[Pressure] Baseline Pressure

[gpk111]

Is it possible to get a poor man's version of a sleep study by simply turning the pressure way down? In theory, the machine would detect the AHI events without any assistance, thus simulating the real world environment. Any thoughts before I try it?

[Walla Walla]

The results would depend on how much pressure is required to resolve the sleep apnea. Example would be if you require 10cm of minimum pressure for treatment than yes it would show apnea events. But you only required 4cm to resolve it and tested with 4cm pressure you wouldn't be able to tell. Most people are going to require more than 4cm of pressure though.

[Coffee Man]

Wouldn’t there have been a sleep study prior to starting therapy?

[gpk111]

Yes. I had a sleep study done. It indicated I needed a CPAP, which I just started using again. The sleep study was done a long time ago and I can't find it. 


I'm a quant head/researcher, so I like to look at steady state baselines. I'm thinking if I set the machine at say 1/2 and I need a pressure of say 3 to overcome my obstruction, the machine would detect the events, giving me a baseline. ???

[Gideon]

Given the fact that you have had a sleep study that says you had sleep apnea (presumably Obstructive Sleep Apnea) it is feasible to titrate with a modern Auto CPAP such as the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset with the settings of 4-20 with no EPR.  This is a fairly standard often prescribed by doctors.

This will detect apneas that are not resolved by the minimum pressure of 4 and provide information to help determine therapeutic settings for the apnea detected.

[gpk111]

Sorry I wasn't clear:
I have no reason to believe the normal pressure range won't give me relief. I don't believe that will be an issue.

It just occurred to me that the event tracking with a CPAP machine reflects the therapeutic pressure. For example, a pressure of 4 may result in 2 events per hour. 


I thought it would be nice to know how many events occur WITHOUT the benefit of the CPAP. I know that's the purpose of a sleep study. But since I had mine done long ago, I'm wondering if (most of the pressure) is removed, if the machine will still register the events, thus giving me a new baseline. 


Thanks for any thoughts

[OpalRose]

Are you using an S9 AutoSet, S9 Elite or S9 Escape?

If you are using an S9 AutoSet, then set you pressure range at a minimum of 4cm and a maximum of 20cm.  This is considered a wide open range, but should give you a 90% reading.  This would give you an estimate of what pressure you need to treat your Apnea. Also, #SleepyHead will show you what events occurred at various pressures.

Download #SleepyHead software so you can readily see what Apnea events you are having and what your pressure needs should be.