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You can also get info from www.sleepreviewmag.com. I've been receiving the monthly magazine for years. They also send updates to your email.
Joe
All of the "Auto" CPAPs adjust for each breath you take. I know that the S9 AutoPap I have is downloadable so that I can download the last 30 days of sleep and look for events, pressure change and leaks on line graphs. The program to do this is not available to patients and doctors do not generally hand the program out to patients, however, links to the program can be found on other sleep message boards. I know the program for the Philips/Respironics are also available. I won't give the locations of this information here as I'm sure the moderators would frown upon such things. My first sleep Doc, who set me up with my first AutoPAP, gave me the program for the Autoset T so I could track my PAP usage. I ran an AWAKE group for that doc for 5 years. I personally find my use of the programing beneficial, however, I can understand why patients are not given access to it. Knowledge is GOOD but knowledge in the wrong hands can be a problem.
Most labs are now forced by Medicare and insurance companies to do a home sleep study first. A home study can tell if you have OSA but that's all the information it gets. If the home study indicates the patient has OSA then a real sleep study is performed. A lab study gathers far more info than a home study and also tests for other sleep disorders.
I found myself that the upper limit had to be set on my original Autoset T, Resmed unit. Many believed that as it was an AutoPAP you cold leave the upper limit open, which is 25 max. When my Auto went above 16 CM pressure I had Central events. My Autos since then have been set at 6 cm bottom end and 16 limit on top side. Since then no more centrals. I now use a ResmedS8 AutoPAP which is a fantastic machine. As I'm presently using nasal pillows I keep the humidity set at 85%. The machine senses the relative humidity in the room and adjusts it to 85%. I also have the heated hose, which I love. No more rainout. Sleep Apnea is also very positional for most of us. More pressure is required when sleeping on your back then if you sleep on your side.
Philips/Respironics System One covers 4 different machines. Which machine do you have...........BiPAP Auto with Bi-Flex .........BiPAP AutoSV Advanced......... REMstar SE or REMstar Auto with A-Flex?
Truth is that the problems you each had are the problems that new people to CPAP have. Yes it gets old but that's the way things are, just as other "old timers" helped you, they gave up their time to help others. Professionals can be held liable for their advice so they may read message boards and chat rooms but hold back from giving advice. There were professional people that held monitored chats on TAS but they wouldn't address personal problems due to liability. If a message board or chat room doesn't help you out, call your doctor. That's what you pay them for.
For those of you still using 10 year old or older machines take a look at this site. I am not an employee of this company and I am only using it as an example of the new machines available and much the technology has changed. I am using an S9 Autopap with humidifier and heated hose. I also have the programming so that I can look at the information collected by the S9 and see how well I am sleeping and what my pressure ranges were throughout the nite.
http://www.resmed.com/us/en/consumer/products/devices.html
Damn, I miss the chat rooms like the one that was run at "www.talkaboutsleep.com". When folks with questions about CPAP were in a chat room they could get suggestions and answers to their problems instantly rather than posting on a forum and waiting for someone to respond which could take a week or more. I have nothing against forums, they have helped a lot of people but there is the time factor which can increase a persons anxiety level.
It's so hard to diagnose a persons PAP problems without being face to face with them. It's like a doctor making a diagnosis without seeing the patient. As I have been on "the hose" for so long and have gotten good advice along the way I tend to skip basics. Many patients are never told how interfaces work and how to wear them.
Now that Tracy has brought up the "pig nose" issue, which I neglected to mention, I have a few suggestions.
Are you presently using the large size nasal pillows? If not, try using the next size larger pillows than what you are using now. Nasal interfaces are usually packaged with a few different sized pillows. If you do this with the interface worn loosely does it seal properly without the nasal pillows actually entering the nose? The seal is supposed to be on the outside of the nose not the inside.
When you lay on your side does the interface break the seal because it is hitting your pillow? If this is the case, there is a unique pillow designed by an old friend of mine from "talkaboutsleep.com". It's called a PAPillow ("http://www.papillow.com/"). When you lay on your side using it, the interface hangs over the edge so the pillow does not break the seal of your interface, be it a mask or nasal pillows. You can see how this works by simply folding your regular bed pillow in half and placing your head on the pillow so that you are resting on the "hard edge" and your interface hangs over the "hard edge". The design of the this one is such that if your lay on your right side and roll over to your left side your interface doesn't make contact with the pillow, causing a leak.
Talkaboutsleep.com isn't the site it used to be. It was the largest sleep info site on the net but changed hands about 5 years ago. The woman that started Talkaboutsleep is now Executive Director of the American Sleep Apnea Association which runs this site, We became good friends over the years and I have to say she is one of the most dedicated people on the planet for helping OSA patients and folks with other sleep disorders. One important thing to remember, all interfaces are designed to be worn loose the tighter the interface on your face the higher the risk of pressure sores. Two of the best masksI've found are the Resmed Activa/Activa LT and the new F&P Eson. You can actually layon your back and set the Activa on your face, turn on your CPAP and the Activa will seal to your face. It' an amazing interface, BUT, it is also larger than most people want to wear. The Eson is much smaller and seals well but not as easily as the Activa. As far as nasal pillows the new Phillips Gel pillows work very nicely as do the Phillips GoLife (which was designed for women). I switch around with these 4 interfaces. My connection with Tracy Nasca of the ASAA over the years and being married to my own personal sleep tech has given me the opportunity to test over 60 interfaces over the years and allowed me to educate myself to the point that when I go for a sleep study for new equipment my docs simply ask me, "what do you want?", and write the script that I dictate to them...........LOL. Prior to my first sleep study in 1999 I thought OSA was the latest medical cash cow. After my study I learned the truth. This is why I've spent so much time over the years in chat rooms, running an AWAKE group and trying to educate the public. It's my "pay it forward".
Good Luck, 2sleepy
