Respironics Flex setting

[stephennic]

Hi,

On the dreamstation when I used c-flex + I had it on setting of 2, when on a-flex on 1. Otherwise too much exhale. I tried the airsense 10 on epr settings and found the respironics a bit smoother between inhale and exhale and found it easier to breath in and out (more comfortable). On airsense 10 I had to have it on 3 as at 2 I felt pressure against me to push out, on 3 at times I felt I didn't get enough air. One of the reasons I chose the dreamstation is that I felt more relaxed in breathing. I do sometimes have that feeling its rushing me to breath but less noticeable now over time.
Cheers
Steve

[Ghost1958]

The warning about ramp isnt applicable to the pr560p.
If you fall asleep and have an event during ramp the machine will raise pressure as needed, then return to ramp mode where it left off.

[Dreams of Green]

Last night was my first night with my PRS1 Auto 560P. I set the "Flex" setting to 3, which provides the highest relief in air pressure for when exhaling.

My question is this: Is there any reason to have the setting lower? I feel like I am missing something here.

Your question reflects my sentiments perfectly when I started out. I think part of the reason for my bewilderment was that I personally found it SO much more comfortable on the highest settings that I didn't get why anyone would set it to something else. To me it was like having a setting called "pain" with an option of 1-3 - "why the hell does the option exist, unless I'm losing something by using 3"?!

What I've found in addition to the other advice people have given is that some of us breathe much differently. Breathing out against the pressure was crazy difficult for me, so the 3 setting was a god send, in fact even that was difficult for me. But for some people it's very easy, hence the different settings.

Anyhow, my advice if you are just starting out is to choose the most comfortable flex setting for you, because right now being able to adapt and get a good nights sleep is most important. Once you're very used to it and it's easy to sleep with, play with it if you want to see if you can notice or experience an improvements with one setting versus another.

I'm still on level 3 after a year of treatment, and my AHI events which were 40 per hour during my sleep test are now consistently under 1 per hour and I've even had entire nights with 0 AHI. In other words, using the highest comfort setting does not stop you from achieving effective treatment - use what works best for you.