I’ve suffered from apnea for many years. Finally was diagnosed and had all the studies. Today is the culmination of all that. It took 3 months from first study to today.
My pressure settings are 9/5. I tried it at the DME supplier. It seems like the inhale was like I was the balloon and it was the air pump.
I asked was the 9/5 too high. Answer: no. It’s just one notch above the lowest setting.
I wanted the opinion of BiPap veterans. Is this a high setting for mild apnea with 8.6 events per hour?

Ask your pulmonolgist. He will know for sure.

I don't know the setting on my machine.
All I know is that I can't live without it. Started using a cpap first about 20 years ago and have graduated to a bipap.

They set the rate based on your testing, since it's a bi-pap it should adjust to your needs while using.

If it's too strong at startup then ask them to set up the ramp up feature which will lower it to about half that and for a specific time like 15 to 30 minutes.

This reduces the pressure when you first put it on to go to sleep and can help, even after all these years I use the ramp since I don't want it blowing at full speed like my original cpap did.

If you know you model you can google it with the term "setup ramp" and get the instructions, it's generally a simple menu option, the article below has some good information on Ramp Time/rate

Link on Ramp Time

mine and my wife's is at 9. It's a good starting point. Once you get used to a decent nights sleep,you will love it, I know we do. Take the time and get used to it. it's worth it.

It seems like it's pumping you up at first, but it becomes natural.

Definitely give yourself time to get used to it.

Thank you all for the input. I learned how to adjust the ramp feature. I will set it for 15.
I don’t have a pulmonologist. I have a sleep specialist doctor whom I’ve never seen. He will not see me until I’ve used the machine for six weeks or so. I have an appointment for May. The sleep technician did the testing and reports. The Doctor read them and prescribed the BiPap and 9/5 pressures. The respiratory therapist at the DME company taught me how to use it. I’m excited but wary. The titration experience was a nightmare. Haven’t slept more than two hours at a time for many years due to apnea and BPH. Getting old is such a great adventure.

When you start, don't think of it as a nuisance you have to endure as you wear it. If you do, you will fidget with it, resent it, and find every excuse to not wear it. Instead think of it the key to good nights sleep. It is all of those things, a nuisance, annoying and a pain in the butt. But every night, I look forward to putting it on because I know I will sleep 6-7 hours straight through. It's amazing. I travel for work and bought a travel one specifically for using in the hotel. I sleep so much better than I ever did without it. Don't be anxious about it, get your hose laid out to where it doesn't pull on you mask and enjoy breathing better.

Great counsel ! I do feel anxious. Just last October my Primary Care Doc discovered I have a heart murmur because of an enlarged right ventricle . He said it was likely caused by apnea. Then I started the sleep studies. I will adjust my thinking . Thanks again for your input . It’s great to find folks who actually acts about others.

~2007, started with a BiPAP on 7/11. The sleep study was the best night of sleep in over a year so I pestered the sleep doc for the prescription and then pestered the durable medical supplier for device. It took some getting used to, but the quality of sleep was worth it.

I'm on machine #4 now. The auto setting is nice as it adjusts to what I need and the setting is more of a cap.

Bentonville,

I'm not on a BiPap but have been on a CPAP since 1997. I'm using a ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset at fixed 11.0 cmH2O with a Respironics Dreamwear nasal cushion mask.

I also use OSCAR to view my statistics. My AHI (Apnea-Hypopnea Index*) is routinely under 2.5 with all the other stats extremely low. I won't scare you with how bad my apneas were before going on the CPAP. Suffice it to say it has been a godsend.

Stick with it and you'll thank yourself. You may have to experiment with masks. Most all durable medical suppliers will let you swap out your first mask within 30 days at no charge if it doesn't fit right or irritates your face.

* An AHI score of less than 5 is considered normal. It means that you’ve had fewer than five apnea/hypopnea events within one hour of sleep.

Bentonville,

This will change your life for the better.

Good luck to you. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea by the VA and it took less than a month from diagnosis to me receiving a CPAP. I suffered for years with sleep apnea, my wife has suffered for years from me suffering from it. I had just learned to live with it. Years of low sleep had me thinking it was normal.

I'm on my 4th different mask. Not sure if the BiPAP is the same as the CPAP when it comes to variations of masks.

I asked the VA to adjust the pressure which they did. Since I have had my CPAP, there have been very few nights I have not used it. The nights I haven't used it was only because I was too tired to put it on. I have been sleeping much better. It used to be I would "sleep" for 8 hours and still be extremely tired or wake up 2-4 times a night to use the bathroom. Now I sleep for 6 hours straight and don't feel like I'm dogging it to get through the day.

The mask I have is only a nasal mask the air supply attaches to the front of. The mask prior to this was also a nasal mask but the air supply attached to the top. I typically wear a beanie when I sleep (not sure why, it's something I picked up from the Army) and that made it difficult/uncomfortable to sleep with a beanie on.

I got through my first night . According to the machine, I had less than two events per hour. Down from 8 per hour in the study. I only got up twice to go to the bathroom as opposed to usually four-five times each night .
On the negative side, my face hurts a little and my mouth is very dry, even with humidity on 5. I’ll jack it up tonight. The part that really bothers me is every time the in-coming air blows, my lips and inside my mouth puff out like when I would ride in a riding car with my mouth open. Also, the air in the mask sounds like Darth Vader.
Any hints concerning improving these points? I appreciate the great help from the posters here.

You might want to get a chin strap to help keep your mouth closed while you sleep. I will often snore even with the mask on causing my mouth to get dry. This seems to happen when sleeping on my back. I try to sleep lying on sigde as much as possible
I can even snore some with a chin strap on sometimes.

My settings are 18/16.

Your face will get used to the soreness. Check your strap tightness and loosen it a little, you want it just tight enough to keep the mask with a good seal, but not tight enough to cause discomfort. Depending on the puffiness of my face i have to adjust once or twice a week. When i first lay down, i open my mouth and gulp in some air to puff out my cheeks and fill my sinuses. This helps to equalize all the pressure in my head and eases my transition to sleeping. It's like being on a scuba tank. Dry mouth is a common problem, you can up the humidity, but just know it's going to be there. You will just have to live with it, but it's a small price to pay for good sleep. Keep up with it. My dry mouth comes and goes, some nights are worse than others, i just get some water and mouth wash when i wake up.

I’ll do these things tonight. Thank you. Do all machines blow like Darth Vader ? The machine is very quiet. It the sound of the air blowing into the mask. If it’s normal, I’ll adjust.

Each machine sounds very different. I've found the most important thing is the fit of the mask. I'm a 99% nose breather, so I have the nasal pillows only.

It SUCKS until you can manage to find the sweet spot where it won't leak. I couldn't do the full face because it was irritating my skin.

Stick with it! It took me about 2 weeks to really get used to it; now I can't sleep without it.

The darth vader thing is real, and kind of an inside joke with everyone. You will get used to it as white noise. It’s a thousand times better than listening to my wife snore.

The air blowing into the mask is normal, if you are hearing lots of air you might not have a good seal around your face, during the day or early evening before you go to bed put it on and adjust it until you get a comfortable fit that doesn't leak.

You shouldn't have a sore face, might have it strapped on too tight so getting it adjusted to fit properly is key.

Over time you'll adjust and won't be able to sleep well without it.

Chin strap might be necessary if you are still snoring some with two events per hour it's possible you are opening your mouth.

Bump the humidity up, and be sure to use distilled water, not tap water you can get a gallon at most grocery stores.