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assistance needed... - cwo4uscgret - 03-25-2015
I am in Bogota Colombia for two weeks. My incidents per hour soared to 61,7! I bumped the settings to 16.0 from 13.0 and the humidifier to 5. No joy in Mudville; what should I do?
Thanks
RE: assistance needed... - worn_out_in_lebanon - 03-25-2015
Bogota: the third-highest capital city in South America at 2,640 metres (8,660 ft) above sea level.
This article says no pressure change is needed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2864887/
This article concludes:
The delivered CPAP of noncompensating devices is significantly affected by changes in altitude. Pressure sensor-equipped devices maintained delivered pressure throughout the altitudes simulated in the present study. The collective fan laws appear quite adequate for estimation of delivered pressure at altitude.
http://journal.publications.chestnet.org/pdfaccess.ashx?ResourceID=2088088&PDFSource=13
I didn't (quickly) find a good cross reference for how much to change a setting (if needed) for elevation changes.
There is a wikihow for a respironics machine that says:
Set the 'elevation'. The elevation setting will appear next. To change this setting, press the ramp or humidifier button until the correct setting appears. Here are the elevation settings: 1 = less than 2,500 feet (762.0 m).; 2 = 2,500 to 5,000 feet (762.0 to 1,524.0 m).; 3 = 5,001 to 7,500 feet (1,524.3 to 2,286.0 m).
RE: assistance needed... - trailrider - 03-25-2015
Sounds like your AHIs are dancing to a fast latin rhythm there! Best wishes for some better sleep.
RE: assistance needed... - retired_guy - 03-25-2015
What is the makeup of your incidents Chief? OA vs CA primarily.
The traveling, possibly eating a bit more enjoyably than usual, meds?, any number of things including the altitude could cause a temporary disruption in your ahi.
If you find its mostly the CA's that are climbing, do not increase/change the pressure as that will just confuse Mr. Brain all that much more. Just relax, and see if they don't calm down on their own in a night or so.
RE: assistance needed... - cwo4uscgret - 03-25-2015
I reset the pressure to 15#; my wife told me that last night I would take about three breaths stop breathing for a bit then repeat the process again.
I have obstructive apnea; I don't have a computer (yet here in Bogotá) to read the SD card. Going to work on that tomorrow. I also suffer from coronary artery disease (recovered from a significant heart attack last April) it usually takes me 2 - 3 days to adjust to the altitude. I usually take a half dose daily of thevBP medicine but due to the altitude I have taken a full dose. That really slows me down to like 80/50....too low. I have gone back to my half dose; as soon as i get adjusted to the elevation I think it will work out.
RE: assistance needed... - archangle - 03-26-2015
(03-25-2015, 10:06 PM)cwo4uscgret Wrote: I have obstructive apnea; I don't have a computer (yet here in Bogotá) to read the SD card.
If you have a REMstar Plus machine, there is no useful data on the SD card. It's what we call a "brick" machine that doesn't record anything other than when you turn the machine on and off.
Here is a link that will help you figure out the exact machine you have.
http://www.apneaboard.com/cpap-machine-pictures-identify-your-machine-respironics
RE: assistance needed... - worn_out_in_lebanon - 03-26-2015
Also check if your settings menu includes an option for elevation. The examples I saw online for a couple of different respironics models show it as the first or second option on the settings menu. If it has this, it should help the machine (and you) adapt better to the elevation change.
RE: assistance needed... - cwo4uscgret - 03-26-2015
Arch angle I have a Resmed Air sense 10; I reset the pressure to 15 and for 5?4 hours the incidents dropped to 6.2 an hour but for the next 2 hours it climbed up again to 80+.
Are you saying the SD card in this machine has new useful data?
RE: assistance needed... - justMongo - 03-26-2015
The elevation symbol and setting will appear.
1 = less than 2,500 ft. (<762 m)
2 = 2,500 to 5,000 ft. (762 m to 1524 m)
3 = 5,001 to 7,500 ft. (1525 m to 2286 m)
*over 7,500 ft. = The airflow pressure
may not be accurate.
To change the elevation setting, press the ramp or humidifier buttons.
Press the right user button to access the next setting
You may be above the max design elevation for the machine.
RE: assistance needed... - worn_out_in_lebanon - 03-26-2015
I had been going by the info in the profile: Remstar Plus Domestic
Just recently cwo4uscgret said it's an Airsense...
It should auto correct.
But the user manual lists 8500 feet as the upper limit for the operating range.
So justMongo your point may still be valid even though it's just 160 feet out of range...