Successful month, now going downhill

[SnuffySleeper]

My question now is this: Is it really supposed to be this hard? I may not be understanding the process, but it seems like the sleep clinic issued me this equipment and then I'm on my own to figure the rest of it out.

Pretty much. Each person and how they sleep is so unique that I wouldn't want sleep labs to be giving template answers that everyone do the same thing and get the same results.

That's why communities like this are priceless It takes commitment and learning and trial and error, but eventually you'll get everything working and then it becomes just second nature and you don't even have to think about it anymore, you just slip on the mask before sleeping and done!

[djjwilly]

I decided to delete what I wrote. I'm really exhausted and shouldn't be posting right now. What I wrote was not on subject. So sorry. Love, DJ

[jgjones1972]

Instances like this are why, in my opinion, CPAP machines without an "Auto" mode should be done away with (as well as "bricks") - having one would make it easier for you to get adequate pressure every night regardless of sleeping position. My guess would be that the pressure should probably be ticked up a little. It could be that your body is getting used to sleeping now and trying to slip into longer/deeper periods of REM and Delta sleep, which could cause your pressure needs to increase. It could be that you are actually tossing and turning less, which could make you more likely to spend more time on your back. These are just guesses and what you do about the problem is up to you; but, if it were me, I would raise it a cmH2O and see what happens over the next couple of weeks...might raise it again if AHI still up there (I think I feel better when my AHI is below 1, but that could just all be in my head). That is assuming AHI is mainly Obstructive with no increase in Centrals recently. Ideally, your Doc would look at the machine stats and make necessary adjustments. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case - they often take a "titrated at x, pressure should be x" approach and may get fussy if you mess with your own setting, even if they improve your sleep.

That's my 2 cents.

Best of luck!

[PaytonA]

There is a place for other machines besides the auto machines. My machine is a ResMed S8 VPAP Auto 25. I was titrated for VPAP (bi-level PAP) at 20 cm/H2O IPAP and 16 EPAP. Back before I got my new mask I switched to auto mode in hopes of reducing average pressure yet maintaining therapeutic pressure in order to reduce my leak rate which was very high. I was successful in reducing the average pressure and my leak rate was somewhat lower. My AHI however started climbing and kept climbing. Went back to bilevel PAP and my AHI dropped like a rock. I think I might have fared better if I had an S9 VPAP auto but that will not happen for a while and who knows by that time we may have an S10.

Happy PAPping,

PaytonA

[jgjones1972]

There is a place for other machines besides the auto machines.

The thing is: Auto machines can be set to run static pressure. A non-Auto machine just limits the user's options.

I'm not saying there aren't ever good reasons to run straight set pressure, just that the machines should all be capable of doing both.

While I'm at it, I think all CPAPs should go to 25 cmH2O. I'm probably going to have to get a Bi-Level machine in order to get high enough pressure...I don't need Bi-Level and don't want pressure changes, so I will have to get a Bi-Level and set it to run like an AutoSet but at higher pressure. Now that is just ridiculous.

All amplifiers should go to 11 too!

Whew, glad I got that off my chest.

[trish6hundred]

Hi kderevan,
Have you changed to a new set of pillows? They do wear over time, so if you haven't you might try that and see if that helps you. Hang in there for more suggestions and don give up.

Trish, as a matter of interest how long do the pillows generally last for please?
Are we talking one month, three or six?

Kderevan, I was thinking maybe you need new pillows or as most other commenters have said, maybe your leaks are up for whatever reason.
It would be good if you could check on the leaks.

Hi Gabby,
I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you.
As far as how long pillows last, it kind of depends on how oily your skin is. I have dry skin and when I was using pillows, I could get a couple months or so out of them before I had to change.

[Gabby]

Hi kderevan,
Have you changed to a new set of pillows? They do wear over time, so if you haven't you might try that and see if that helps you. Hang in there for more suggestions and don give up.

Trish, as a matter of interest how long do the pillows generally last for please?
Are we talking one month, three or six?

Kderevan, I was thinking maybe you need new pillows or as most other commenters have said, maybe your leaks are up for whatever reason.
It would be good if you could check on the leaks.

Hi Gabby,
I'm sorry it took so long to get back to you.
As far as how long pillows last, it kind of depends on how oily your skin is. I have dry skin and when I was using pillows, I could get a couple months or so out of them before I had to change.

Cheers Trish, I was thinking perhaps a couple of months. Some nights I am getting high leaks and I think the pillow is on the way out and then I will get no leaks and low leaks, not sure what is going on. Will wait until I get no more low leaks I think.
I too have dry skin.

[Ghost1958]

New to this but have read studied and watched my nightly results. I was set to 4 min and 15 max. Optistart then kicked me to a starting pressure of 8.5. after 30 hrs. But with a set min of six the machine was always trying to go back down to six which wasnt quite enough. So i request the doc to tell DME to set min pressure to 8, explaining why of course.

What I got today was a min setting of 8.5 and a max of 18!! The auto machine never hit 15 for a max!! Yeah the auto will only go up to what it needs too mostly but there was no reason to raise the max nor did I ask for that to be done.

Im counting the days until the 30 60 90 thing is up for medicare purposes and I can go ahead and tweak my settings where they actually need to be.

[surferdude2]

Wouldn't you just love to set that box @ 8 - 16 and make things easy for all of you? Someday....hang in there, when you get the reins, you'll know more than they do and it'll go much easier. They never seem to realize that a well informed user is the best data source for justifying settings. Comply if you must but don't hesitate to request further adjustments based on what you know and they don't. Just be careful how you manage them, after all some of them are self made experts and are very temperamental since they are obviously operating above their level of competence.