Question:
Could someone please explain the diffrence between c-pap and bi-pap.

Could someone please explain the diffrence between c-pap and bi-pap. Thanks    — Kim R. (posted on March 5, 2003)

March 5, 2003
CPAP is constant air flow. It is blowing all the time at the same rate. A BIPAP is a 2 way air flow. It has a lesser pressure to allow you to exhale easier. I have a CPAP, but it is only set on a 5 so I do not have any problem with the pressure when I exhale.
   — Pookie B.

March 5, 2003
Pookie stated it correctly. I have a BiPAP machine. When they did my study I was fine on CPAP till a pressure of 18. At that point I started to choke so they moved me to BiPAP and what a huge relief that was. I could take full breaths and have a full breathing cycle. From that point on I slept the rest of the night and never woke up. <p>However, everyone is different. Some people can even stand a pressure as high as 30 on CPAP. So there is no magic number everyone goes to CPAP. The only problem was since I was over a pressure of 20 I had to have a very expensive machine $3000+ as there are only 3 BiPAP machines made that go over 20. It was also a little bit of a hassle with insurance as they wanted more detail to approve BiPAP over CPAP because of the cost. But they did approve it. Right now it's just being rented which is my preference as I expect to be off of it soon - then again I hadn't been on it for a month since surgery (at my surgeon's orders) until last Friday and then because the pressures were way to high it made my muscles and ribs so sore from being forced to breath too deep all night. Unfortunatly it took me 3 nights to realize what was causing this horrendous pain. So now I am back off of it. My pulmonologist put in orders to drop it 2 steps and called back and said if that's all he will lower it I won't use it anymore. I am not going to live with this pain because the pressures are too high. <p>When either machine is set right for you it really is no problem to sleep with it. Getting the right mask is really key. I have a very tiny one that most places would not suggest as it has headgear (what holds it on) that is a little different to get on right but it only took me a few trys to figure it out and it's no big deal. I liked the feel of a gel mask but I could not breath back against the relief valve - for me it was like being back on CPAP. Good luck and keep working with them until it's working good for you. I had absolutely no problems with it before surgery and adapted immediately.
   — zoedogcbr