Hello there, and sorry for this being too long.
I've been a user of the system one bipap philips device for roughly 8.5 years after being diagnosed with sleeping issues due to a scoliosis that affected the area where my lung expands
I was discharged after a sleep study to use a bilevel (bipap) and was directed to purchase it from the Philips retailer with this prescription:
15/5 with 350 Volume and 16 back up rate
I was in the hospital after a second visit due to co2 numbers going high one year after the sleep study due to lack of bipap usage and I was discharged with a full mask and these settings:
- mode: PC
- avaps: on
- ipap max: (can't remember)
- ipap min: 20 cmh2o
- ti: 3s
- epap: 5
- bpm: 8
- target volume: 350
- rise time: 1
The full mask caused some scars on my face and it used to leak so much into my eyes so we switched without asking beforehand to a nasal mask that was with the device (I think it was the naunce pro)
I couldn't handle the 20 pressure with a nasal mask so we decided to lower it (without consulting with anyone) to these settings:
- mode: PC
- Avaps: On
- IPAP MAX: 15 cmh2o
- IPAP MIN: 15 cmh2o
- EPAP: 5
- TI: 2.1s (I can't remember if we changed this or if it was just changed because of the lower pressure)
- BPM: 9 (I can't remember if we changed this too)
- Rise time: 1
- Target volume: 350
Then carried on for 8 years with only minimal changes to the IPAP between 14-16 cmh2o
I have to make some things clear first
1) I live in an area where access to medical care for such matters like using a bipap/cpap is so limited if nonexistent
2) I was naive back then and a teenager, so I didn't know much about how different settings affect the therapy
3) I'm not even sure if I was supposed to get an AVAPS device or it was just how doctors have some retailers they send their patients to
4) According to the settings we used, the avaps functionality wasn't even kicking in anyways if the IPAP MAX/MIN where the same
6) It was kept like this since I managed to sleep comfortably to some extent so "we" didn't try to consult with a doctor from outside the area
4) Insurance for such machines doesn't exist of course too it's all paid the by the patient or by others out of their good will.
5) I had no idea such programs that can read the data out of the device memory exist like OSCAR and the sleepyhead one etc.
Early this year the system one device broke, I've been trying to find a replacement for a couple of years but couldn't because of the recall I suppose, so I ended up with a normal Bilevel S/T device (prismaAqua 30ST)
Something I noticed is this bilevel mode has Ti min/max which didn't exist in avaps and it gives a higher volume like 800-1000 sometimes without a real cap.
After a couple of days of trying it initially on the same settings except not having avaps and on S/T mode instead of PC. At first glance it looked fine and comfortable, but after a couple of days some symptoms started to appear like feeling heat in my chest in the right side and feeling like the device is challenging me sometimes instead of making things comfortable. Day by day I tried to lower the pressure/ti/bpm and hoping to at least get some sleep, I was barely able to sleep. Getting to a doctor to make a sleep study was extremely complicated unfortunately too, we tried but couldn't make it.
After that I had my hands on a dreamstation bipap avaps device bought from the retailer, I applied the same settings I had on the system one and finally for once I was able to sleep. But the problem started when I was unable to handle the high pressure, so I started lowering the IPAP MIN and The Ti
First it started with neck pain so I lowered it a bit to IPAP MIN 13 and Ti 2s
After a day or two I started noticing that I feel a bit weaker in my muscles, so I lowered it to IPAP 12 and Ti 1.8s
The settings were: IPAP max 15 / 11 min, EPAP 5, Ti 1.8, BPM 9
When the symptoms that happened with the Bilevel S/T s tarted to appear again we managed to get a visit to the hospital roughly 2 weeks ago
- I was put in a shared room with some noise unfortunately which makes sleeping harder
- At first day they took a co2 test and it was normal
- At the second day the doctor saw that I use a nasal mask and said it doesn't work and that I have to use a full mask despite the co2 levels being normal, claiming that the nasal mask would cause leaks from the mouth which I couldn't just deny since I'm not an expert in the matter anyways so the doctor took a look at the device and lowered the Ti to 1.2 and increased the BPM to 12 then asked me to use the full mask
- I couldn't sleep basically, the noise, the leaking in the full mask, the pain from the neck strap, the drooling that fills the mask that makes the mask's silicone less attachable and the fact it forces me to breathe through my mouth which I'm used to inhale and exhale from the nose using the nasal mask.
- The state of this visit is the doctor sees you for roughly 10 minutes a day and leaves you until the next day unfortunately that's what you get on insurance and being poor.
- After a couple of days, I was discharged without a proper sleep study on a full mask and I didn't get to sleep in those days from the discomfort
- At home I tried the full mask and again the same issues persisted but furthermore the dryness became worse that It affected my mouth's top and ability to swallow food and still couldn't sleep
- Hoping to get back to sleep I switched back to the nasal mask I had before
- I woke up abruptly on the new settings, so I decided to increase the Ti to 1.5s
- I tried tweaking stuff around, but I couldn't get real sleep out of this, and this has been ongoing for over a week
Something I can say is I'm not sure if I inhale from my mouth while asleep using the nasal mask and if it's a common occurrence if so, but I can tell that my mouth isn't inhaling nor leaking when I'm awake.
The concept of not using a nasal mask or using it never occurred to me until this month for the past 8+ years let alone hearing about chin straps etc.
When I'm sleeping on my side sometimes, while being awake at least I find myself exhaling a bit of the air before the device finishes reaching the expected IPAP.
I have a sleep study scheduled for June 4th I think but I'm not sure if I can handle not sleeping properly until then or if the doctor will be able to help me
My current setup:
DreamStation Bipap Avaps
Dreamwear Nasal Mask with Meduim Frame and Large Nose Cushions (the ones that get inside the nose)
Heated Tube 15mm (turned off)
Humidity Adaptive 4
Here's last night's OSCAR screenshot
https://imgur.com/a/0xhyLqt
Here's from 2 days ago
https://imgur.com/a/IWdGBP3
This is the whole memory card content out of the dreamstation device, it's only a few weeks worth but I couldn't upload it directly here
https://files.catbox.moe/t8qae1.zip
https://files.catbox.moe/t8qae1.zip
Any help is appreciated, thank you for your time.
Please help in configuring Avaps Bipap on dreamstation (sleep deprived)
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- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu May 15, 2025 5:04 am
Please help in configuring Avaps Bipap on dreamstation (sleep deprived)
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Mask: DreamWear Nasal CPAP Mask with Headgear - Fit Pack (All Cushions Included with Medium Frame) |
Humidifier: DreamStation Heated Humidifier |
Additional Comments: Dreamstation Bipap Avaps (couldn't find it in the list of machines) |