AirSense 10 For Her for a Guy

[ac110]

I have a loaner "ResMed AirSense 10 for Her" machine for a 90 day trial. I'm a guy, but they said it didn't really matter. Thanks to a Youtube video I ventured into the Clinical Settings menu and discovered that the Therapy mode is "AutoSense for Her" - the other options are AutoSense or CPAP.

My doctor wants me on APAP for the time being, presumably to see how to set up a CPAP down the road.

Should I be concerned about that setting? If I ask them about it I'll be admitting I more or less hacked their loaner.

[DariaVader]

the "for her" algorithm is "gentler" at pressures below 12cmh2o. above that it reverts to the regular algorithm. It is meant to deal better with the type of apnea women have.... a regular cpap is not going to act quite the same at the same pressures, so it's probably not the best test, but the "for her" machine is the best one to have since if that algorithm suits you best, it's available. The gender differentiation is a statistical thing. Woman are more likely to experience apnea one way and men more likely another - but less likely in either case is not a never.

[srlevine1]

the "for her" algorithm is "gentler" at pressures below 12cmh2o. above that it reverts to the regular algorithm. It is meant to deal better with the type of apnea women have.... a regular cpap is not going to act quite the same at the same pressures, so it's probably not the best test, but the "for her" machine is the best one to have since if that algorithm suits you best, it's available. The gender differentiation is a statistical thing. Woman are more likely to experience apnea one way and men more likely another - but less likely in either case is not a never.

My AirSense AutoSet has two settings in the clinical menu under "Response," and the choices are: "Standard" and "Soft."

"ResMed’s AutoSet algorithm now allows for additional customisation of therapy with the new AutoSet Response mode, which offers all the benefits of the enhanced AutoSet algorithm with gentler pressure increases for additional comfort."

For patients who are sensitive to faster changes in pressure during therapy, AutoSet Response can be set to either Standard or Soft. If set to soft, patients will receive gentler pressure rises during therapy.

Here is what ResMed has to say about "Algorithms."

"Research has shown that women with OSA have more upper airway resistance and flow limitation than the general OSA population1, which is why the AutoSet for Her algorithm has been designed to be more sensitive to flow limitation.

In addition, the algorithm provides more subtle changes in therapy pressure to minimize sleep disturbance. The AutoSet for Her algorithm also automatically adjusts the minimum AutoSet pressure if multiple apneas are occurring below a certain threshold."

Don't worry too much about changing parameters because most physicians never notice unless you are being titrated for a particular response. Do the changes in small increments and keep track of how you feel and your numbers using #SleepyHead which is superior to ResMed's ResScan as it is more intuitive and easier to use.

[Sleeprider]

"For Her" is closer to using a Respironics auto CPAP than the standard Resmed. It would be great to see the same person compare the standard and soft algorithm side-by-side. We'd learn from it.

AC110, the best thing you can do for yourself is just be aware of how you feel and to use #SleepyHead to monitor events and pressure changes. Usually an auto CPAP is delivered at the default minimum pressure of 4.0 and maximum of 20.0. It should not take long to narrow down what your really need and avoid some of that pressure fluctuation. Whether you use soft or normal; or use EPR or not is mostly comfort in most cases.