Setting CPAP pressure youself?

Isn't setting your own CPAP pressure illegal? Over at the Apnea Board they are advocating that people should be able to set their own pressure, just to "test it out" and "see" what works for them. This guy is comparing CPAP machines to "leaf blowers". That seems extremely unsafe and irresponsible to me, poeple could die from too high a setting, causing Central Apnea events. I sent an email to them expressing my views, but they have chosen to ignore me, it looks like.

I thought you had to have a prescription by a doctor to change settings on CPAP machines, so what is this all about? They are even distributing the clinician setup direction manuals over there on that website, which seems utterly irresponsible, since someone could really mess up their therapy with uneducated changes. Isn't there some sort of law against this type of thing?

Marcus S.

Oops, forgot to ask my question also:

I currently have been on CPAP for 3 years, and I went from 300 lbs down to 220 (lost 80 pounds during the past year), so I'm wondering if I need to have a lower CPAP setting, should I ask for another sleep study, or am I okay at leaving it at my current setting of 15 on the pressure?

Is there some sort of correlation between a certain weight loss = a certain pressure decrease for CPAP (I have OSA, not CSA).?

Any help would be appreciated.

marcuss wrote:Isn't setting your own CPAP pressure illegal? Over at the Apnea Board they are advocating that people should be able to set their own pressure, just to "test it out" and "see" what works for them. This guy is comparing CPAP machines to "leaf blowers". That seems extremely unsafe and irresponsible to me, poeple could die from too high a setting, causing Central Apnea events. I sent an email to them expressing my views, but they have chosen to ignore me, it looks like.

I thought you had to have a prescription by a doctor to change settings on CPAP machines, so what is this all about? They are even distributing the clinician setup direction manuals over there on that website, which seems utterly irresponsible, since someone could really mess up their therapy with uneducated changes. Isn't there some sort of law against this type of thing?

Marcus S.

You're a hoot!

Weight loss often lets us get by with lower pressure. There is no harm in sticking with 15 it that's been working and you tolerate it well, but a lower pressure makes leaks easier to control. If I ever lose that kind of weight I'm going to ask for a sleep study and see if I can't dial it down a couple of notches.

On the other subject, I am almost sure that there is no law against setting the pressure on your own CPAP machine. I say that because it is just not the way the FDA works. It regulates the marketing and sale of drugs and medical devices, including whether a prescription is required, but it doesn't have much to say about what happens after that. For example, doctors can, and often do, prescribe drugs and use devices for purposes other than those for which they were originally approved.

Obviously you haven't read many posts on this forum either, because we change pressure on our machines and email clinicians' manuals too....

It's not illegal for you to change pressure on your machine, but it is illegal for a DME to change your pressure w/o an order/prescription from your doctor. (Or so I've read.) I've changed my own pressure ... and used different machines ... more times than I can count, and so far the CPAP police have not come to arrest me, nor have I died. I believe it's legal for me to do whatever I like in the privacy of my own bedroom as long as it's with consenting adults or machines.

Do you have a data capable machine? If so, a look at your numbers ought to tell you if you need a change in pressure or not. How about filling out your profile with information on your machine, mask, etc. That way people can help you more easily.

marcuss wrote:Isn't setting your own CPAP pressure illegal? Over at the Apnea Board they are advocating that people should be able to set their own pressure, just to "test it out" and "see" what works for them. This guy is comparing CPAP machines to "leaf blowers". That seems extremely unsafe and irresponsible to me, poeple could die from too high a setting, causing Central Apnea events. I sent an email to them expressing my views, but they have chosen to ignore me, it looks like.

It is not illegal to alter your own pressure setting.
It is not illegal to have the clinical manual.
It is not illegal to have the software to monitor your own results first hand.
If someone has a history of centrals, then yes, caution is strongly advised before increasing pressure.
It is not illegal to look at any data that might be available on the machine itself.

I just went to my doctor for my first follow up following getting my machine in May. She didn't have a coronary when she found out I had increased my pressure. In fact she agreed that I had done the right thing and exactly what she would have done. Her only caution was to not obsess on a single set of "ideal" numbers but to look at the numbers in correlation with how I feel. In other, words don't forget to look at the whole picture.

Given your weight loss, yes a pressure change might be indicated, might not also. Best thing to do would be have a full sleep study to see exactly where you might need to be. If you are uncomfortable with a group of people taking responsibility for their own therapy and who refuse to buy into the DME thing that all this stuff must be handled by them because it is so dangerous, then you might take a look at the apneasupport.org forum. They have lots of rule and regulations there that may make you more comfortable.

I haven't been over to the forum you mentioned but it sounds a lot like what goes on here.

PST wrote:Weight loss often lets us get by with lower pressure. There is no harm in sticking with 15 it that's been working and you tolerate it well, but a lower pressure makes leaks easier to control. If I ever lose that kind of weight I'm going to ask for a sleep study and see if I can't dial it down a couple of notches.

Okay, thanks. I think I want to get my doctor involved, I don't want to risk my health or die in the process of making changes myself - I have no clue how to judge what is the correct setting.

twokatmew wrote: It's not illegal for you to change pressure on your machine, but it is illegal for a DME to change your pressure w/o an order/prescription from your doctor. (Or so I've read.) I've changed my own pressure ... and used different machines ... more times than I can count, and so far the CPAP police have not come to arrest me, nor have I died. I believe it's legal for me to do whatever I like in the privacy of my own bedroom as long as it's with consenting adults or machines.

Given that i'm normally such a good guy It gave me one hell of a rush changing my pressure by myself whilst knowing i might be being very very naughty

And I got an even bigger rush when i realized that the change was being recorded by software and would be clearly seen by my doctor

"Please help us...

Apnea Board is non-profit and we survive on the kindness of our members.

If you have benefited from our online CPAP Manuals or the forum...

Please consider making a small donation to help us pay for increased bandwidth costs by using a credit card to donate a couple of dollars.

Click on the "DONATE" button below to use PayPal for your donation (you do not have to have a PayPal account to use your credit card):
"

Did I miss the "This is a advertisement" statement?

hobbs wrote:"Please help us...

Apnea Board is non-profit and we survive on the kindness of our members.

If you have benefited from our online CPAP Manuals or the forum...

Please consider making a small donation to help us pay for increased bandwidth costs by using a credit card to donate a couple of dollars.

Click on the "DONATE" button below to use PayPal for your donation (you do not have to have a PayPal account to use your credit card):
"

Did I miss the "This is a advertisement" statement?

Finally ... someone else noticed too.

Over at the ...

marcuss wrote:Isn't setting your own CPAP pressure illegal? Over at the Apnea Board they are advocating that people should be able to set their own pressure, just to "test it out" and "see" what works for them. This guy is comparing CPAP machines to "leaf blowers". That seems extremely unsafe and irresponsible to me, poeple could die from too high a setting, causing Central Apnea events. I sent an email to them expressing my views, but they have chosen to ignore me, it looks like.

I thought you had to have a prescription by a doctor to change settings on CPAP machines, so what is this all about? They are even distributing the clinician setup direction manuals over there on that website, which seems utterly irresponsible, since someone could really mess up their therapy with uneducated changes. Isn't there some sort of law against this type of thing?

Marcus S.

Think about something. Think about diabetes. Diabetics are trained how to check their blood sugar levels several times per day. They are trained how to adjust their diet and exercise depending on their current blood sugar levels. They are trained how to adjust their insulin or other medications to keep their blood sugar levels in the proper range.

Now think about a little pressure in your airway from a tiny fan. The potential bad side effects of that little pressure are miniscule compared to the potential bad side effects from insulin and other diabetes medications.

Many, if not most of use here, were using CPAP according to the doctors prescription and slowly (some quickly) dying due to suboptimal CPAP therapy. But from the internet we learned about software, adjusting pressure, and many other things. We then were able to bring ourselves back from the death and disease clunker without much additional help from the doctors and medical professionals.

Take care of your own treatment; no one else can do it as well as you.

Can someone point me to an FDA official site or guideline for any "rules" on this? My medical equipment supplier told me that I cannot legally change the pressure myself, I need to get the prescription changed, and must bring the machine into them along with the script, and they must do it for me, if that is not true, why would she say this?

I guess my issue is that if you allow people to set their own pressure, say from their optimum of 14 to 20, this is endangering their life, is it not? Sort of like the seat belt laws, no one else is being put in danger necessarily, but if there were no law, people wouldn't put their seat belt on, even if it would make them more safe?

I would think that she might be correct that there is some sort of regulation on this somewhere (but I can't find it), I have a friend who has been on CPAP for many, many years and his wife is a nurse, and she has also told me that it is illegal for end-users to change doctor-prescribed pressure on their machines. Are these people full of it?

I agree with the freedom to get involved with your own health care, but changing pressure from 14 to 20 is a little like stepping on the gas pedal in your car and going 120 miles an hour down a city street, istn't it? Eventually, it's gonna hurt you.

Yeah, and the apneaboard.com website supposed to be non profit, so why the request for money? They are clearly "advertising" for donations, which is against their own rules! Ha!

Has anyone here lost weight and needed a change of CPAP pressure as a result?

If so, could you post the amount of weight you lost, and, after your sleep study, what the "new" pressure setting was at?

I'm trying to see if there is a correlation between "pounds lost" vs. "pressure settings". I really need to know if it's worth it to go the the trouble and expense of a new sleep study.

LOL! Uncle_Bob

marcuss wrote: .......Yeah, and the apneaboard.com website supposed to be non profit, so why the request for money? They are clearly "advertising" for donations, which is against their own rules! Ha!

Nonprofits need money just like all organizations.

You need to do a lot more reading here and then you can issue some better opinions (after you get out of the Federal pen for changing your pressure settings ).