Side effects of self-inflicted pressure change

[Ugly]

With a brick machine again, you'll need to go longer between changes.

Have you got an oximeter?

No oximeter. I'm pretty well left to fend for myself. But my RT told me she can't and won't upgrade me to an Elite/AutoSet without hearing from the doctor. I tried to give a convincing argument but she's not the one I have to convince. But hopefully the doctor, on his own sweet time, will make time to see me.
That's why I compiled my personal glossary. I had no idea what an oximeter is but now I do. Until I forget again. No, they just want to blow air in my face and hope it will suffice without keeping records. Lucky me. I'm not keeping my classic "sleep log" anymore since I don't have the data for it, but ResMed has its "AutoSet & CPAP flow generators Snart Data Diary" which I printed off. I can at least log how I sleep every night.

[Ugly]

Okay so I modified my settings halfway to 9.2 and --- this just may be it. I find that I am rather rested compared to how I have been in the morning.
I'll probably keep this going until one of the "experts" (doctor, resp. therapist) gets back to me. Thanks for all your input!

[vsheline]

I changed the pressure of my machine to the average of the past three weeks. Up to 10.2 when it was, since 2005, at 8.0 . After two nights I admit I'm not feeling very rested and have a bit of a headache. I'm wondering if they are related or not. Regardless I'm going to tough it out for a while to see if there really is a benefit to the average reported by the S8 AutoSet. (Snip)
BTW I don't take the pressure setting lightly. I never would have gotten this far into it if 8.0 was still working for me. I needed a change.

Considering the way you were feeling if you did decide to increase I would think safest is to go 1cm at a time. That is what most sleep studies do for incremental pressure adjustments until they believe they landed at the right setting.

Hi Ugly,

By the way, do you know what was your 95% pressure on the loaner S8 AutoSet? The pressure needed to avoid apnea is usually position-dependent, and when flat on one's back (supine), most people will need higher pressure. If your 95% pressure was more than 1 or 2 higher than the average pressure, maybe you are spending some time on your back while sleeping.

An Auto machine would simply adjust itself higher during these times, but a standard CPAP might be set too low for these times, leading to feeling poorly and headaches.

Also, I have mixed sleep apnea, and even with my Auto machine I try to avoid sleeping on my back to minimize the pressure the Auto sets itself to, since for some people higher pressures (or widely varying pressures) may be associated with more Clear Airway apnea events.

In any case, as you may know, some people find great success staying off their back when sleeping by wearing a teeshirt with pockets added for one or two tennis balls sewn on the back. I found it was important that the tennis balls be lined up along my spine, right between my shoulder blades or higher, so there would be the least likelihood that the teeshirt might shift during the night enough that the balls slipped lower and bothered me sometimes, even when I was actually still on my side.

Take care,
--- Vaughn

[Ugly]

Hey UGLY...gee, that hurts to call another man ugly.

Well, people have referred to me as ugly for so long I've learned to believe it. Now some deny it but it's too late. That's how I see myself and really don't believe anything else. (lies, just trying to be polite, etc.)

Since "knowledge is power", I wouldn't overload her system with any more then she already has.

I'm with 2Tim, in that I think you might just tweek one pressure number at a time. Hold that number for a week or two. Sometimes thats hard to do when we think we need to "goose it" a bit. But, patience is a virture.

I've decided to consider that. And I've opted for a 1.2 increase. I wanted it to be "only" 1.1 but find I can only do .2 increments. I had a better sleep last night - I'll have to see if it continues. As I have a so-called "brick" I can't get any real stats from it. But when I had the AutoSet the information was helpful.

Be careful...The CPAP Police monitor this site occassionally for ""unauthorized"" pressure changes.

I could reset it somehow. But my clinician said nothing when I returned the S8 unit except that she was impressed that my record keeping (on paper) seemed so accurate. DUH! I copied the numbers as they were presented to me from the machine.