Is BiPAP considered life support?

[BriarcliffInmate]

Hi all,

I've been on CPAP for 2 years and whilst my AHI is improving greatly and I feel much better, my doctor thinks I'm still having too many central apnoeas and is moving me to a BIPAP machine.

I just want to know - is that considered life support? I hope not. I'm happy using my CPAP machine and am hoping BiPAP is similar but a different type of pressure.

[zonker]

Hi all,

I've been on CPAP for 2 years and whilst my AHI is improving greatly and I feel much better, my doctor thinks I'm still having too many central apnoeas and is moving me to a BIPAP machine.

I just want to know - is that considered life support? I hope not. I'm happy using my CPAP machine and am hoping BiPAP is similar but a different type of pressure.

welcome to the zoo!

i've been on xpap since 2015. started out on apap. recently moved to bilevel. (btw, bipap is exclusive to resperonics brand machines. i hope that isn't what you're doctor is moving you to.)

this move to bilevel was my choice as i was curious about it. i'm not on any means of life support! it's just a machine that can offer me better support in breathing and higher pressure should i need it.

rest assured, you aren't on death's door!


good luck.

[Pugsy]

No...bipap/bilevel machines aren't ventilators as in on life support machines.
I am using a bilevel machine...it doesn't/can't breathe for me and I sure don't need it 24/7.
Life support would mean a ventilator an you being attached to it 24/7.

Now there are certain types of bilevel machines used to treat central apneas and while they can function as a non invasive ventilator...you aren't on it 24/7 and depending on what kind of bilevel model machine it still needs you to inhale and exhale before it can do anything.

Life support means 24/7....awake or asleep.

[ChicagoGranny]

I'm happy using my CPAP machine and am hoping BiPAP is similar but a different type of pressure.

There is a good chance you will like it better once the settings are optimized.

Do you know how to use OSCAR and check if those "centrals" are really centrals or just something that is happening while you are aroused from sleep?

[palerider]

Hi all,

I've been on CPAP for 2 years and whilst my AHI is improving greatly and I feel much better, my doctor thinks I'm still having too many central apnoeas and is moving me to a BIPAP machine.

I just want to know - is that considered life support? I hope not. I'm happy using my CPAP machine and am hoping BiPAP is similar but a different type of pressure.

No, it's not "life support" because you aren't going to die immediately if it stops.

Yes, it's just a fancier, and probably more capable version of CPAP.

Also, not proper to call it a 'BIPAP" unless it's manufactured by Philips Respironics, in which case you don't want it anyway.

[chunkyfrog]

Let's hope that your doctor will specify a Resmed bilevel machine.
You probably should ask him to do that--insist if possible.

[Morbius]

... BIPAP machine.

I just want to know - is that considered life support?

"Life support" is taken from the patient's perspective.

Do you need the BiPAP in order to stay alive?

If the answer is no (duh), then it's not life support.

Are there hundreds (thousands?) of people who ARE on BiPAP, and rely on it to stay alive?

Absolutely.

For them, the answer would be a resounding "yes".

[chunkyfrog]

It is true that some terms once meant grim outcomes--but no longer need to.
An example is "heart failure," which can freak you out enough to make
lifestyle changes that reduce the impact and extend life.
Some people view cpap use as the approaching shroud--they are WRONG.

[Morbius]

Some people view cpap use as the approaching shroud--they are WRONG.

Zackly!

It's the shroud puller-offer, folder-upper, putter-away in the closet. Er.

[Goofproof]

Using any form of XPAP, is no more a form of life support than, eating correctly or doing all the other things needed to keep us alive. Proper treatment will prolong most lives, so you can enjoy using XPAP longer. Jim

[ChicagoGranny]

Even eating incorrectly is a form of life support.

[Stilltired01]

I have been on xpap therapy since the 1990s. I am on IVAPS now and sleep with oxygen added and have been on oxygen for over 15 years also. But no, it's not life support. I was on bilevel before my IVAPS machine.

Also over 10 years ago I was in the ICU, in a medical coma, and on a ventilator. That WAS life support with a diagnosis of repiratory failure. However I don't have any memory of the couple of weeks I was in the ICU. But respiratory failure is an entirely different diagnosis than sleep apnea.

[chunkyfrog]

Unfortunately, any use of devices or drugs can seem to some as giving up,
Ignorance can be deadly.

[Morbius]

Also over 10 years ago I was in the ICU, in a medical coma, and on a ventilator. That WAS life support with a diagnosis of repiratory failure. However I don't have any memory of the couple of weeks I was in the ICU. But respiratory failure is an entirely different diagnosis than sleep apnea.

And respiratory failure is frequently treated by biPAP.

So can BiPAP be considered life support?

At least in certain cases?

Would you be more convinced if I told you me and my team have done it tens of thousands of times?

If not don't matter.

I'm retired anyway.

And the sun will rise again today.

[Stilltired01]

Respiratory failure in my case meant that I was completely unable to breathe on my own. It could not be treated with bipap. Had to be done with life support on a ventilator. A bipap cannot treat a person who is unable to breathe at all on their own. So NO it is not life support.

I was in a very bad accident.