Sierra

The Essentials tab is in the Clinician Menu. Hold down both the round knob and the Home key at the bottom for 3 seconds minimum at the same time. That will put you in the Clinician Menu. Scroll down to the Essentials item under Options, then push the round button and select Plus instead of On. You may have to rotate the round knob to switch from one option to the other, then push it to select it. When you return to the standard patient menu you should now be able to see the additional sleep report details. You will also get access to a few extra settings from the Patient Menu.

"by enabling Essentials Plus you can allow highly engaged patients to access additional features for control over more of their therapy settings, including changing their mask type, EPR (if available), SmartStart and Run Warmup (if water tub available)."

If the municipal water supplier is doing their job, there will be no bacteria in the water. They typically chlorinate it to kill all bacteria, and then leave a residual chloramine in the water to prevent any bacteria growth. Bottled water is probably nearly as good, but the risk might be slightly higher, because bottled water suppliers often filter out the chlorine and chloramine with activated carbon filters. They USUALLY replace the chorines with ozone to prevent bacterial contamination, but not always. Tap water from a reliable municipal water supplier is almost always the safest. There is no good reason to use bottled water over tap water, but if you do, check the label to ensure they have ozone, chlorine, or chloramine in it to prevent contamination.

That is a good point. I wonder where this device was bought, and if it was setup properly. If I go into the menu, and right near the bottom under the "About" heading there is a Provider, Type, Service setting. Mine is set to Telus (a Canadian wireless provider), 3G, and 10 (no idea what that means). These machines have a communication port right below the SD card slot. I wonder if they have to be set up at a more basic level than can be done with the Clinical Menu. Perhaps it was never set up to use a Canadian wireless provider, only US...

"I'm trying to find out if the machine can only function as a BiPAP or also as a CPAP. Does anyone know for sure?"

To get back to your original question these steps should tell you for sure:

1. Plug in your machine to power it up.

2. Rotate the round knob until the Setup or wrench icon is highlighted.

3. Hold the round button down and at the same time the ramp button a little below and to the right. Hold them both for more than 5 seconds until you hear a quick double beep. The Provider screen should appear.

4. Rotate the round knob again until the Setup or wrench icon is highlighted. Press the knob to bring up the Provider Setup menu.

5. The first item on the list should be the Mode. Rotate the knob to highlight the Mode line, and take note of what mode it is in. The manual is not totally clear on how to select options, but assuming it is similar to ResMed, you would press the button while the Mode line is highlighted, and it should either rotate through the various options, or bring up a list that you can select from by rotating the knob. Check to see if one of the options is CPAP. It it is there then your basic question is answered. If you want to make it operate like a CPAP press the knob again to select it.

6. Rotate the knob to bring up the last option which should be Back which you would select to return to the Provider Menu. Rotate the know to highlight Exit, and then select that. That should take you right back out to the Patient menu. Then you can power down the machine.

Hope that works in definitely answering your question. And, like I posted before, even if you don't have the CPAP option, you should still be able to simulate that mode by using the BiLevel Mode.

There really is not all that much difference between a Bi-PAP and an CPAP in how it operates. With a Bi-PAP you are typically prescribed and set a EPAP (exhale) pressure. Then there is a Pressure Support setting. That is the amount of pressure you get extra on Inhale or IPAP. So for example if your EPAP pressure is set at 15 cm and Pressure Support at 3 cm you would have 18 cm on inhale and 15 cm on exhale. In the CPAP world (ResMed terms) you could get essentially the same thing if you set Pressure (which is really IPAP) at 18 cm, and then set the EPR at 3 cm. The end result is the same. 18 cm on inhale, and 15 cm on exhale.

The fundamental difference between a BiPAP and CPAP however is that while a CPAP is limited to 3 cm of EPR, the BiPAP can go higher in the split between EPAP and IPAP to as much as 10 cm. Also the maximum IPAP pressure that the machine is capable of is higher at 25 cm instead of the CPAP limit of 20 cm. There are also some more subtle features at least in the ResMed models which allow adjustment of how the machines decides to switch from IPAP to EPAP and back. The basic purpose of the Bi-PAP is to provide more breathing assistance than a standard CPAP can provide. That should not mean that you cannot dumb down the settings of a Bi-PAP to make it behave like a standard CPAP.

If your machine does not support a true fixed pressure CPAP mode, I'm sure it can be still set up to provide essentially the same thing. You would just set the minimum and maximum pressure limits to the same value or if forced to with a 0.2 cm difference -- which is essentially zero. I rather doubt you need a new machine. It just needs to be setup properly. That Provider Guide that I gave you a link to should allow you to do that. If you need help, post again, and I will have a closer look at the guide and let you know how I would set it up.

I don't use the ResMed software or their site, so I can't help you there.

On SleepyHead I know it is a beta version, and has a few minor bugs, but nothing I am aware of that is serious. I just helped a friend download it from the site below and it worked fine on his laptop. The 1.0.0-Beta-2 version is what I use and is the current one available for download. It should work on Windows XL. I used the Sleepfiles.com USA download mirror site.

SleepyHead Download

The symptoms you are having with getting summary data only, suggests some issues with your data card. If the CPAP cannot write to the data card it only saves summary data. Make sure the data card is fully inserted in the ResMed machine, and the card is unlocked. You should see a message on the ResMed pop up briefly when you insert it showing the card is being prepared for use. Then when you put the card in your computer so SleepyHead can read it, make sure it is in the locked position. Some users apparently have trouble with the computer writing to the card and that messing up the formatting of the card.

Hope that helps some

I forgot to mention a couple of other things I do to try and keep in the mask in place when I sleep. I was using a memory foam orthopedic pillow, but found it was too firm and when I side sleep it would dislodge the mask due to the pillow pushing back. I switched to a softer down alternative pillow ($18 a pair at Costco). And I found an old satin pillow case to make it easier for my head to slide around without dislodging the mask and straps. My next purchase is going to be a Rest & Renew Satin Pillow Protector from Bed Bath and Beyond ($10 in Canada, $8 in US). They are sold to help keep your hairdo in place when you sleep. I just want to keep my CPAP mask in place! Hope that helps some...

Yes, I believe you are correct. It sounds like your BiPAP is set to an EPAP of 11 cm, with 3 cm of Pressure Support. That is essentially the same as a ResMed APAP set to 14 cm of pressure with 3 cm of EPR.

I would think through the pros and cons of a travel CPAP though. We have a Z-1 that goes unused. The new AirSense full APAP 10 has a nice travel bag that is fairly compact, and it has two velcro straps on it that will secure it to a roller travel suitcase that has a two pipe extension handle. And, a CPAP is a medical device, so it does not count as an additional item or weight to your standard travel allowance.

I found this statement in the user manual for the machine:

"Available Therapies The BiPAP Auto Bi-Flex device delivers the following therapies: • Bi-level – Provides one level of output pressure during EPAP (Expiratory Positive Airway Pressure) and a second higher level during IPAP (Inspiratory Positive Airway Pressure). • Bi-level with Bi-Flex – Bi-level therapy with pressure relief upon exhalation to improve patient comfort based on patient needs. • Auto Bi-level – Delivers spontaneous Bi-level therapy while automatically adjusting EPAP and IPAP levels to meet the patient’s needs. • Auto Bi-level with Bi-Flex – Auto Bi-level therapy with pressure relief upon exhalation to improve patient comfort based on patient needs. The following therapy modes may also be available: • CPAP – Delivers Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; CPAP maintains a constant level of pressure throughout the breathing cycle. • CPAP with C-Flex – Delivers CPAP therapy with pressure relief upon exhalation to improve patient comfort based on patient needs."

It sounds like there may or may not be an option for CPAP. A true CPAP runs at a single fixed pressure. Are you sure that is what you want. The other option is an Auto CPAP or APAP. With that the pressure is adjusted to suit your pressure needs from minute to minute. In Auto Bi-Level mode it should operate similar to a APAP.

The link below is to the Provider Manual. If you go into the provider menu you should be able to see what modes your machine supports.

BiPAP Auto Bi-Flex PROVIDER GUIDE

I think the Brita filters are just activated carbon and do not remove dissolved minerals. It would be no improvement over tap water. There is another water purification device called Zero Water that does remove dissolved minerals that would be good to use. However, for just a visit or holiday I would not be bothered with the expense of getting one. Some bottled water may be RO water. I have seen it in some south vacation destinations like Mexico.