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Accessing the clinician menu on most machines is accomplished by a quick Google search. I've adjusted my pressure several times to bring down AHI, or to reduce

by rrggrr 8y ago

Accessing the clinician menu on most machines is accomplished by a quick Google search. I've adjusted my pressure several times to bring down AHI, or to reduce some side-effects of higher pressures as my weight comes down. Most machines report AHI in the main menu. My point is this... the article's premise is on target, but the situation isn't as dire as characterized.

jgrowl 8y ago
This was my personal experience as well. I use a ResMed machine and I remember when I first got it that the instructions warned that only technicians could make setting adjustments. After a few nights of waking up feeling like I couldn't move air through my nose, I just looked up how to do it. It only consisted of holding down two buttons at the same time. Very straight forward. I haven't tried accessing the internal data, but I've been content enough with the breakdown that they provide each night.
- rhcom2 8y ago
  Was that the pressure too high for you to exhale or too low to overcome the apnea?
  - jgrowl 8y ago
    It was just that I'd wake up and feel like I was struggling to move air in. The machine was working as intended as far as I know. It was still registering that air was getting through so it was not adjusting the pressure. I just have allergies and even though I'm on Montelukast, I still have to crank up the pressure just to feel comfortable. I'm not sure now that you mention it, maybe it should have been increasing the pressure.
- DenisM 8y ago
  Get a newer machine, an S10. Steal money if you have to. These are much better, not just the menu but the pressure logic.
  - rootusrootus 8y ago
    FWIW, there is no such thing as an S10. The last of the S-series (by name at least) was the S9. The current model you want is the AirSense 10 or AirCurve 10 if you want a BiPAP. Anyways ... I have an AirSense 10 and I have to say ... I have no idea what the S9 was like, but the current model still fucks up my levels when I wake up in the middle of the night. Not sure how my breathing is different when I'm awake, but it inevitably causes the damn machine to detect an obstruction and it will push the pressure all the way to the maximum. A pretty common complaint, but they have not released a fix AFAIK.
- gedy 8y ago
  Odd, but I'm reading your comment next door to ResMed, did not realize they made CPAP machines
fibonachos 8y ago
Same here. As I have lost significant amount of weight over the past 18 months, the higher pressure actually became an impediment to restful sleep. A quick google search and a couple nights of trial-and-error and I was good to go. Which reminds me... it's time to lower it, again.
cmiles74 8y ago
I switched my machine from constant pressure to automatic, it's made a significant difference and my AHI numbers have remained the same. So far, I haven't had to alter the pressure manually.
- beagle3 8y ago
  Which model are you using?
vilhelm_s 8y ago
The hack they are talking about is not to change the settings on the machine, but to let patients look at the data the machine collects in order to understand their condition better. Separately, there is a web forum community that discusses how to change machine settings based on those insights, but you don't need to use SleepyHead to change the settings. > Most modern CPAP machines create reams of data while they’re being used. They track things like average air pressure, AHI, average use per night, mask leak rates, “flow limitation index,” and other statistics about what the machine is doing and the patient’s sleep quality. Generally, the data is stored on an SD card, which a patient takes to their doctor once every six months (some new devices also transmit data wirelessly to an app; the data available on apps, patients told me, is rarely as thorough as what the machine is actually collecting.)
codinger 8y ago
CPAP pressure is a prescription. Cpap machines will allow you to adjust the ramping of the pressure. What machine do you use?

by rrggrr 8y ago

jgrowl 8y ago

This was my personal experience as well. I use a ResMed machine and I remember when I first got it that the instructions warned that only technicians could make setting adjustments. After a few nights of waking up feeling like I couldn't move air through my nose, I just looked up how to do it. It only consisted of holding down two buttons at the same time. Very straight forward. I haven't tried accessing the internal data, but I've been content enough with the breakdown that they provide each night.

rhcom2 8y ago
Was that the pressure too high for you to exhale or too low to overcome the apnea?
- jgrowl 8y ago
  It was just that I'd wake up and feel like I was struggling to move air in. The machine was working as intended as far as I know. It was still registering that air was getting through so it was not adjusting the pressure. I just have allergies and even though I'm on Montelukast, I still have to crank up the pressure just to feel comfortable. I'm not sure now that you mention it, maybe it should have been increasing the pressure.
DenisM 8y ago
Get a newer machine, an S10. Steal money if you have to. These are much better, not just the menu but the pressure logic.
- rootusrootus 8y ago
  FWIW, there is no such thing as an S10. The last of the S-series (by name at least) was the S9. The current model you want is the AirSense 10 or AirCurve 10 if you want a BiPAP. Anyways ... I have an AirSense 10 and I have to say ... I have no idea what the S9 was like, but the current model still fucks up my levels when I wake up in the middle of the night. Not sure how my breathing is different when I'm awake, but it inevitably causes the damn machine to detect an obstruction and it will push the pressure all the way to the maximum. A pretty common complaint, but they have not released a fix AFAIK.
gedy 8y ago
Odd, but I'm reading your comment next door to ResMed, did not realize they made CPAP machines

fibonachos 8y ago

Same here. As I have lost significant amount of weight over the past 18 months, the higher pressure actually became an impediment to restful sleep. A quick google search and a couple nights of trial-and-error and I was good to go. Which reminds me... it's time to lower it, again.

cmiles74 8y ago

I switched my machine from constant pressure to automatic, it's made a significant difference and my AHI numbers have remained the same. So far, I haven't had to alter the pressure manually.

beagle3 8y ago
Which model are you using?

vilhelm_s 8y ago

The hack they are talking about is not to change the settings on the machine, but to let patients look at the data the machine collects in order to understand their condition better. Separately, there is a web forum community that discusses how to change machine settings based on those insights, but you don't need to use SleepyHead to change the settings. > Most modern CPAP machines create reams of data while they’re being used. They track things like average air pressure, AHI, average use per night, mask leak rates, “flow limitation index,” and other statistics about what the machine is doing and the patient’s sleep quality. Generally, the data is stored on an SD card, which a patient takes to their doctor once every six months (some new devices also transmit data wirelessly to an app; the data available on apps, patients told me, is rarely as thorough as what the machine is actually collecting.)

codinger 8y ago

CPAP pressure is a prescription. Cpap machines will allow you to adjust the ramping of the pressure. What machine do you use?