whats the difference?

[Gary5370]

HI
wondering what the difference is betwen apap and cpap... i know ones automatic positive airway pressure and the others continuous. but i dont get it. my machine comes on when i put the mask on. so much so i have to take the pipe off get into bed wait till i ve caught my breath and then connect the tube,
sorry if this a stupid question but it got my curiosity pricked.

[gvader]

Hi Gary,

A CPAP provides a single continuous pressure (whatever it is set at) whereas an APAP will alter the pressure between two set linmits - when it detects an event it will increase the pressure and then decrease it again over a period of time.

APAP machines will also normally be able to provide statistics to sgow how many events, mean pressure etc. etc. while the humble CPAP just shows hours run and session times.

Hope that helps.

[jossmax]

HI
wondering what the difference is betwen apap and cpap... i know ones automatic positive airway pressure and the others continuous. but i dont get it. my machine comes on when i put the mask on. so much so i have to take the pipe off get into bed wait till i ve caught my breath and then connect the tube,
sorry if this a stupid question but it got my curiosity pricked.

My APAP starts off "settling" that is to say low pressure. Set for 5 mins before it starts to ramp up the pressure. Can be set to 5 10 15 20 mins to start ramping. The APAP also auto adjusts to the pressure you need, without having to have it set for you.


I believe that CPap are what it says on the box. once your specific pressure is set by the techs, then that is what you get when you switch on.
But I guess I will be wrong ?

[James @ Intus]

Almost, jossmax.

Most CPAP machines also have a ramp/comfort delay feature which will sovle Gary's issue. Say the CPAP is set at 12 hPa a.k.a. cm H2O. When he's awake, that's too much as no apnoeas occur anyway and he is breathing in an awake pattern, not the slower, deeper sleep type breathing. The machine can then be set at a ramp / comfort pressure of 4 and then over a period of say 30 minutes, gradually increase to 12. This delay/ramp period should roughly match the time it would take you to fall asleep.

In this instance, an APAP wouldn't make much difference. Though the new Fisher & Paykel SleepStyle 254 Auto-CPAP does know when someone is awake and changes the blower's activities accordingly.

So in answer to Gary's problem, look up in your manual where the ramp/comfort delay settings are and check it's enabled. It's usually a big button with a triangle on it. Press it to go to the lower setting and gradually have it increased.