Settings for New CPAP User with AirSense 10

Hi!

My wife is a new CPAP user - not officially diagnosed with sleep apnea - but we had a spare machine and she wanted to give it a try for a few weeks to see if it'd make a difference. Since I sleep next to her I know she snores a LOT, and I can hear her stop breathing several times throughout the night.

We're still going through the process of trying different masks and whatnot, so the results are relatively minimal, but I'll post the screenshot from OSCAR below.

She is currently using the Philips DreamWear with the nasal cushion, which she likes best so far (not a fan of the pillows).

The settings are very basic as you'll see, and we wanted to see where we might begin to tweak the settings a bit. One of the issues she is experiencing is that she loves COLD air, and also likes the humidifier, so we're trying to find the balance of cooler air and humidity that won't cause the condensation and then the machine choking a few hours into use.

Anyhow, would appreciate any insights you may have!

OSCAR Screenshot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nV7kBXyCbmO7UBtS3uOEUDo1FZDGuBfO/view?usp=share_link

I would have similar comments on what I made on your setup:

1. Set the minimum pressure to 7 cm. When you have the EPR at 3 cm full time it will be reducing the exhale pressure to 4 cm (green pressure line) with each breath. If you use a lower pressure nothing is going to change on exhale because the machine will not go below 4 cm for pressure. 7 cm on inhale and 4 cm on exhale should be as comfortable as it gets.
2. Put the Ramp Time to Auto. It appears to be off, but that may be just OSCAR not reporting it properly.
3. Set the Ramp Start pressure to 7 cm. This will hold the pressure at 7 cm inhale and 4 cm exhale until the machine decides you are asleep, and then it will increase pressure as needed. Your machine seems to be set to Auto, but this one does not appear to be in that mode.
4. I like the Smart Start to be on, but that is a personal preference. I use it to start the machine, but I stop it manually with the on off button.
5. I see the humidifier and temperature is in manual and set low. I guess that is fine if there is no rainout (water condensation in the hose). I prefer my machine to be in Auto Climate control like yours is. I don't find the air to be warm or cold, just right, when it is in Auto.

I do not have a Clinical Manual for the AirSense 11, but here is a link to a AirSense 10 Clinical manual. The interface may be a little different on the 11 but I believe most of the functions are the same. With the 11 I believe you touch the screen with two fingers to go into clinical set mode??

Hope that helps some,

Perfect! I'll make the changes and we'll see what happens.

My wife likes the air COOL, hence the manual settings for temp and humidifier. I think we've found the balance of temp and humidity that doesn't cause too much condensation for the machine to choke (it took a few nights of experimentation).

I'll follow up in a few nights as well once we get some more data.