The most important steps with CPAP therapy are the initial steps. The proper treatment pressure, a comfortable system, and good education often mean the difference between success and failure for many CPAP users. Successful CPAP users report feeling improvements in vitality and motivation job performance mood sexual drive and performance alertness while driving quality of life. Unlike pharmaceuticals that have fairly standard prescription dosages, CPAP therapy requires a patient-specific titration. Obstructions vary from one individual to the next, so the correct treatment pressure is also different for each person, and it can vary throughout a person's life.
New technology makes initial and ongoing titration easier.
A titration study usually takes place in a sleep clinic and typically involves one night of monitoring by a sleep technician who adjusts CPAP levels in response to SDB events, such as snoring, hypopneas , and obstructive apneas . The goal is to find the lowest pressure that will prevent apneas, hypopneas, and snoring during all stages of sleep. The study takes several hours during the night because a patient's pressure needs change as the night progresses. Pressure needs tend to be at their highest during REM sleep, but each REM cycle can differ slightly. A flow generator pulls air through a filter and provides a set air pressure through a mask system to the CPAP user.