Trying to "dial in" AirMini settings

[photojon]

Greetings. I have been a happy Cpap user for many years. My most recent "home" machine is the AirSense 10 AutoSet which is working great. I get good sleep most nights and my metrics seem to be good. I recently got an AirMini (not set up by a clinician) and have been having difficulty getting the settings dialed in. My "symptom" is that after an hour or so of use, it feels like I'm struggling on the exhale and thus swallowing air.

Here are the settings on my AirMini:
Mode: AutoSet
Max Pressure 15
Min Pressure 5
Response: Standard
RampTime: Auto
Start Pressure 5.0
EPR (on)
EPR type: Ramp Only
EPR Level: 2
Options
Smart Start On
Smart Stop On
Pressure Units cmH2O

I also see in the regular menu (not the clinician's listed above) that Pressure Relief is set to On.

Any suggestions as to which settings I should experiment with?

Thanks
Jon

[LSAT]

EPR should be "Full Time"..not Ramp Only
RAMP should be OFF

[ChicagoGranny]

Here are the settings on my AirMini

What are your settings on the AirSense 10?

[Dog Slobber]

Set it to the exact settings as your AirSense 10 AutoSet.

They *Should* perform the same.

[photojon]

Thank you all for the suggestions.

@LSAT, I have changed the EPR to Full Time and turned off RAMP

@ChicagoGranny & Dog Slobber, Here are my AirSense 10 AutoSet settings. Unfortunately they don't appear to map up setting for setting:
Mode:AutoSet
Max Pressure:15
Min Pressure 5.0
Mask Pillows
Response:Standard
Ramp Time: Auto
Start Pressure 4.0
EPR: ON
EPR Type: full Time
EPR Level: 2
Climate Ctrl: Auto
Tube Temp:Auto

Looks like the EPR Type is the biggest difference. I might change Ramp Time back to "Auto" since that is what is on the AirSense machine.

Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Jon

[ChicagoGranny]

My "symptom" is that after an hour or so of use, it feels like I'm struggling on the exhale and thus swallowing air.

Have you been sleeping during that first hour? What happens after this "event" for the rest of the night?

[Dog Slobber]

On your AirSense 10 you have your EPR set to full time
On your AirMini you have your EPR set to ramp only

This means that after the ramp period on your AirMini, EPR is turned off. EPR reduces the pressure on exhale.

This explains why you have trouble exhaling "after an hour or so".

On your AirMini, turn you EPR to full time, might even consider bumping it from 2 to 3.

[photojon]

Thank you again for your great feedback. I used it last night with the EPR full time and it worked out great. I have a bonus quesiton. Clearly the airmini doesn't have a water based humidifier like the airsense, but they do have the little cartridges. What are the best practices for these cartridges? ie, are they good for a certain number of "usage hours" or "expiration days from first installed". Any other hints/tips? This board is loaded with great ideas and I appreciate the help.
Thanks
Jon

[randye80]

Thank you again for your great feedback. I used it last night with the EPR full time and it worked out great. I have a bonus quesiton. Clearly the airmini doesn't have a water based humidifier like the airsense, but they do have the little cartridges. What are the best practices for these cartridges? ie, are they good for a certain number of "usage hours" or "expiration days from first installed". Any other hints/tips? This board is loaded with great ideas and I appreciate the help.
Thanks
Jon

.

ResMed say that the HumidX cartridges should be replaced after 30 days. Like most things CPAP, individual results likely vary.

You must have missed the interesting recent thread about whether to wash the cartridges (not recommended)