Sierra

Andrea, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately this is a common situation when the machine is not set up properly for comfort. Did they do any setup and testing in the office when you picked it up? The usual problem is that these automatic machines (if it is one), have a default out of the box pressure setting of 4 cm of water minimum and 20 cm of water maximum. For most people 4 cm of pressure is too low to feel comfortable. If you can give more detail about what specific model of machine you have, I can give you some better help.

Rich, the trick is to use the "Write a reply" button near the bottom of the screen. That gives you a full width window like this one. You can put multiple screenshots and text in one post, instead of starting new ones. Also you should clean up the format so you get better use of the screen space. Take these steps below.

• Hide the redundant tool bar on the right (F10 on a PC, F8 or Shift F8 on a Mac)
• Hide the monthly calendar by clicking on the black triangle beside the current date
• Use SleepyHead (Mac), Preferences, Appearance, and uncheck the box which displays the event breakdown pie chart. It is somewhat redundant too and just covers up more useful data

No mask yet. Our Canadian postal system has it in safe storage for me... The computer says it got to our city last night, so perhaps another 3-4 days and they will decide to deliver it, instead of storing it. They got legislated back to work, so they are in no real big hurry these days.

Here is a news article that discusses the issues with CPAP compliance, and some alternatives. There is brief section on the Inspire implant. Some have had adverse reactions to it, and have had to get it removed. Other say it is great. The company says adverse reactions are rare...

New Ways to Conquer Sleep Apnea

You have to feel sorry for the lady that took 7 years to find a mask that worked for her. Said that she used a spreadsheet to track the 26 different mask styles so she did not test the same one twice. Let me see, mask 6 for me in 9 months. At this rate I may be at mask #56 in 7 years...

I did a fair amount of research on this when mountaingoat raised the altitude issue recently. I've sure that the post I made above is a reasonable interpretation of where the technology stands. In the ResMed line, I think the last non portable machine that had to be adjusted manually was the S6. The older machines had ranges of elevation that you had to set to your applicable range. So, it was an approximate correction. I suspect the new machines measure actual atmospheric pressure and correct exactly to the altitude.

This however only compensates for the pressure drop in the hose issue, and is quite effective for obstructive apnea. It has nothing to do with individual central apnea sensitivity to altitude changes though.

It seems that more and more research is being done on the approach to treating apnea. Here is an example of a technology which does an auto titration test of a MAD device similar to a home sleep test.

MATRx plus

And for a deeper dive into the technology:

A Feedback-Controlled Mandibular Positioner

Sounds interesting, but the overnight test itself does not look all that comfortable of an affair with that thing and motor sticking out of your mouth!

It would be good to post a Daily Detail Screenshot for a typical full face night and a nose mask night. I have a PC and don't know the Mac specifics, so I will describe how to do it on a PC and I presume it will be easy to convert to Mac commands...

First it is good to clean up the format:

• Hide the redundant tool bar on the right (F10 on a PC)
• Hide the monthly calendar by clicking on the black triangle beside the current date
• Use File, Preferences, Appearance, and uncheck the box which displays the event breakdown chart. It is somewhat redundant too and just covers up more useful data
• I leave the Events bar pinned at the top, and make sure pressure, flow, and leaks show

Once you have the layout cleaned up on a PC you just press F12 to save a screenshot image. The location flashes up in a box on the bottom right of the screen. Again on a PC you use File Explorer, left click on the file, and then drag it to an open message you are composing here. Best to use the Write a Reply button at the bottom to start the message so you get a full screen width to display.

I think that is about it...

With the heated hose you should be able to put the humidity control on Auto rather than set it. I find it works well on my AirSense 10.

It is always good to involve your clinic if they are responsive to your concerns. My machine also has the "ET Call Home" wireless feature, but I am not really sure how much data is actually sent. I have a feeling only the summary data (AHI, Sleep Hours, the very basics) is sent wirelessly. If that is the case you will be seeing much more detail in SleepyHead than they will be seeing. I have come to the conclusion that is why the MyAir app that ResMed has is so limited. They really don't have much data behind them. I believe the real detailed data that SleepyHead displays is only on the SD card, and if you wanted them to look at the detail you would have to bring in the card and they would view it with the ResMed ResScan software. That does not mean you could not have a phone conversation with them to discuss the issue. It really don't think as a matter of course these clinics have the time to actually monitor individual patients results when they have 2000+ patients as you say.

A few comments. First a PAP machine is not really a critical life support system. It can fail and you will still breathe, perhaps a little uncomfortably, but you will still breath. My wife's machine had a problem with the power supply cord and it went off on her several times one night. She was a little ticked off, but nothing more beyond that. A back up power supply is not necessary, unless you are living in an area where power goes out daily or nearly daily.

It will take some time, but I suspect you will get used to the machine. In my opinion the nasal pillow mask is the least intrusive. I recommend it as a first try, and even if it requires mouth taping, it is better than a full face mask.

Your machine keeps track of operating hours and you can check it anytime. In general they last 5 years or more.

I would expect once you settle into the treatment that you will be getting a better sleep. I think part of the trick is to focus on getting 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night with no naps during the day. It may not happen from day one, but it is good goal.

Somewhat of a guess at this point, but I suspect you will only be needing a fairly low pressure and it should be quite comfortable and fairly easy to get your mask to seal. On trick however is to not set it up too low. That can give a suffocating feeling while falling asleep on in the night when the machine backs off the pressure.

Best to go into it with a positive attitude and come back here for help and support if issues arise. Everyone's experience is a bit different. My wife loved her machine right away. It took me a while to warm up to it.