Hi Oak,
While it does depend upon the patient's needs, the truth is that the majority of OSA patients would probably do better overall with a data-capable Auto-CPAP set to a range of pressures something like 2-3 cmH20 below and 3-5 cmH20 above their lab-titrated pressure.
That said, if you have an S9 AutoSet or any other auto and they chose to set it up as a single-pressure CPAP (set at a non-changing 9 cmH2O of pressure), it's probably best to try that setting for the first couple of weeks while monitoring your
Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) levels during that time to see if it's going to be below 5.0 using that pressure.
If you want, you can always try an auto setting of 7-13 cmH20 range after several days to see if it might be better as far as lowering your overall AHI. If you do that, there is a lot of "tweaking" involved to obtain the best possible range of pressures for you. It really does depend upon the patient and to do anything other than what the doctor or sleep lab recommends requires that you as a patient take a more active role in your own therapy so that you understand how to properly change pressures, as described
HERE. If you choose to go that route, we're here to help with any questions you might have. You might also want to request a copy of the Clinician Setup Manual for your machine, by going to
THIS PAGE.
You can also go deeper into your CPAP therapy analysis using free software for your PC. You can obtain those
HERE.
Also, keep in mind that some misinformed sleep doctors believe that auto-CPAPs are to be avoided because of mistaken belief that they might have "runaway pressures". But the newer machines generally don't have this issue.
