I was diagnosed with sleep apnea by an ENT, whom I do not want to see again. I have decided he is a rip off, and the office won't answer the phone anyway. The third party he sent me to had me buy the machine in 3 payments, so now I own it.
The way the ResMed site and they explained it to me was, that as a user, I have little control over the machine. It is set up to send data to them via cell tower and they are able to adjust the pressure range. I don't seem to have control over the settings.
My question is, how can I get control over the settings? I want to lower the maximum pressure it rises to and raise the minimum it starts from. I'd also like to set it up to send data to my wireless router, and I'd like to view the results myself.
Is there a manual from the "care provider's" perspective rather than a "patient's?" Or does anyone know how to accomplish these things?
I see CPAP machines are sold all over the internet privately, with no "care provider" involved, so there must be a way.
Hi KindJadeMoose5661. I'm sorry to hear you have had such issues with your ENT. Is the third party company able to assist at all with your questions? Unfortunately, we cannot provide information on changing your machine settings. The machines are regulated by the FDA and require a prescription to dispense and set the pressures(much like a medication), although many users have figured out how to change their settings. If you do adjust your machine, please be careful to have your data monitored, as pressures that are too low may cause sleep apnea to remain untreated, and pressures that are too high can cause other problems.
As for sending the data to your wireless router, I am not aware that it is possible with any machine to send the data directly to yourself. Some manufacturers provide applications and websites that provide some information from your machine for models that are capable. ResMed, for example, provides the myAir app. Many users like the Sleepyhead application that allows them to directly download data from their machine's data card and then view detailed reports. There is quite a bit of information posted here on the Forum about Sleepyhead, and a quick search of the Forum and of the internet should provide some information. Hope this helps!
I monitor the effectiveness of therapy on my computer by logging into the Resmed site after setting up an account:
I don't use an app. The information provided is adequate in that it tells you how long you slept, how often you removed your mask, AHIs and quantifies mask seal. Not sure what the "sleepyhead" software tells you. I also have an inexpensive blood oxymeter that records data and allows me to see how my blood oxygen level is through the night. Fits like a watch and there is a small pad that fits over the end of my finger for picking up this info. Also measures pulse rate. It connects to my computer via USB for download and the device comes with software that allows storage of files and display of these files.
I don't know how your insurance works but my primary care physician had to write my prescription for my Resmed machine. This was determined after a sleep study. How did your machine get prescribed and by whom? That is who you should talk with about varying the settings and if that is actually needed or some other thing is causing your dissatisfaction with the therapy. Resmed can't change the settings on your machine through a cell tower. The machine has to be changed by the equipment place after receiving a prescription.
Using pressure settings that are inappropriate can be detrimental to a person's health. This is why these settings and pressures are set up per a doctor's prescription. Do you call folks who give advice beyond their scope of education or training broad minded? I pay doctor's to provide reasoned and reasonable medical advice and direction and if I don't trust this direction, I find another doctor but never feel I have the personal smarts to be my own doctor. I don't have a medical degree.
For pure CPAP and BiPap the settings by your ENT are the smart ones. If however they let you use an AutoPap/Autoset which my ENT did, then the machine basically sets itself to whatever is needed during the night. You really only set the range eg between 5 and 16 and it does the rest.
I bought my Airsense 10 in the US earlier this year and used it for a month there. Whilst it was sending the details back to Resmed there was no suggestion that it was being adjusted or set by them. I am surprised to hear that is even possible. I am a bit sceptical that they are remote controlling your machine. Big Brother is definitely watching, that is I did note that I could not turn off the transmitter so Resmed would get the data whilst I was in the US. Here in Australia the machine is not sending out anything to Resmed because the phone system is not CDMA. I would not be fussed if it did but they definitely do not control the settings here in Australia.
My machine provider in the US showed me how to set the ResMed machine (you can always convert an Autoset to a CPAP and the ranges). I doubt the machine is being re-set by Resmed, but if it is I reckon you can set it yourself anyway.
Google how to go into clinical settings on your machine. It is incredibly easy as are the adjustments. I just got my Resmed Airsense 10 autoset APAP and found I can run far lower pressure than my sleep test with less leakage, mask not painfully tight and events down to one per hour. The notion that many people cannot do this for yourself and that you even need a prescription to replace a mask is great disservice by the medical community designed to bring in revenue. It is not rocket science. I have to be suspicious why my doc didn't recommend the APAP vs CPAP initially. If your results are fantastic, that speaks for itself and you don't need the doc to tell you 1 event per hour is great. I highly recommend the free sleepyhead data interpretation software. It tells you very clearly how you are doing and what might need to be adjusted.
