APAP -vs- CPAP

I've only being doing APAP instead of CPAP for a week, but here is my 2c anyway.

When I first tried APAP, I set the pressure limits 1cm above and below my titrated pressure. It never stayed at the minimum pressure. As soon as the pressure dropped close to the lower limit, it rose rapidly to the maximum and started dropping again, repeating this cycle all night.

So I increased both limits by 1cm, to between my titrated pressure and 2 cm above that. Now I spend most of the night at or close to my titrated pressure, with the occasional bump to close to, but less than, the 2cm higher upper limit, so I figure this is a good pressure range for me.

I would prefer spending most of my night at 11cm instead of any higher pressure.

One possible advantage of the small range is that although there is a pretty rapid increase (much much steeper than the initial ramp) in pressure, the actual change in pressure (in my case going from 11 cm to < 13 cm) is pretty small and I don't notice it enough to wake up.

Another advantage of APAP mode (and a fully data capable machine) is that you can track changes in your needed pressure. So, for instance, if I saw my pressure stay at 11cm all night long for say a week, I might consider lowering the limits again.

Assuming that an apnea sufferer already has an APAP, are there specific reasons to prefer CPAP mode to APAP mode with a small range?

JointPain wrote:
Another advantage of APAP mode (and a fully data capable machine) is that you can track changes in your needed pressure. So, for instance, if I saw my pressure stay at 11cm all night long for say a week, I might consider lowering the limits again.

I agree.... one of the most important reason for using a machine in APAP mode is to be able to use EncorePro and monitor your pressure requirements and make adjustments.

But it may be a good idea to do this once every 2-3 months for a week just to see what happens with your pressure and then put the machine in CPAP mode the rest of the time.

I'm thinking that may be what I will try.

That's exactly what I do. CPAP at my 90% gives me the best numbers. I do a week on APAP about every 6 months to make sure nothing has changed. For the record, I was titrated at 16cm. My 90% has slowly drifted down to 14 and is now back up to 14.5 over 2 years. So it does seem to change over time. It's good to keep an eye on it.

LinkC wrote:That's exactly what I do. CPAP at my 90% gives me the best numbers. I do a week on APAP about every 6 months to make sure nothing has changed. For the record, I was titrated at 16cm. My 90% has slowly drifted down to 14 and is now back up to 14.5 over 2 years. So it does seem to change over time. It's good to keep an eye on it.

I like that idea.

The other option I will throw in the mix is to still use the machine in APAP mode but to set the minimum at the 90% pressure as indicated by the Data I have gleaned off EncorePro.

I was titrated at 14 but the data clearly shows 11.

I am going to set out using CPAP at 11 for now for a coupl eof weeks and then switch to APAP at 11 as minimum and 14 as maximum.

I'll monitor the results using EncorePro AND the the way I feel.

Thanks for all the comments.

JointPain wrote:Assuming that an apnea sufferer already has an APAP, are there specific reasons to prefer CPAP mode to APAP mode with a small range?

If a person is sensitive to even slight pressure changes it may disturb sleep, or if there's a problem with mask leaks the machine will keep trying to compensate by raising the pressure which again may be disturbing.