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Can a CPAP machine treat central apneas?

Sleep Health | Last Active: Jul 9, 2023 | Replies (30)

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@carol1024

My cpap is set at 4, the lowest it will go. My neurologist has a doctorate in sleep study and the more meds you take that affect your central nervous system, the more likely you are to have central sleep apnea episodes. I originally did the sleep study to see if it could detect where these internal vibrations are coming from. I've even worn a heart monitor for 2 weeks and had 2 episodes but it picked up nothing.

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Replies to "My cpap is set at 4, the lowest it will go. My neurologist has a doctorate..."

Carol, at my other forum where we deal with all things CPAP, and often undoing damage that 'experts' have done, we routinely counsel people to consider adjusting their minimum pressure up into the 6-7 range. A low limit of 4 leaves you no room for the EPR setting of 1, 2, or 3 for a conventional (non ASV) delivery. I couldn't begin to tell you how many newbies come to our forum, desperate for help because their RT or sleep doctor has begun to shrug their shoulders and say to keep trying. Trying what?!?!? The same wrong therapy?!? The same therapy that I'm still complaining about after all these weeks and months?!? We find that their experts have set a lower limit of 4 for expiration pressure, pressure relief in the 2-3 range, which causes CSAs, and an upper limit that blows their mask off their faces near zero dark thirty in the morning. That's not therapy, that's hell. When still alive. The ResMed machines have the best algorithm in the business, and their machines, the Autoset Air Curve and similar machines, are self-titrating and will soon tell the patient what range he/she needs. But we find that the lowest setting is never below about 5.5-6, and most of us like 6-7.

BTW, in my case, in Canada, it's only one month of the same requirement for 'compliance', as the industry calls it. A minimum of four hours for 21 days of the trail month of 30 days. I do hope you have no trouble doing it for the peace of mind you'll get.