used to do neck presses on a machine 3 nights a week because I thought it helped my deadlift.

Yeah I think the larger necks we tend to have can and probably does contribute to OSA. I'm in the 308 weight class and have been powerlifting since I was 17, and I'm now 26.

NEEDSTOSLEEP wrote:Thanks for all the info Wulfman!!!! It is hopefully exactly what I'm looking for.

BUMP!!!! Really appreciate the help Wulfman, I'm going to go to a straight pressure tonight and see how that works out for me.

Welcome Aboard Powerlifter.

Welcome! I just joined myself after being diagnosed, and I'm also working on powerlifting (though I just started a bit over a year ago, and am rather late to the game, being 40). I wonder how many other weightlifters suffer from apnea?

sifr wrote:Welcome! I just joined myself after being diagnosed, and I'm also working on powerlifting (though I just started a bit over a year ago, and am rather late to the game, being 40). I wonder how many other weightlifters suffer from apnea?

I would think almost all of the super heavies will have it eventually. I often wonder if building up my neck and traps might have something to do with closing my throat.