One of the problems I am having with my new APAP is breathing against the pressure.  As I begin to exhale, the two pressures equalize and I end up just stopping breathing.  Last time this happened, I went into some type of cardiac dysrhythmia which quickly went away after my sudden, gasping arousal.  THIS HAPPENED AT ONLY *8* PSI OR CMH20, OR HOWEVER IT IS MEASURED.  I am a very shallow breather, especially while sleeping.

I don't have any health insurance right now, so I have to take care of myself, FYI.

Question:  What should I do about this?

Hi, my dme company set up my machine per my doc for something called ramping.  i turn my machine on, it is on the setting of 12, i can't adjust to that right off, so i push my ramp button and it goes back to 4 and works it's way up to 12 over the course of 20 minutes.  See if your machine has this feature, talk to your drs. office>>nurse, respitory therapist or your dme company where you got your machine.  They should be able to help you.  Using this ramp feature is great and it feels so much better to start there and work my way up.  I hope this helps you with your struggle.  God bless!!

Hey Guest,

Was it at the beginning of sleep or during the night?  A ramp only helpful to get you to sleep.  How did you know you had a dysrhythmia, which as you know, isn't a good thing?  If you are having trouble exhaling against the pressure, you might be a good candidate for C-Flex or a BiPAP.

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Guest, if you are already using a Respironics machine with C-Flex, you might need to turn C-Flex off entirely.  Several posters on another message board (cpaptalk.com) have reported that C-Flex doesn't agree with them.  The kick-in of pressure before they are through exhaling bothered them to the point that they began breathing too fast, or even panting,  trying to "match" the machine.  Trying to "get in synch" with C-Flex is a futile exercise since it will always bring in the higher pressure before a person is fully finished exhaling.   The less forceful the exhalation, the quicker the pressure stops giving pressure reduction relief and goes back up.

People who have rather light, shallow exhalations may notice that disconcerting "bump" more than people who have normally more forceful exhalations.  I noticed it, but was able to get used to it after I found out that was just the way C-Flex works,  and had no further problem with it.  But for some, it would always feel "not right."  For most people, C-Flex is a very comfortable experience.