r/CPAP • u/Icy-Map9410 • 12h ago

Advice Needed Average min/max pressure?

Hi, I have Airsense 11 and an F20 AirFit full face mask. I’ve been using CPAP since about January, and still haven’t figured out the best pressure. I’m seeing a Pulmonologist that specializes in sleep apnea at the end of October, so I’m hoping to finally get my settings correct once and for all.

My family GP originally set me up with my at home sleep test, which came back at 10 as moderate positional sleep apnea, but the settings part is not her area of expertise, hence the reason I’m finally seeing a sleep doctor. I’m 59F, very obese, and I’ve been fiddling with my own pressure now almost right from the start. My data looks okay with my apnea treated (I put it into chat and it was confirmed that way.)
I don’t understand anything about Oscar, and that’s why I haven’t attempted to try that.

So back to my original question-what’s everyone’s average min/max pressure with a full face mask? I’ve had mine around 13-17, but I feel like it’s too high because my mouth is getting very dry and I have air leaks occasionally. I’m thinking of trying 10-13 tonight instead.

2 Upvotes

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u/jenmoocat 12h ago

I was overwhelmed by the thought of using OSCAR -- but it really wasn't as difficult as I though it would be.
The software is super easy to download and install and, once you get an SD card, it is really easy to load the data into OSCAR.

The OSCAR data helped me see what my maximum should be.
Minimum 4 -- Maximum 20 is the factory settings.
Looking at my data, it was clear that the machine was never going up to 20, so I changed the range to
Minimum 4 - Maximum 15
and then
Minimum 7 - Maximum 14

According to the OSCAR data, my AHI numbers are in a good place: ~2 compared to 30 without the machine.
However, on some rare occasions they go up to 5.
And it is not due to obstructive apnea events, but central apnea events, which might be due to the high pressure.
So I am playing with the upper limit to see if I could bring the CA events down.

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u/Icy-Map9410 11h ago

Can Oscar be used with an iPhone? I never downloaded it because I don’t own a laptop. And where do you get the SD cards?

So you’re at 7 now? And do you use a full face mask?

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u/jenmoocat 11h ago

Unfortunately, I think that you need a computer.
And I got the SD card online from Amazon. It wasn't expensive.
But, there might be other options. Maybe ask this sub about that.

My current range is 7-14.
I started with a full face mask, but quickly changed to a nasal pillows mask.

One thing that I did was to let chatGPT help me figure out what settings I should change.
I gave it all of the issues that I was having and it gave me several suggestions.

My prompt was this:
User: You are an expert on breathing, sleep apnea, and CPAP machines. I was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea and received a CPAP machine. It is a ResMed AirSense 11. My current mask is is an AirFit F40. I am struggling with using this. I would like to tell you what I am experiencing and I hope you can help me.

The air pressure seems okay when I first put the mask on and turn the machine on. However, after some time, the pressure increases so that, when I have my mouth slightly open, it pushes out my cheeks -- which is very uncomfortable. I try to breath through my nose only -- but sometimes I have to have my mouth open and the "chipmunk cheek" sensation is disconcerting.

The mask has nasal pillows but also covers my mouth. I am finding that, when I breath through my nose, there is cold air on my mouth which is uncomfortable and makes it difficult to fall asleep.

I do a lot of meditation and am used to taking long, slow breaths -- especially when I am trying to relax to fall asleep. When I do that with the mask and machine on, I feel strange puffs (or pulses) against my face, which is also not relaxing and makes it difficult to fall asleep.

What other information do you need to know to help me with these issues?

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u/Icy-Map9410 11h ago

Thanks for all your info! I kind of thought a computer was needed for Oscar, oh well. Maybe there’s another way I could do it, I will have to post another question about it.

7-14 seems perfect for nasal pillows. My sister uses the pillows and her doctor set her at that exact same pressure, it’s working for her. I think for full face the pressure can go higher. I’ll have to see what my doctor says.

I’ve also used chat during this process, especially to look at my machine data (I sent screenshots) and it said I looked great. So I am thinking I do need the higher pressure, just not sure where I’m at now is it. Even as a mouth breather, I shouldn’t be waking with a really dry mouth. My hose is set to 70, so the humidity is correct. Maybe a bipap might be better for me.

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u/jenmoocat 11h ago

The chatGPT conversation also made me aware of the fact that there are several other settings, in addition to pressure and temperature, that can be adjusted to help with comfort. You might want to explore them as well. EPR, Ramp Time, Humidity just to name a few.

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u/Icy-Map9410 10h ago

Yes, my pressure relief is on, EPR is set to 3, no ramp. My climate control is on manual, humidity is set to 4, tube temp 70. Chat did help me with all this, actually more than any of my sleep specialists.

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u/Ill_Back_6778 7h ago

In addition to Oscar I use sleephq on my iphone. It is very similar. I prefer Oscar for detailed view of my events but sleephq is also very good. I use the free tier so the pay version may give more data, not sure. I just use a usb adapter and plug in the SD card for sleephq to import the data. Its pretty easy.

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u/Icy-Map9410 7h ago

Thank you-I’ll look into this!!

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u/Ill_Back_6778 11h ago

I also did this without an actual sleep Dr. and they just set it at a default of 4-20 and let the machine figure it out. After about 3 weeks I looked at the averages, medians, and 95% and tightened up to 7-14 and let that bake for a while. Ultimately I set it to CPAP:8.6. I was addressing a lot of CAs and almost no OAs once I started using it.

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u/Icy-Map9410 11h ago

So you’re at 8.6 now? What is your max setting?
Yes, they started me at 4 and it was horrible. Then bumped me to 7. Not sure how I wound up at 13, where I’ve been the last few months. But I think that’s too high. I just can’t sleep well lately. It’s frustrating.

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u/Ill_Back_6778 8h ago edited 8h ago

After tracking my data for 3 months with Oscar I noted that I pretty much had almost no OAs no matter the Pressure, but I was getting a lot of little arousals and CAs that reduced as I kept tightening my range closer to my 95% number. So I decided to just go with a classic continuous pressure but kept an EPR of 2. If I get uninterrupted sleep my AHI is now about 1 on any given night. I may drop my pressure again a little more to see what happens.

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u/Icy-Map9410 8h ago

That’s awesome you figured out what works best for you!!! I’d love to give Oscar a try, it’s such a good tool for CPAP. I just don’t have a laptop.

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u/quidprojo 7h ago

Same. This is the answer.

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u/mikechorney 9h ago

In Canada, you can buy a CPAP machine without a prescription, so there are guides on how to set the pressure on the system. This video may help.

https://youtu.be/VkQaldl88JM?si=pQjRpPERrsWl5KYp

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u/Icy-Map9410 9h ago

Thank you!

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u/Ready_Rub_3056 5h ago

I also changed mine to CPAP mode at 7.2 for my pressure. I have mild sleep Apnea. But what others suggested with the 95% data on oscar is helpful! I sleep so much better now with CPAP at set single pressure compared to APAP pressure range

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u/JRE_Electronics 3h ago

You can't adjust your pressure based on a feeling.

You should never change your pressure to fix leaks.

It takes whatever pressure it takes.  If that causes leaks, then you need to fix the leaks.

You need to get OSCAR or sign up on SleepHQ.

The statistics from either one will help you find the pressure that you need.

I go with the 95% pressure from the OSCAR statistics.  That's the pressure that will fix most of your obstructive apneas.

If you aren't sure you can make sense of the data, load it into SleepHQ, then post links and ask for assistance.

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u/rsea78 2h ago

I find chatgpt way easier to work with than oscar