Sierra

I just clean my equipment with pure vinegar, then dish soap and water, and finally a rinse with water. I try to do it first thing in the morning so it drip dries before bedtime. Not a believer in the need for the SoClean.

Ozone is very reactive and is not going to last as ozone very long. I would do your cleaning first thing in the AM and let it air out during the day.

I doubt that the tongue issue is caused by the apnea, but it could be the other way around. The tongue issue may cause the sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is most often caused by a tongue that falls back and obstructs the air flow when you are sleeping.

I use the 10 cm wide MeFix tape, and use a paper cutter to chop 6 cm pieces off it. The NexCare tape is 1" wide. You can get it at Walmart, but it is probably cheaper at a medical supply place that handles the MeFix tape (which you will not likely find at Walmart).

I expect the main determinant of power required is the pressure you run, whether or not you use the humidifier, and if you use the heated hose. The ASV should be quite similar in power consumption to the APAP's if those other things are the same.

My guesstimate would be that 4 cm does provide some therapeutic value. How much is the question I can't answer, but it should not be a lot.

My suggestion would be to run the APAP in Auto mode for a few nights with the Tap 3 device in, and then do it again with the Tap 3 out. Then observe the average median pressure in OSCAR under each mode of Tap in and out. This should be displayed in the statistics page. That should give you an estimate as to how much the Tap 3 device is reducing AHI. The higher the difference the more effective it is. With what you have done so far it would seem like the Tap 3 alone is giving you an AHI greater than 3.

Let me try to help a bit. First off, I am not sure how one could get a battery arrangement for a full sized home machine on an airplane. Not optimistic there is a solution, with regulations today, but their might be. I believe some planes do have 110 volt ac on them and if you had that, then you could just plug in your normal power supply. There may be a current limit, but if you turned the humidifier off and heated hose off, you could be within that limit.

In a home or camping battery situation, the most straightforward way would be to get a 12 volt deep cycle battery at Canadian tire. They have their own standard lead acid brand, or you could go for an AGM type for more reliability and less chance of spilling acid at an extra (2-3 times more...) cost. If you use a 12 volt to 24 volt converter from ResMed that is the most energy efficient way to get the needed 24 volts. They are about $130, but you should check with ResMed or the dealer that they will fit your ASV machine. The other way is to just use a 300 watt inverter available at Canadian Tire. They are cheaper but not as efficient. As far as battery size have a look at this table.

The top situation is without a heated hose and the humidifier turned off. At a 16 cm IPAP it suggests that current draw (at 12 volts) would be 1.23 amps and a 15 amp hour battery is recommended. That is a fairly small battery and a lawn tractor or motorcycle battery might work. However they are not deep cycle and can be expensive. A full sized 24 or 27 deep cycle battery may be more practical, but much heavier. If you take the more normal second last case in this table with the heated hose and humidifier on in Auto, and a 16 cm IPAP, it says 4.21 amps and a 51 amp hour battery. That is pretty close to a normal size 24 battery like this one at Canadian Tire, which is rated at 65 amp hours.

Based on our camping experience, I would suggest a 100 watt solar panel is about the size needed to recover each day from the night before.

Hopefully that helps some.

My routine when I remember it is to wash the mask, hose, and humidifier reservoir weekly. My first wash is with pure vinegar. Full strength vinegar is a disinfectant. It also is very effective in removing mineral deposits in the reservoir. I occasionally use tap water when I don't have any demin water. I just use my fingers in the reservoir to ensure the vinegar removes all the deposits. The vinegar rinse is followed by a tap water and Dawn dish soap wash, and then a final rinse with tap water. I hang the mask and hose up from the shower head in the bath room and let it drip dry all day.

I use a ResMed AirFit P10 and the tape does not interfere with it. My wife uses a F&P Brevida and taping does not interfere with it either. She gets away with just the 1" paper tape. I have to add the second larger layer of MeFix.

Well 2.7 is acceptable. The normal goal is to be under 5 for AHI. The good news is that 11 cm for pressure is relatively low, and it should make the CPAP and mask easier to get used to.

I have not heard of these companies. The two main manufacturers are ResMed and Phillips Respironics. They both make good machines. I have a preference for the ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet For Her machine, but others will work well too. Getting a mask that fits and you can get used to is the harder part. I hope they have some arrangement that you can try different masks to see what works for you?