How narrow should I make my pressure?

[angiessa]

Hi, all -

Well, I'm a full week in now, and having great results - AHI between .5 and 1.25 for the whole week. I give most of the credit for that to the Dreamwear mask - so much better than the 5 and 6 I got with the PR ComfortGel Blue I had the first couple of nights (last week).

Anyway, I've been slowly narrowing my pressure range over the last couple of nights. What I'm wondering is, how narrow should I make it? Should I not worry about it too much with the great AHI's I'm getting? Seems like the machine only dips down to 10 a few times a night, and never stays there more than a few minutes - should I maybe aim for 11 as a minimum? The max pressure is easier, because I can go by the 95% number, but I'm not sure what to aim for on the minimum.

Attaching last night's chart in case that helps.

Thanks!

[AlanE]

It seems like most of your VS occurs when the pressure is at the low end. That would tell me there is not enough pressure to prevent a snore. Your 50% number is in the 13s. That would suggest to me that the min pressure is low. But it's hard to say if doing anything at this time would be wise. You have only been on it for 1 week. I would suggest letting it go one more week to get a good base and then revisit.

[angiessa]

Thanks, Alan. I'll hold off.

[AshSF]

Looking at your pressure and event charts, it looks like that the machine is raising pressure purely in response to snore events (PRS1 responds to VS2 events by raising pressure in APAP mode).

I would reduce the top end of the range gradually (one change of 0.5cm per week) and see how AHI responds.

Are you using Aflex? What setting?

[ginzo]

I'm in a similar situation as you, but involving LL's. Got it under control, but trying to get it down to nothing. A week minimum is a good indicator of what is happening. I force myself to be more patient and try to get 30 days data before making any changes.

I also am on the fence about narrowing my ranges. Very rarely make it to 12, and usually average in the high 10's for the night.

[Mosquitobait]

I stopped narrowing my range because I find that now that I'm past allergy season, my bottom pressure wants to be lower with no real appreciable change in AHI or RERAs. When I'm over 1, it's usually leaks or special situations like pain medication or a glass of wine too close to bedtime.

[PaulaO2]

Whoa. Wait. Stop.

Don't make so many changes in such a short time. No two nights are the same. Sure, you have an Autoset and it can adjust for you, but the data will still be incomplete. Even with autoPAPs, we have to give it a while for the trends to form. You want to see what your data looks like in weeks, not nights.

And you've only been using it a WEEK?

Yeah, definitely slow down. Let it settle. Use it at where you have it for quite some time. Your body and brain have to adjust to this new thing and you're not giving a chance. Back away from the controls. Further back. There.

Let this sit where it is. Gather data. Watch the 95% and the median. See what happens after a night out with friends. What happens on nights after you had too much beer/wine or too much spicy food. See what happens during a stressful week at work.

[Tacoma Droner]

I agree with Paula Oxygen. That one night in your pic you slept for 7-1/2 hours with a .66 AHI. Wowee! Most of us would KILL for a night like that. Let it roll, wait a month, then take another look at your numbers. We're all in this for the long run.

[AlanE]

It's like deja vu all over again