Retired kindergarten teacher, cyclist, bead maker, turtle farmer, origami and quilling artist.
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Kate, Maybe you will be one of the lucky ones, like I was. I was able to try several masks at the sleep clinic, and my pick has worked perfectly ever since. I was comfortable with my set up from the start. Good luck to you.
I have a deep cycle 12v marine battery with inverter, and a small solar panel. Battery alone runs small fridge, overhead light, CPAP and charges phones/iPads for 48 hours. Any longer than that, I use the solar panel to recharge the battery.
Humor in the face of adversity-that's all we can do. Thanks for this.
I clean nasal pillow almost daily with warm water and baby shampoo, clean hoses likewise about weekly. I use only warm/hot water on humidifier weekly as well. Has worked well for me, and have not had so much as a sniffle or cold in the 3 years I have been doing this. (Wow, those 3 years flew by!)
Wheresmorpheous, yes, small, thin people can have sleep apnea. After months of cardiac testing, without finding the cause of the problem, a sleep test was ordered. I have mild SA (AHI 8), but it was enough to destroy my concentration and make my heart act up. Treatment has been successful.
Yes, Lochnessie, I have OSA and basically never snore.
Denzel, Treating my apnea (AHI 8) has resulted in better concentration, and heart issues went away. So, treating mild apnea can result in better quality of life.
The headgear on the Swift FX does not seem to stretch. I have used the same headgear at least a year each time before replacing. My problem is that the Velcro strap needs to be shortened for my tiny head. Simple fix, but I can't see why they don't have a shorter strap. I can't be the only small head out there. And, yeah, the vent can make noise against covers, but is only an occasional annoyance. Vent has not clogged up, and all I do is soak/swish in warm soapy water and rinse every week.
I felt like the sleep clinic was responsive and answered all my questions when I was first diagnosed. I had no choice of machine, but the Airsense 10 Auto seems to be highly recommended. I had many mask choices to try, and clinic staff took time to help me make a good choice. I took to therapy easily, and results were good. For over a year the AHI was around .5. Then I started to get some spikes; weeks where AHI was around 4-6. They did not want to talk to me because the average was still below 1. But I wanted to understand why I could have a week like that, 10x what was my normal. Now that I know more, I have new questions. Just because #s are good, I can not get an appointment/answers.
Working just from memory here, as I'm sitting by a warm fire and don't want to go check supply replacement policy. I know for sure the nasal pillow and filter allowance is once per month. I believe humidifiers were every 6 months, as is a regular hose. I think headgear is every 4 months. The pillows do seem to get wonky after about 5 weeks, but the other stuff, not so much. I replaced the humidifier, hose and headgear after 2 years, when AHI went up (from less than .5 to between 3 and 5). That did not solve the problem. Now back down to about 1. It does seem my coverage is far more generous than needed.