Flow Limits How to Upgrade CPAP to Bilevel

[Fixit50]

This worked for me, but it may not be for everyone.  Using a 3-minute zoom of my flow rate graph, I kept bumping up my PS until the majority of the upper peaks on the waveform were rounded and not square.

- Red

That sounds like a good methodical way to do things.  I'm learning a lot here that I can use when I get my VAuto, hopefully soon.

[Sleeprider]

Enjoy your trip out of town. It sounds like you have finally found a comfortable solution. Be sure to share results with the doctor that prescribed so he knows how much it helps. I shared your belief that getting bilevel was difficult and would require testing, but after a lot of research, what I found was, it's just a matter of having a doctor that cares you have the best results and understands there are no rules preventing patients from moving up to bilevel.

[Deborah K.]

Red, I just did what you said.  Mine all look pretty rounded, so I guess that's good.

Sleeprider, you are correct.  My doctor was understanding, cared about me, and was willing to help me find better therapy.  I'm very grateful to him and very thankful to you for all your help.     Aside from your advice I would never even have considered that I would benefit from a bilevel.  I'm so happy that I got one!  

[Deborah K.]

In another thread, someone advised a questioner to raise the trigger pressure to get rid of central apneas.  Does that work?  If so, what should I set it to?  It is now at Medium.  Is there any risk in raising the trigger?

   

[Sleeprider]

No risk, and I have mine at high. Your event rate is not an issue, but give it a try and see if comfort is better.

[Deborah K.]

My central apneas did not change at all. Should I move trigger back to medium, or does it just not matter?

[UnicornRider]

Give it another couple of days at high Trigger setting then repost an OSCAR Report. You could still have room to increase your trigger if needed. Sometimes it is best to give a couple of days to let your body get accustomed to the new settings.

[Deborah K.]

My central apneas did not change, and my sleep was no different, so I guess I'll move the trigger back to medium.

Also, on a different issue, yesterday and today when I pressed the two front buttons to change settings, the buttons did not work right. I held them for quite a while, then tried again and again but nothing happened. After leaving the machine alone until everything cleared, I tried again and it worked. Do you think my machine is a lemon, considering this and the blip I had where my machine only recorded 20 minutes of sleep? It seems to me that the machine might have an electrical problem.

[Sleeprider]

Neither of those problems has proven to be repeatable, so I wouldn't worry too much about the machine. Whenever things are not what you expect, it doesn't hurt to power-cycle it by unplugging. Same thing goes for phones, computers and TVs.

[Deborah K.]

GREAT NEWS!!!  My husband went to his doctor today to, among other things, request a prescription for a ResMed AirCurve 10 Vauto.  He got it, I sent everything to Easy Breathe and he should have his new machine in a few days.  Yippee!!  

He has wondered lately if his settings might be higher than he needs.  His recent sleep study would seem to indicate this. He is presently on a Philips bilevel, and his pressure settings are 17-25.  My hope is that you folks can help him find better settings.  Should I start a new thread for him or should I continue in this thread?