Flow Limits How to Upgrade CPAP to Bilevel

[SeePak]

You can also consider getting a Bilevel which will likely not only get rid of the bulk of the flow limits but possibly allow a reduction in pressure as it seems to be your flow limitations that are forcing you to use high pressure. You can get one from the suppliers on the wiki or find one used on Facebook marketplace/Craigslist (caveat emptor).

For now follow Stacey's advice of trying a bit more pressure. You don't have much room left before you max out the machine, but worth a shot.

Hey Pizza, this post sounds exactly where i am headed as well.
Following exactly what SleepRider says.
Just have to get my data together.
Looks like 8 cm, EPR 3 is my baseline with my CPAP unit for now.
Any suggestions?

Thanx for posting Deborah, and congrats on monitor status !

[PersonInNY]

Hi Deborah K, this was an extremely informative thread -- thanks for putting all this info in public and thanks to Sleeprider for all the info.

Did you ever get your tidal volume up? And also, did you notice a difference in how you felt with the new machine? And did you find that reducing flow limitation made a difference to how you felt? Especially reducing it further past the improvement you got from PS=4?

I don't want to derail your thread with my own issues, but I'm curious about this because I have flow limits and low-ish tidal volume, but not as bad as yours used to be. My OSCAR screenshots now look roughly like your "after" screenshots. I feel alright during the day. So I'm wondering if you found it worth it to further fine-tune things.

[Deborah K.]

Yes, my tidal volume is mostly 300 now, which for me is great.  It did not immediately jump to that, but it went up some right away, and gradually more as I slept with my new machine.  I immediately felt much better on the new machine, and my flow limits are well under control now.  I have slowly raised the PS and am now at 6.

Soon after I got my new machine, my husband followed my path and he received the same machine I have.  He had been on bilevel for some years but was using a Philips Dreamstation.  He was utterly shocked at how much better he sleeps and feels with the ResMed AirCurve 10 Vauto.

So, this has been a win-win for both of us, and we could not be happier about it.  

[PersonInNY]

Thanks for sharing and I'm so glad it helped you so much!

[Fixit50]

Yes, my tidal volume is mostly 300 now, which for me is great.  It did not immediately jump to that, but it went up some right away, and gradually more as I slept with my new machine.  I immediately felt much better on the new machine, and my flow limits are well under control now.  I have slowly raised the PS and am now at 6.

Soon after I got my new machine, my husband followed my path and he received the same machine I have.  He had been on bilevel for some years but was using a Philips Dreamstation.  He was utterly shocked at how much better he sleeps and feels with the ResMed AirCurve 10 Vauto.

So, this has been a win-win for both of us, and we could not be happier about it.  

Thanks for updating us.  Glad you're doing better!  Also, Can you tell me what PS you started with and how long it took to progress to PS=6?  Did the higher PS decrease your flow limits?  I gather it increased your tidal volume.

[Deborah K.]

Sorry that I'm responding so late. I only saw this today.

I started at PS 4 in December 2023 and slowly worked my way up to 6. I have been at 6 for probably about 5 months. I think it was just time that increased my tidal volume. My flow limits increased slightly over time; that's why I went to 6.

[TwoSigma]

I started at PS 4 in December 2023 and slowly worked my way up to 6.  I have been at 6 for probably about 5 months.  I think it was just time that increased my tidal volume.  My flow limits increased slightly over time; that's why I went to 6.

Did you have any issues with CAs as you increased, and if so, did they go away with time? I need to increase PS, but when I do CAs appear.

[Deborah K.]

Some nights I have no CAs, others I have a couple. Changing my PS setting made no difference for me. Do you have your trigger setting at Extra High? That's what got rid of most of my CAs.