Third night on cpap

[Alpaca]

        I am using ResMed Airsense 11 and philips dreamwear nose cradle. Sometimes the nose cradle goes off center and am using a small.

Pressure Settings are 4-20. When I am trying to go to sleep it feels like I am not getting enough air to breathe, so it takes longer to fall asleep.


Thanks for any advice!

[staceyburke]

You need more air than 4 can give you.  Move min 7 

I would also set EPR to full time
EPR 3

Try it tonight and post tomorrow.

[Phaleronic]

Stacey is spot on, and I would suggest lowering your max pressure to 14cm (prevents blow outs).

[Weld3z]

It took me 3 years to find the perfect mask, GL

[Deborah K.]

I suggest that you turn ramp off. You get virtually no therapy during ramp, and you need your therapy to begin right away.

[Alpaca]

So I set minimum and maximum as you suggested and am staying under that 1 mark with apneas. I have been thinking about the ramp suggestion and have tried it off, I can't get to sleep that way. At one week in I think I am doing well all things considered. I called resmed about the ramp and asked them the following:

I use resmed airsense 11. I have ramp set to 20 minutes. Does ramp stop and treatment phase begin once the machine senses you fell asleep or stay on the whole 20 minutes?

So they conferred and decided that if you have an apnea in that ramp time the machine starts therapy otherwise it does the full ramp. And they think it starts at four although they were less sure about that, even if your minimum is higher.

I think they are right it starts at four because I can tell the difference between four and six. Did I mention I am a fidgety sleeper and tend toward having issues falling asleep to begin with? So yes, putting something on your face that makes you very aware of your breathing is a whole other level, lol.

I also sent an email with those questions so we'll see if the answers are the same.

Thanks for your help!

[Deborah K.]

Ramp stays on for the 20 minutes you set. The machine doesn't know when you fall asleep. It also runs again for 20 minutes after any bathroom breaks. As time passes, you can lower the ramp time as you adjust more to pap use, and eventually turn it off.

[Alpaca]

    I think the machine does know when you fall asleep, this is from resmed about the 10, of course I could be wrong. I will start lowering the time as soon as it seems I can though.

[Deborah K.]

Wow!  I thought there was just fixed pressure ramp.  ResMed sure does make wonderful machines!

On another note, you can get a nasal cushion attachment to replace the nasal cradle that will fit into your existing headgear from Amazon.  The cushions stay in place much better and I found them more comfortable and less likely to leak.  

[staceyburke]

One reason we suggest no ramp is 2 fold. To start with the lowest a Cpap can possibly go is 4cm. If you use EPR you can have at a min of 7 and exhale at 4 - again lowest it can go. 4 on inhale is to low for adults. Caps are used from very young children to 100 year old. 

Second if you need to get up to use the restroom as many of us do that starts a new ramp. If you need to do that twice a night that adds up to an hour and a half.