Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
DAA
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:56 am

Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by DAA » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:02 am

I have used a CPAP for app. 10-12 years. Recently had a new sleep study. It was determined that my oxygen level at night is low enough to warrant using a concentrator. I am hopeful this will reduce my fatigue and motivation during the day. I am a 50 year old guy, and would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has seen benefits, as well as what I can expect. Many thanks.

Sleeprider
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Location: Murrysville, PA

Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by Sleeprider » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:11 am

Supplemental oxygen is a good approach to solving a low SpO2 level, but it might be good to dig deeper and find out what kind of events cause this. If you have central apnea that results in you not breathing, or adequately breathing while asleep, then an alternative approach might be an adaptive servo ventilator, a type of CPAP that times and measures your respiration, and can initiate breaths for you. The first step is to get detailed results of the sleep study, and see if the problem is just respiratory inefficiency, or if perhaps you have complex or central sleep apnea. The latter would be treatable with a better machine. If you have a problem like COPD then oxygen is conventional therapy. Without knowing more health history and seeing current CPAP therapy results, it's hard to say, but if you don't require supplemental oxygen during the day, you might just need a different XPAP therapy at night.

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DAA
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Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:56 am

Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by DAA » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:25 am

Thanks for the reply. I am hopeful this is short term, and that it will reenergize me to become more active thus dropping some lbs. Still in the educating myself mode. A bit frustrated with my Doc as I found out oxygen was needed, as well as being delivered thru the healthcare product supplier. It looks like the concentrator will be "tapped into" the CPAP from what I have saw online.

Sleeprider
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Location: Murrysville, PA

Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by Sleeprider » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:41 am

Since low oxygen is a concern, you might want to ask your doctor for a script to buy an oximeter to monitor oxygen levels. The following oximeters record data that can be read with the Sleepyhead software, and if your CPAP also records data, you can see the results side-by-side:

Contec CMS50D+/E/F/I oximeters,
ResMed S9's oximeter attachment
ChoiceMMed MD300W1 oximeter

If you want more oximeter information, I'm not your guy. It would help if you would complete your user profile and include the CPAP equipment you use. Just go to your user control panel and fill out the profile information: ucp.php

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Machine: AirCurve™ 10 VAuto BiLevel Machine with HumidAir™ Heated Humidifier
Mask: AirFit™ P10 Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Headgear
Additional Comments: Sleepyhead software. Just changed from PRS1 BiPAP Auto DS760TS

DAA
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Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:56 am

Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by DAA » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:48 am

Good info. Thanks again!

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palerider
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Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by palerider » Fri Jan 23, 2015 9:50 am

Sleeprider wrote:ask your doctor for a script to buy an oximeter
why? oximeters aren't a prescription item.

that's like asking for a script to buy cotton balls....

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Sleeprider
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Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by Sleeprider » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:36 am

palerider wrote:
Sleeprider wrote:ask your doctor for a script to buy an oximeter
why? oximeters aren't a prescription item.

that's like asking for a script to buy cotton balls....
As I said...when it comes to oximeters, I'm not your guy!

However, I thought if it was prescribed or recommended by a doc, it might be a covered expense.

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palerider
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Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by palerider » Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:31 am

Sleeprider wrote:
palerider wrote:
Sleeprider wrote:ask your doctor for a script to buy an oximeter
why? oximeters aren't a prescription item.

that's like asking for a script to buy cotton balls....
As I said...when it comes to oximeters, I'm not your guy!

However, I thought if it was prescribed or recommended by a doc, it might be a covered expense.
that'd be up to the insurance company.

however, you can get a GREAT one (the cms50i) from aliexpress for under 100$, no doctor visit expense, or hassle dealing with the insurance company.

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Mask: Bleep DreamPort CPAP Mask Solution
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Get OSCAR

Accounts to put on the foe list: dataq1, clownbell, gearchange, lynninnj, mper!?, DreamDiver, Geer1, almostadoctor, sleepgeek, ajack, stom, mogy, D.H., They often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

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TangledHose
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Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by TangledHose » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:25 pm

DAA wrote:I have used a CPAP for app. 10-12 years. Recently had a new sleep study. It was determined that my oxygen level at night is low enough to warrant using a concentrator. I am hopeful this will reduce my fatigue and motivation during the day. I am a 50 year old guy, and would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has seen benefits, as well as what I can expect. Many thanks.
It is a good idea to pick up one of the Pulse Ox monitors that have been mentioned above. I have always used an O2 concentrator in-line with my PAP therapy since the beginning, but occasionally I will run a test with the overnight pulse ox monitor and do one night with the O2 and CPAP, then another night with just the CPAP and then I can compare the results. I can see a definite benefit for me with the O2 -- my baseline and desats are much better with 2 liters of the O2 flowing in the system. I don't have any under- lying respiratory condition, it's just that ever since my first sleep study the numbers indicated that the O2 would be beneficial for me.

I got tired of dealing with my DME and renting their archaic, clunky, noisy concentrator, so I looked around the internet for the best pricing and picked up a Philips EverFlo Q with a five year warranty. My machine is smaller, and quieter than the beast that the DME had me renting. Hopefully you'll luck out and get a good machine from your DME.

Many people on this board that use the concentrators have them placed in an adjacent room because they can be fairly noisy and have a periodic "Thump" sound that is annoying, so be sure to get your DME to give you a fifty foot hose, or something long enough that you can run the machine in the other room if you need to. I got used to wearing the little yellow foam ear plugs at night and my machine is not as loud as some so I have it in my bedroom, which is more convenient. The proper procedure is to start the cpap first so there is air flowing in the cpap before turning on the O2 concentrator so you don't get an Oxygen build up in the machine before turning it on.......possible fire hazard if there is ever an electrical short when you switch on the cpap, although I think that would be very rare these days with modern electrical switching, but a good procedure non-the-less. If you have the machine in the other room what you could do is switch the cpap on in the "Warm-Up" mode so there is some airflow in the cpap, that gives you time to go switch on the concentrator if you have it in another room for instance.

It's a bit of a hassle, and adjustment to your routine, but I feel like I don't have as much "Brain Fog" in the mornings when I get up and I think that is both the CPAP, but also the Oxygen makes a difference too.

Good Luck...........and here's to hoping you get a newer, decent model concentrator from your DME!

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archangle
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Re: Long time CPAP user. Doc just ordered a concentrator for me.

Post by archangle » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:55 am

DAA wrote:I have used a CPAP for app. 10-12 years. Recently had a new sleep study. It was determined that my oxygen level at night is low enough to warrant using a concentrator. I am hopeful this will reduce my fatigue and motivation during the day. I am a 50 year old guy, and would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has seen benefits, as well as what I can expect. Many thanks.
Welcome DAA. Please fill in the equipment on your profile. There is a link on how to do it on my signature line below.

If you need help figuring out what machine you have, tell us EVERYTHING it says on the top panel of your CPAP machine near the controls. Be sure to remove the water tank if you move the machine around.

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