Hi all, I'm Angie and professionally, I'm a Registered Nurse, Clinical Educator. Personally, both my parents have or had sleep apnea. Mom passed a year and a half ago in a scooter accident (think "Vespa", not "Rascal".) I've helped them both (and still help Pop) navigate their health challenges. Now I'm pretty sure I have sleep apnea myself and have scheduled my intake appointment with a sleep specialist of my own. Thanks to my experience with my parents and former patients I've worked with, I'm not dreading going on PAP therapy at all. Like most healthcare professionals, I was in denial that I could have a health problem of my own, but now that I'm past that nonsense, I'm kind of looking forward to getting diagnosed and treated so I can sleep better and feel better.
If you're a health-tech-geek like me, skip the myAir app entirely and download (for free!) the SleepyHead program. It reads the card from your PAP machine and gives you a lot more (and very detailed) information.
All it takes is a visit to an online PAP retailer site to see for yourself that there is no difference in price between CPAP and APAP. However, an APAP machine can be programed to be used at a set pressure (like a CPAP) while the CPAP can't be programed to be used as an APAP.
Get more for your money! Get the APAP and if it doesn't work for you, have your doc prescribe a set pressure for it.
Bonus! There is also the newer "For Her" algorithm for APAP that responds sooner to more subtle breathing events than standard APAP. This gives your yet a 3rd. programing option. (You don't have to be a woman to benefit from an APAP algorithm developed to respond to the more the more subtle presentation of sleep apnea typically associated with women's symptoms.)
I didn't try the zQuiet, but I did try a similar device: the Zyppah (for snoring. At the time I was still in denial that I probably have sleep apnea.) My plan was to try the (relatively) inexpensive device and if successful, visit my dentist and invest in a professionally fitted, custom device. The Zyppah was marginally effective in reducing my snoring but it became increasingly uncomfortable to wear. I had read advice that said it would take some time to get used to and was prepared to tough it out but it was getting more and more uncomfortable instead of less and less. When I noticed two of my front teeth were loose, I threw the thing away and GOOD RIDDANCE!
It wasn't all bad. The experience did help me emerge from denial that I (most likely) have sleep apnea. My New Year's resolution is to get a sleep study and begin PAP therapy. Everyone else must have the same resolution. The sleep clinic couldn't get me in with one of their docs until March but at least I got it booked. I'm looking forward to sleeping better in the spring.
