HELP: Apneas increased dramatically after prescribed adjustment

I had a sleep test and specialist adjusted my BiPap numbers from 12/9 to 18/8 just before Christmas. My apneas increased immediately from 13-22 an hour to up to 76 last night. I also use an O2 concentrator. Everyone (family doc, resp therapist,specialist) is on vacation, and I have left urgent messages but am feeling lousy. I have a ResMed machine. Any ideas on what to do? I am suspicious about EPR settings but do not have access to them to even see what they are, at least not on the machine.

I have a couple of thoughts on your problem. If you have an older S9 type machine you can get into the setup menu to see your pressure setting by holding down the key with the two check marks at the same time as the round knob for about 5 seconds. By scrolling through the menu you will see your settings. If it is a newer AirCurve machine hold down the Home key at the same time as the round knob for about 5 seconds.

It would be helpful to post the pressure settings you see. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 12/9 or 18/8. An automatic BiPap will normally have a minimum and maximum EPAP pressure as well as a Pressure Support (PS) number. PS is kind of like EPR but is adjustable to more than 3 cm. Here is a link to a more technical manual on the newer AirCurve model.

AirCurve Tech Manual

The other thing I would suggest doing is downloading SleepyHead to look at your data on the SD card to see what is happening. You mainly want to know what type of apnea events are occurring and when they happen. You need a SD card reader, and a Mac or PC to install the software. Here are some links:

SleepyHead Software Download

SleepyHead Basic Manual

As for what has happened, I think it may be possible you are suffering from central apnea events. More pressure can increase central apnea. The data will be on your SD card and you will be able to see all the detail with SleepyHead and you should be able to see what has changed.