Any reason to use Auto mode?

[cincysinner]

Just kind of curious about this.... I have resmed vpap auto, set at 12/8 EPR as prescribed from my study. My AHI is running < 3 the past few nights.

I am very early into treatment but I am curious.... presuming you are not bothered by the higher pressure (I'm not thus far) is there any advantage to try and get the lowest pressure necessary? i.e. what advantages are there in running at lower pressure(s)? e.g the machine finds I get the same AHI results at 9/5.

[PollCat]

Regardless of the pressure setting, the real issue has to do with getting quality sleep. Since your sleep study results prescribed 12/8, it's best to leave it at that for the time being. The auto CPAPs should adjust your pressure according to your sleep apnea pattern.

Personally, I don't see any advantage to reducing the pressure range; although, since I got S9 auto I have played with it just see if I could tell any difference in the quality of my sleep.

[Ugly]

Just kind of curious about this.... I have resmed vpap auto, set at 12/8 EPR as prescribed from my study. My AHI is running < 3 the past few nights.

I am very early into treatment but I am curious.... presuming you are not bothered by the higher pressure (I'm not thus far) is there any advantage to try and get the lowest pressure necessary? i.e. what advantages are there in running at lower pressure(s)? e.g the machine finds I get the same AHI results at 9/5.

Sometimes the lowest pressure is not the problem. For me I feel my pressure was TOO low and I want it high enough to be effective. Everyone has different circumstances.

[jgjones1972]

Only reasons I could think of are:

1) If you were having a lot of pressure induced Central Apneas.

2) If you were experiencing Aerophagia (swallowing air - causing gas/bloating/stomach pain)

I'm assuming these aren't happening and your AHI looks pretty darn good, so if I were you I wouldn't mess with anything.

[Sleepster]

I am very early into treatment but I am curious.... presuming you are not bothered by the higher pressure (I'm not thus far) is there any advantage to try and get the lowest pressure necessary? i.e. what advantages are there in running at lower pressure(s)? e.g the machine finds I get the same AHI results at 9/5.

If your AHI is the same and the higher pressure doesn't bother you then there's probably no advantage.

The only thing I can think of is that there's more to the measurement of the effectiveness of your therapy than the AHI. At lower pressure your AHI may be the same but, for example, the events may be lasting longer.

AHI just counts the events and doesn't take the duration of the events into account.

Since you are new to therapy and you are not having any problems just keep the settings where they are until your first scheduled follow-up with your doctor or respiratory therapist.

At that point you can evaluate the situation and discuss any changes you might want to make with your doctor.

[vsheline]

Just kind of curious about this.... I have resmed vpap auto, set at 12/8 EPR as prescribed from my study. My AHI is running < 3 the past few nights.

I am very early into treatment but I am curious.... presuming you are not bothered by the higher pressure (I'm not thus far) is there any advantage to try and get the lowest pressure necessary? i.e. what advantages are there in running at lower pressure(s)? e.g the machine finds I get the same AHI results at 9/5.

Hi cincysinner,

Is your VPAP Auto machine set in VAuto mode or VPAP S mode? (It is capable of being set in CPAP mode, VPAP S mode or VAuto mode.)

VPAP S mode is the standard bi-level mode, non-Auto. This would mean EPAP always 8 and IPAP always 12, for example, which would be kinda like CPAP with pressure set to 12 and EPR set to 4. (Except EPR is limited to values from 0 to 3.)

EPR does not apply to bi-level machines. EPR is only used in non-bilevel PAP machines such as ResMed Escape, Escape Auto or AutoSet. Bilevel machines use PS (Pressure Support). PS is kinda like EPR except PS is limited to values from 0 to 10 in the S9 VPAP Auto machine. (For non-bilevel machines, EPAP = IPAP - EPR. For bilevel machines IPAP = EPAP + PS.)

I wonder if your prescription was intended to be for an APAP (such as S9 Escape Auto or S9 AutoSet) with a range of 8-12 and with EPR enabled for user control? If that is the case, be happy you received a better unit.

The S9 VPAP Auto records all the data the S9 AutoSet does plus more, and has an upgraded blower unit compared to the S9 Elite, S9 Escape Auto or S9 AutoSet. Of course, it had to be upgraded, in order to be able to produce inhale-exhale differences in pressure up to 10 cmH2O. I don't recall seeing reports of whistles and noises with the S9 VPAP Auto, but reports are not uncommon that the S9 Escape, S9 Escape Auto and S9 AutoSet units sometimes produce slight whistles.

Take care,
--- Vaughn

[cincysinner]

It is set in S mode, bi level. It still has EPR and it breathes differently with it on.... I like the EPR so I use it.

So far I love this machine... it breathes really nice, when I wake up in the morning I can hardly tell it is on.

[zimlich]

It's good to hear from someone who took to the machine so well that they forget it's on. I had the S8 VPAP Auto 25 and it was a fine machine and would work in CPAP, Bilevel and AUTO modes. In AUTO everytime the pressure would go up so did my AHI, then the pressure would ramp higher to stop the apneas which would cause more apnea.... I settled into Bilevel mode for the best results.

[Ugly]

It's good to hear from someone who took to the machine so well that they forget it's on.

I quickly learned that it's partly due to how quiet modern machines are, particularly the ResMed line. My old gizmo generated so much white noise you KNEW it was on.