Very, very High Altitude and the CPAP Machine setting
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From: KB on 10 Apr 2008 23:17 Hi, I just got a new CPAP machine in. It a nice small model, which is very nice to travel with. It's also light and it adjusts to the altitude, which is nice. The only problem is that it will only adjust to altitude of 7900 feet. I'm planning on taking a trip to La Paz and El Alto Bolivia. The elevation is about 14,000 feet. La Paz is actually, the highest city in the world as far as elevation is concerned. The technician said that I shouldn't take my travel CPAP machine with me, but to see about taking the older Aria Respironics machine with me, which does not have an altitude adjustment. My optimum sleep pressure is 7. Is there a formula to figure out what setting, I should set this at to emulate 7 on sealevel, or Florida and the Netherlands, places where I normally live? Thanks! KB
From: Dan on 11 Apr 2008 00:56 KB wrote: > Hi, I just got a new CPAP machine in. It a nice small model, which is very > nice to travel with. It's also light and it adjusts to the altitude, which > is nice. The only problem is that it will only adjust to altitude of 7900 > feet. I'm planning on taking a trip to La Paz and El Alto Bolivia. The > elevation is about 14,000 feet. La Paz is actually, the highest city in the > world as far as elevation is concerned. The technician said that I shouldn't > take my travel CPAP machine with me, but to see about taking the older Aria > Respironics machine with me, which does not have an altitude adjustment. My > optimum sleep pressure is 7. Is there a formula to figure out what setting, > I should set this at to emulate 7 on sealevel, or Florida and the > Netherlands, places where I normally live? > > Thanks! > > KB > > You might try asking here; http://www.cpaptalk.com/CPAP-Sleep-Apnea-Forum.html Enjoy La Paz, it's a great city. Make sure to go to the "witches market" section.
From: Bubba on 11 Apr 2008 17:06 In article <2LALj.47011$f8.7455(a)newsfe23.lga>, nospam(a)nospam.com says... There is an article on it at http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/reprint/108/6/1577
From: David Ruether on 12 Apr 2008 11:15 "Bubba" <bubba(a)example.com> wrote in message news:MPG.22699cef8691f322989695(a)news.east.cox.net... > In article <2LALj.47011$f8.7455(a)newsfe23.lga>, nospam(a)nospam.com says... > There is an article on it at > http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/reprint/108/6/1577 WOW! Thanks - this is a real "eye-opener", and maybe an "airway-opener" too! Now I wonder why the manual altitude compensation adjustment that was on my earlier Respironics machine was removed from the later version (that one didn't do very well with increased altitude - no wonder I felt "wiped out" on my last trip, above 11,000'!). --DR
From: Andy Hall on 13 Apr 2008 04:59
On 2008-04-12 16:15:38 +0100, "David Ruether" <druether(a)twcny.rr.com> said: > > "Bubba" <bubba(a)example.com> wrote in message > news:MPG.22699cef8691f322989695(a)news.east.cox.net... >> In article <2LALj.47011$f8.7455(a)newsfe23.lga>, nospam(a)nospam.com says... > >> There is an article on it at >> http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/reprint/108/6/1577 > > WOW! Thanks - this is a real "eye-opener", and maybe > an "airway-opener" too! Now I wonder why the manual > altitude compensation adjustment that was on my earlier > Respironics machine was removed from the later version > (that one didn't do very well with increased altitude - no > wonder I felt "wiped out" on my last trip, above 11,000'!). > --DR That article is 1995 vintage but physics doesn't change in this sense. Older machines didn't have pressure sensors and just crude motor controls, with the altitude contro allowing some adjustment. It's rather odd that there are still machines on the market, especially small ones positioned for travel purposes, that don't have automatic altitude compensation. Even some of the cheap ones do. For example, the GoodKnight 420G ($219 from cpap.com) does, as does the AEIOmed Everest ($259), while the Zzz-PAP ($210) only has manual adjustment. Bizarrely, the ResMed S8 Escape ($420) only has manual adjustment and it seems that from Respironics you have to buy the M series Pro ($669) vs. the Plus ($579) to get altitude compensation. I wonder whether your altitude effect might also have been due in part to lower oxygen aborption. Keep in mind that even aircraft cabins are only pressurised to the equivalent of 2500m and you were at 3300m. Aircraft deploy oxygen masks at 4300m for example. |