Does a change in elevation require adjustments to the CPAP settings?

[againstthegrain]

Great board!  The knowledge level here is impressive as well as the caring members.


My question is having moved from 700' elevation to 6200' do I need to make any adjustments to my resmed 10 autoset?  


Thanks, Paul

[Gideon]

Not necessarily, but definitely maybe.
Altitude tends to induce Central Apnea so don't be surprised.
Post after a night with your OSCAR charts. and say 1st night at altitude.

[againstthegrain]

Thanks for the reply.  Well I moved in 8/2019 so the first night is long past.  And my use of the cpap was infrequent at best until a couple months ago when I decided I better get my act together.


I'll get the correct cord to dl and post the OSCAR report.

[Gideon]

You need a SD card (Any Brand, Any size not greater than 32GB) and a SD card reader

[againstthegrain]

I've dl the oscar before.   It's the lightening cord to adapt to the card reader for my Mac that I need.

[Sleeprider]

Againstthegrain, you appear to be using an Autoset in fixed pressure mode, and possibly without EPR. I can almost guarantee we can help you to make your CPAP more effective and comfortable enough to perhaps motivate you to use it more. The first step is to be sure you are in Autoset mode. I'd like to see you use a pressure of 7.0 to 11.0 so we can start to see where the auto algorithm wants to take your therapy, and please turn on EPR full time at whatever you find comfortable. EPR is exhale pressure relief and makes your CPAP into a bilevel. This is going to make therapy a lot more comfortable if you have not been using it. The settings 1, 2 and 3 correspond to the difference in pressure between inhale and exhale, so if you choose a setting of 2, your therapy will start at inhale 7.0/exhale 5.0, and the pressure will automatically adjust as needed for flow limitation, hypopnea and obstructive sleep apnea.

[againstthegrain]

Existing settings

Therapy

Mode CPAP ****   now switched to Autoset
Set Pressure 7.0

Comfort

Ramp Time  Auto
Start Pressure 4.0
EPR    On
EPR Type     Full Time
EPR Level    2

[againstthegrain]

Sleeprider I have no doubt that I'll end up with a more refined setup. Thanks, Paul

[Sleeprider]

By changing from CPAP mode to Autoset mode we will see the flow limitation data. That will be very useful in evaluating your therapy. Don't use ramp. You need to have a minimum pressure of 6 to use EPR at 2 since that will keep the bilevel pressure change consistent (6/4). Your pressure is low and you simply don't need ramp.

[againstthegrain]

So to be sure I understand correctly. Ramp Time goes from AUTO to zero? And the reasoning is my pressure levels are low there is no benefit to ramp. Perhaps this is why I'm not getting enough air for the first few breaths as the CPAP ramps up.

And I'm uncertain if I need to make any further changes to achieve 6/4. As I understand right now it would be at 7/5, is that correct?

7.0 - EPR Level 2 = 5