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Re: Autopap question

Posted by Bird Watcher on March 07, 2006 at 21:13:28:

In Reply to: Autopap question posted by adjusted on March 07, 2006 at 20:45:40:

You need a more narrow range because nobody's body breathes in such a wide range (4-20) while it is asleep. At least not a person who has a sleep breathing disorder. In other words, nobody who normally needs an average of 17 cm will find good results with 4 cm and nobody that needs 7 cm will find 20 cm enjoyable.

Those of us who favor auto-paps don't refute a standard sleep lab titration pressure though. It's a good starting point. But over the course of a two year period when your prescription is good, your body and sleep cycles will change, even from night to night. Many of us who are sucessful on our autos enjoy the relief of knowing the auto will treat us from week to week, night to night, breath to breath as our needs require, but at the same time, know the limits of our bodies.

One standard pressure of a CPAP, though, can work just fine or even better for persons with severe apnea. Reason being that the throat can always be in a near state of collapse for these people. A machine that always is trying to chase and keep up with that is then, not the best solution. That is the case against autos.

I find for myself that there is a floor pressure that I must have so I don't snore into the mask. It is well above 4 cm (actually 7 cm). I keep my lower limit there because I know I will always need it. On the high side, I know that I just don't sleep well with pressure much beyond 12. I get central apneas from the high pressure. So, I set my upper limit to 12 cm even though the machine might think higher is better. That way, it can never go higher on me.

I do not have severe apnea. I am perhaps someone who is a good fit for a auto-adjusting CPAP. Are you?

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