The correct pressure level?

[oberland56]

Hi all,

I have had a Resmed S9 supplied by the National health service (in sunny England)
They have set the pressure level on my machine to 11 (it's their default level), my question is is there a formula that would help me reset the pressure level to whatever suits me best? i.e. is there a "perfect" set of figures that we should be aiming at?

Thank you

Oberland

[bwexler]

First we need to know which machine you have. There are a dozen different S9 models. Some provide data some don't. Some will automatically adjust within a range some are fixed at one pressure.
Look next to the knob and tell us exactly what it says on the machine.
Also tell us what mask you are using.

[zonk]

Hi all,

I have had a Resmed S9 supplied by the National health service (in sunny England)
They have set the pressure level on my machine to 11 (it's their default level), my question is is there a formula that would help me reset the pressure level to whatever suits me best? i.e. is there a "perfect" set of figures that we should be aiming at?

Thank you

Oberland

The pressure is determined at your titration sleep study, 11 is the best pressure they come up with, only time will tell if its the best pressure for you. AHI below 5 and leak below 24 L/m is something to aim for and of course feeling better

Escape model does not tell you AHI or leak
Some lucky ones given AutoSet but some given Escape model and resort to buy data capable machine out of pocket

[trish6hundred]

Hi oberland56,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more responses to your post and best of luck to you with your CPAP therapy.

[oberland56]

First we need to know which machine you have. There are a dozen different S9 models. Some provide data some don't. Some will automatically adjust within a range some are fixed at one pressure.
Look next to the knob and tell us exactly what it says on the machine.
Also tell us what mask you are using.

Hi all,
The machine is a S9 Escape with H5i humidifier.
The read out goes like this:
Mode CPAP
Set pressure 11
Start pressure 5
Max ramp off
EPR full time
EPR Level 3
EPR Inhale Med

[Sleepster]

They have set the pressure level on my machine to 11 (it's their default level), my question is is there a formula that would help me reset the pressure level to whatever suits me best?

A sleep study is required to determine the correct pressure. Why do you think they used a default value? Do you have the results of your sleep study?

With a good data-capable CPAP machine you can monitor your AHI and adjust the pressure accordingly. Unfortunately your ResMed S9 Escape is not a data-capable machine. Ask your equipment provider for an upgrade.

Are you having any other problems such as swallowing air?

[oberland56]

[quote='oberland56' pid='88800' dateline='1414536765']
They have set the pressure level on my machine to 11 (it's their default level), my question is is there a formula that would help me reset the pressure level to whatever suits me best?

A sleep study is required to determine the correct pressure. Why do you think they used a default value? Do you have the results of your sleep study?

With a good data-capable CPAP machine you can monitor your AHI and adjust the pressure accordingly. Unfortunately your ResMed S9 Escape is not a data-capable machine. Ask your equipment provider for an upgrade.

Are you having any other problems such as swallowing air?

The Resmed S9 Escape does have a SD card facility in the back, I take the card with me for a review once a year, there is no upgrade available on the National Health Service (NHS) as far as I am aware I do not swallow air.

There is a company that will hire an autoset machine that will record over a week pressure levels (amongst other things) do you think that that would be useful and is having a bi-level or autoset machine the way to go long term?

[retired_guy]

Hi Oberland, welcome to apneaboard land.

The problem with the Escape model is it will not tell you what your actual apnea event experiences are, or other important data elements such as are you experiencing too much leakage. Without the ability to monitor those things you are relegated to being monitored by asking "how do you feel today?" That's not actually an ideal way to monitor your sleep apnea.

Hireing an autoset machine for a short period isn't a great idea either unfortunately. The problem is your sleep apnea is an every night thing from now on. Things change in your life, which actually is a good thing. How boring would it be if we never changed? So your treatment conditions may well change from time to time. Having your sleep doctor review your sdcard once a year to see if you've been using your machine is not sufficient.

So....... What to do? First, make some calls and see if you can upgrade your machine to at least a S9 Elite, preferably to a S9 Autoset. Those machines will report actual results which you can use with the Sleepyhead software available on this site to make decisions as to what is best for your health. Then, once a year you can take your card to the sleep docs so they can verify you have been using the machine, and ask you "how do you feel?"

[NickDanger]

As others have said - the "Escape" has no data. Unfortunately, that means you really can't modify your settings yourself with any degree of confidence. I would be surprised if "11" were the doctor's default setting - but, who knows... With the Escape you're pretty much at the mercy of the doctor and the sleep study for determining the appropriate pressure setting.