comfort v. apnea reduction
I'm facing a tradeoff (very newbie!):
at pressure 5, hourly apneas generally in 2-4 range, with some discomfort.
Versus pressure at 4 and less discomfort, but hourly apneas now 5-7.
I'm new at this -- should I go back to pressure of 5, and "get used to it",
or are higher apneas not of much concern so pressure of 4 is OK?
Any opinions from veterans?
RE: comfort v. apnea reduction
(10-18-2016, 09:58 AM)cdm807 Wrote: I'm facing a tradeoff (very newbie!):
at pressure 5, hourly apneas generally in 2-4 range, with some discomfort.
Versus pressure at 4 and less discomfort, but hourly apneas now 5-7.
I'm new at this -- should I go back to pressure of 5, and "get used to it",
or are higher apneas not of much concern so pressure of 4 is OK?
Any opinions from veterans?
My question would be "what was your prescribed pressure ?". Both 4 and 5 are extremely low and in my opinion neither are comfortable or effective treatment most cases.
RE: comfort v. apnea reduction
It depends on what the comfort issue is. If it is simply a sensation of pressure, then you should use the higher pressure and eventually you will adapt. If the higher pressure causes a problem like air ingestion, that is not likely to get better in time. Most of us use considerably higher pressures and after a while, never notice it.
RE: comfort v. apnea reduction
As others have mentioned earlier, 4 and 5 are very low in CPAP land. I had to move mine to 6 in order to be comfortable. 4 and 5 leave me gasping for air and rapid breathing. 6 was like normal breathing. Now I have upped it to 6.4 and will probably go higher to stop the apneas.
CPAP is a journey like “The Wizard of Oz”. It’s a long slow journey. You will face many problems and pick up many friends along the way. Just because you reach the poppies, it doesn’t mean you are in Kansas.
RE: comfort v. apnea reduction
I was started at 5 and after something like 6 months or a year, I quit using it because I felt like I was suffocating. As the above people suggest, the pressure was too low AFTER I GOT USED TO IT. While getting used to it, 5 (or even 4) was helpful.
When I finally saw my doctor again and told him I wasn't using it, he changed the pressure to 8. But I *had* gotten used to it by then.
So: start at either one, and re-ask the question or re-think the issue in a month or three or six!
