Does Higher pressure stop snoring?

Jersey Girl wrote:Dear Steve,

I believe that to be "compliant" for the insurance company you have to use your machine at least 4 hours a night. I, for one, would go to apap and up my pressure a teensy bit each night maybe by .2, until you are told that your snoring has stopped. My husband snored terribly and his first night on cpap - not a peep out of him. So, getting the pressure right is important.

Pdean44 - Good for you! If your current mask isn't working for you, try another and keep going until you are getting the most comfort and restful sleep possible. Let us know how it goes.

Regards,

Jersey Girl

JG, Thanks. I just took a two hour nap, in APAP mode. Hours of use and compliance went from:
USE Compliance
Thurs 81hr 59hr
Fri 82hr 65hr
Sat 90hr 66hr
Sat (nap) 92hr 74hr
Interesting how I used it for 8 ours one night, and it gave me one hour showing Saturday morning. Then I take a nap for two hours and I get credit for 8 hours.
I think the machines programming stores information then calculates later.

My snoring continued after I started using cpap. I called the doctor who bumped my pressure up from 5 to 7. My wife said my snoring stopped.

I still occasionally have VS data which I'm watching. I travel with my job and I may be rolling over on my back. I've replaced the mask with a new one and tightened it up a little. I've also started using Zyrtec and Flonase to see if that helps.

[quote="Steves396lt1I can change it to APAP, simple setting change. Will this affect compliance?[/quote]

Hi Steve,

I can only speak from my own experience, but I can't think of any reason why I'd want a fixed pressure when the machine is capable of adjusting it "on the fly". Why not just try it for a couple of nights and see how you go?

Personally, mine is set to APAP ALL the time - I just put the mask on - breathe out once - and it "takes it from there".

I will try the APAP for week and see what happens. I will look into the software for this system too. I am not paying a 100 dollars for it though.

Colin Southern wrote:[quote="Steves396lt1I can change it to APAP, simple setting change. Will this affect compliance?

Hi Steve,

I can only speak from my own experience, but I can't think of any reason why I'd want a fixed pressure when the machine is capable of adjusting it "on the fly". Why not just try it for a couple of nights and see how you go?

Personally, mine is set to APAP ALL the time - I just put the mask on - breathe out once - and it "takes it from there".[/quote]

It is my understanding that an auto is slow to respond to an apnea and only raises the pressure in small increments, so the minimum pressure should be set only 1-2cms below your titrated or 90-95% pressure so the auto doesn't have too far to go to prevent an event.

DoriC wrote:
It is my understanding that an auto is slow to respond to an apnea and only raises the pressure in small increments, so the minimum pressure should be set only 1-2cms below your titrated or 90-95% pressure so the auto doesn't have too far to go to prevent an event.

It varies between manufacturers, but most respond quickly and then taper off the pressure over an extended period of time. You might find the following report of interest ...

http://www.inspiredrc.com/McCoy%20et%20 ... vices1.pdf

I read that article awhile ago, in fact I believe I presented it here. If my memory is correct, most of the responses I received from the experts pointed out that this was a simulated breathing experiment and not done with actual patients. As the caregiver for my husband's therapy and being able to observe what happens while he's asleep at night(many nights ), at the beginning his sleep was very disrupted on a wide range as the machine kept changing pressures trying to prevent apneas. His AHIs and Leaks were all over the place with no improvement in his symptoms until we got guidance here and changed to straight cpap for a year which prevented runaway pressures and controlled his leaks. He's now comfortable enough to sleep in auto mode on a narrow range and sleeps at a lower pressure most of the night. I'm not an expert so hopefully one of them will be able to jump in and tell me if my explanation is correct.

Perhaps not an expert but surely a godsend you are for your husband. I am sure the expert part is arguable in your favor

Thanks for the kind words pdean, but now I'm asking if you can make the photo of your beautiful children(oh, and you too!) a little larger so I can really see them?

Steves396lt1 wrote:Just curious if higher pressure with your machine reduces snoring tendencies?
I have a new machine too, 420E, and I have gone two days with a cool 17 hours use, 2 hours compliance. I have watched after 15 minutes to see the compliance symbol show, went to bed and nothing last night.
Now, My wife says I snore even with the mask, which is a full face Mirage Quattro.
Any suggestions. Yes I have searched, and the search engine provides thousands of related issues. None specific.

Based on my own experience, I suppose so. Having the higher pressure would stent the airways open. This would make them less likely to collapse resulting in less vibratory snoring. But again, as someone mentioned before, it is different for everyone.