Poll: Pressure Changes Over Time?

Curious as to how many of us have needed pressure changes over time.

That one vote would be me

I was sleep tested at 10 and my average over the last month was 11.2

My first titration was not correct. Use of an auto showed the pressure was too high all the time. Instead of 15, I was mostly at 7 with some peaks up to 13.

I managed to get switched to an auto bi-pap and over time did my own tweaking so that I had the majority of total AHIs as 0.0. That is right - no apneas or hypopneas. So then I went to have a bi-pap titration and afterward the doctor said I had the pressures exactly right. I had already told him I did my own adjustments. He was pleased with me. When he offered to fix my smart card for me, I told him no thanks - I would do it. He just smiled and nodded.

In the meanwhile I have lowered the EPAP a bit, thinking I didn't really need all those 0.0 AHIs. Instead of 9-12 (the titration range) I now have 7-12 and the AHI ranges from 0.0 up to a 1.1 at those pressures. I tried straight bi-pap at the 9-12, but like the auto at 7-12 better.

I learned what to look for here. Some smart folks talking about OSA on this forum. I check the data once a week just to be sure things are still working the way I want. If I had questions I would start here, and then maybe go see the doctor. He gets a kick out of seeing my data and is fine with my results. He is easy to work with and I think he is a good doctor.

Catnapper - Joanie

I went from 7 to 8 and now I am down to 6. I went through a period where I found myself sleeping on my back; that's when I went up to an 8. When I went back to sleeping on my side, I went down to a 6.

I started on APAP with pressure range of 7-13 - which seemed a bit broad. Over time I have increased the minimum pressure to 9.5 and have left the max pressure at 13.

While I was getting acceptable results at the original settings, my results are indeed better now - at least they are when I stick with my nasal pillow masks.

I started on APAP with pressure range of 7-13 - which seemed a bit broad. Over time I have increased the minimum pressure to 9.5 and have left the max pressure at 13.

While I was getting acceptable results at the original settings, my results are indeed better now - at least they are when I stick with my nasal pillow masks.

Not at all broad. In fact, it is very normal. Most folks I know have a setting of 4-6 cm difference on high/low for their autopaps. Some like to fine tune it to 2-3 or so, but 6 cm is very much within the effective working limits of the machine. I'd say that 4-20 would be too broad for the machine to respond effectively, but 6 cm? Not an issue in my experience. I have 8-14, and it works very well. The key is to monitor your numbers, to see if it is being effective by the "charts," and know how you are feeling. If your AHI is low, and incidents are short duration, and the machine is catching them--no issue.