Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Footballgirl2013

Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by Footballgirl2013 » Mon Jan 26, 2015 10:36 pm

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea in June 2011. But my insurance at the time (MISP) didn't allow the sleep technician to fit any one with any other size than med for the 2nd half of the sleep study. I have a small face and nose and so I had leaks. And I hated that horrible TrueBlue mask. Being new to CPAP this sleep tech was anything but understanding. She said 'We don't supply anyone taking a sleep study with a size small mask"> I said "What if the person has leaks then when and you get a wrong reading of a higher pressure which is a false positive since the mask didn't fit right? She said "Then we order a smaller mask" . I said, how do you do the sleep test over again to get the right pressure? No was her answer. So guess what I did? She told me my pressure was 19. Wrong . I couldn't breathe out at all. No way. I knew that was way too high. I didn't use that Respironics System One (2011) for TWO YEARS!

In 2013, I got new insurance due to the Affordable Care Act and was able to talk to a new sleep technician ad told her that I had a sleep study that said I had sleep apnea, but they never really got the right pressure for me since I had the wrong size mask for the home sleep test. So, she told me about the WISP mask by respironics. I loved it. At first. But something else went wrong -again this time around. See, if you are new to CPAP, it doesn't matter how small the mask is. I got a size petite - but I didn't fall asleep with the mask on! If you don't fall asleep- they can't titrate you! So what happened? The lady called me and I told her that I didn't fall asleep. She was shocked, couldn't believe it. I told her "look lady, I'm new to CPAP, so give me a break about not falling asleep with the darn thing on my head. She told me "Well, I guess I'll have to GUESS what your pressure should be! Guess? Hello?. So she said "9". But by this time I had the same machine and I knew how to change the pressure settings myself. I had to. WHy? 19 was way too high and I didn't want to wait 2 months for some doctor to change the settings - when you have county insurance it can take that long to see a specialist. I didn't have time. I was tired all the time and I was depressed all the time and I had no energy. So I just said 'Okay, she said 9" and I first changed my machine from 19 to 7 to get used to sleeping with the darn thing on my face. I'm a light sleeper and I can't stand anything touching my face and I need silence in my room. Any noise will wake me up. So it took me about a month to get used to the feel of the mask on my face. By August 2013 I was using my CPAP nightly trying to fit the right pressure. I'd go up from 8 to 9 and then I'd get horrible nose issues like sinus problems and once I went back down to 7, the sinus issues went away. I did this up/down from 7 to 9 for a good year. Off and on again sinus issues. I began to hate the thing that I once loved. I loved in by Aug 2013 since I was beginning to feel more energy. I hated it by Aug 2013 since I was having sinus issues. At least the mask was good and I had a petite size nasal mask. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't be able to use it.

In Oct 2014 I asked for another sleep study at a real sleep center. My first half confirmed sleep apnea. My second half done in Dec 2014 said I need a pressure titrated to use 15/11. I knew 19 was too high. And I pretty much understood no one can breathe out against 19 pressure. that's just silly. I don't have a Bipap - yet. I just went to my doctor in Jan 2015 to ask for a Bipap machine. I feel so much better using my CPAP, but I'm sure getting the pressure right will help me more.

Since I really began using CPAP in June 2013 I consider myself "new" to it, but I get all of the issues. I experience them all I think -except I have no partner. I have been looking for work like crazy since 2012 and I guess I let my machine "go". I didn't know how to keep it clean since no one told me to. I also still don't have the proper filter for my machine. I consider a 2011 "old" since it is 2015 now. I cleaned my machine around Dec 2013 (6 months after using it) and then again around March 2014 (3 months later) then in June 2014 (3 months later). Then I found part time employment in July and worked nights. I slept days and was tired all the freaking time. October 2014 cleaned, again 3 months later. I was hired again in Nov and I worked fulltime and worker further away from home and I only had about 2 hours of free time at home. I thought I was tired working nights. I didn't do anything except sleep and work. I didn't clean my machine out (the heated water basin for humidity) until Jan 2015. I seem to keep on forgetting how important it is to keep my machine up and clean.

I just found out I need to wash out the tubing once a week? I'm not sure if I need to use soap or just run it under warm water from the sink? The other night I rinses the hose and it was 7am. I hung it up on the lamp and didn't connect it to my machine. By the time I went to bed at 10pm the hose was still wet inside.
Q1. Is it supposed to be like this? I cleaned out the humidity chamber with the water and I noticed this orange film in it.
Q2. Is this due to it being just plain OLD or just dirty and I need to clean the darn thing more often?

The last thing is the headgear. I used to love this WISP Headgear. NOt sure what the heck happened. May be it just streches too much after 3 months of use? But on the models the strap on the bottom shows that is goes an inch below the ear and the male models do not seem to have much of an ear lobe. I do have ear lobes and the strap on the bottom goes OVER my ears. It used to go over the top area of my ears. Now it tried to go under my ears and that is horribly uncomfortable. I try to push down my headgear to where the lower strap is lower on my face so the lower strap will be about an inch below my ear lobes. I used to have no problem with this until Christmas 2014. Now my ears hurt all the time. Since Dec 2014 was when I found out what pressure I needed - that is when I changed my CPAP pressure. I have been using a pressure of 9 or 10 since summer 2014 and it seemed okay. I was told from the sleep tech that since I have a CPAP machine, I need to set it to 11, not to 15. 15 is only for exhale. So I changed it to 11 and noticed my ears started to hurt. I'm wondering if my ears are lower on my head than everyone else's?? Crazy huh? Why would the male model have perfectly fitted lower strap that is an inch below his ears? (Rhetorical question, don't need to answer that).
Q3. Is this something common with higher pressures? Can moving from 10 to 11 make that much of a difference? It feels like their is lotion stuck in my ears and I clean them out with peroxide and they still feel "full". Only since moving it up to 11.

Q4. And does anyone know of a mask similar to the WISP mask - one that has minimal face contact that is not a nasal pillow? The reason I ask is due to the squeaking upon exhale with the nasal pillows. I was given one "to try out" during my sleep study in the sleep center and I told them I had my own mask and I like it - but I tried it anyway and I LOVED how the nasal pillow felt on my nose. But as soon as I began to relax the darn thing started to make horrible hissing sounds. I pulled the thing out of my nose so I could get a better fit. It was already 12am and I needed to get some sleep. I didn't want to "try" to go to a higher size pillow. I had ex small in my nose - so may be it was too small? Anyway - I pulled the stupid thing out of my nose and took the oxy thing off of my finger so the tech knew to come in. I said "I can't sleep with that thing making noise like that, do you know that sucker makes noise each and every time I exhale?" She looked at me like I was from Mars. I'd like to try a Swift FX of the Nauce Gel mask, but I don't know if they make noise upon exhale. It is very important that I have complete silence when I sleep, any squeak will wake me up.
Q5. I need a good fit, a headgear that doesn't move at night. I'm a female and I have shoulder length hair if that helps at all. I'm thinking that the headgear fits differently on men than it does on females. I'm sure hair makes a HUGE difference in the fit. I'm not sure why these places don't use female models.

(I don't open my mouth when sleeping - the sleep tech didn't find any evidence of that in my report. But I do know one thing. I'm claustrophobic and I can't wear a FFM> I'd pull that thing off in a second. That is what I did with that TrueBlue mask. Make me feel like a freaking astronaut in a space station instead of going to sleep in a bed).

BrooklynCPAPer
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by BrooklynCPAPer » Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:54 am

The instructions for cleaning and caring for your machine are found in the user guide. If you don't have the original, you can probably find a copy online. You should be emptying the humidifier chamber daily and once per week cleaning it with either a white vinegar solution or mild soap (like baby shampoo). The daily process takes seconds and the weekly process at most 30 minutes (assuming you let the vinegar solution sit in the chamber while you tend to other things). You should also use distilled water (others will disagree on this but a one gallon jug lasts me about 9 days so the cost is minimal)

Your hose does not need to be completely dry inside before reattaching it to the machine but if you use anything like a ClimateLine hose with an electronic sensor on one end, the electronic connection part should be completely dry before plugging it into the machine.

I can't speak to anything about your studies, pressures, or mask fittings but when it comes to things like maintenance of your machine, you will need to take ownership of that as you have complete control over that aspect of your care.

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RogerSC
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by RogerSC » Tue Jan 27, 2015 2:48 am

If you would tell us what kind of machine that you have (model and so on), that would be really helpful...for cleaning, warm water and a dish detergent with no additives is what you're looking for in general. The 10% vinegar solution (just white vinegar and water) is good for getting mineral deposits off the humidifier tank, etc., but you don't have to use that regularly, just as needed. As the other poster said, it's all in your user's guide. Generally speaking, user guides can be easily downloaded on the internet...the clinical guides that tell you how to do your own settings and how to interpret your sleep data are a different story, but you can get those, too.

The hose doesn't have to be entirely dry by the time that you use it...air drying until bedtime after washing in the morning should be good enough. Some of us have warm air dryers that stay below the maximum temperature that you're supposed to use, and actually will get everything dry in a 1/2 hour or so, but those of us are few *smile*. Most people either wash their hoses fairly rarely, or put up with the amount of moisture (not much) that's there after a day's air drying. You'll notice that your cpap blows about an extra 20-30 minutes after you're done with it in the morning, which helps to keep the hose and mask dry on a daily basis. I've found that if I dump the distilled water out of my humidifier tank as completely as I can in the morning, the tank will dry at some point during the day, well before I need it again. Having the tank dry for some period of time every day is helpful around here in mold/mildew city (near the ocean).

And I wipe the nasal pillows on my mask every night with a soft, moist cloth, and the dry them with part of the same cloth before I use my mask, which gets the skin oils off and gives me better "traction" for the night.

One more comment, I'm also a very light sleeper and getting the point where I could sleep with the mask and gear and all was a trial for me, too. I do use earplugs, or I wouldn't get any sleep...with earplugs, I just hear my own breathing in my ears, which is kind of soothing, I guess. Anyways, I can get used to that. The other thing that I did was to use Ambien for the first week to get used to sleeping with all that stuff on my head and the cpap machine and all, then stopped using the Ambien after a week, and I found that I could sleep okay after that. That turned out to be a good way for me to transition into sleeping with cpap.

Sorry that this ended up being so long, but you had a bunch of questions, and I'd like to help you and encourage you to stay with it and get some sleep *smile*. Take care.

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archangle
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by archangle » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:33 am

Please sign up for an ID and list your equipment in your profile. There's a link in my signature line below to help tell you how to do this.

We need to know which PRS1 machine you have. It should say "REMstar something" near the display. Tell us what it says, or take the water tank out so you don't spill water, and look for a label on the bottom of the blower unit that contains something like 450 REF. Tell us what that says.

I think the manufacturers say to clean everything daily, at least a cursory clean. Many of us do it once a week or so. I clean everything pretty thoroughly once a week.

You can open up the PRS1 tank and dishwash it. For one time cleaning to get rid of the film, you can use a vinegar solution. Some people have used soapy water with rice or rock salt in it and shaken vigorously to scrub the inside parts. Don't leave the salt in the tank for long or mix salt and vinegar.

If at all possible, use distilled water instead of tap water in the water tank. If you have to use tap water, you'll have to empty and rinse the tank every day. Clean with regular tap water.

You can also buy replacement water tanks and hoses online fairly cheaply at our host, cpap.com, and other places. Most insurance will replace them every 6 months or so, but it may be cheaper online. It's good to have a spare and I like to wash one set of parts and switch to my backup set after my weekly cleaning. That way, everything can dry out for a week. Spare masks are good to have, too. Insurance usually will pay for them every 6 months or so.

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Humidifier: S9™ Series H5i™ Heated Humidifier with Climate Control
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herefishy
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by herefishy » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:21 am

You might also consider going without your humidifier. Not knowing where you live, but it is an option. That takes away the care of your humidifier tank.

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Footballgirl2013

Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by Footballgirl2013 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 12:53 pm

BrooklynCPAPer wrote:The instructions for cleaning and caring for your machine are found in the user guide. If you don't have the original, you can probably find a copy online. You should be emptying the humidifier chamber daily and once per week cleaning it with either a white vinegar solution or mild soap (like baby shampoo). The daily process takes seconds and the weekly process at most 30 minutes (assuming you let the vinegar solution sit in the chamber while you tend to other things). You should also use distilled water (others will disagree on this but a one gallon jug lasts me about 9 days so the cost is minimal)
Ek? You mean If I pour 50% water into the chamber and the next morning there is still 25% water in the chamber, I should just dumb it out and waste my hard earned income of only $70 a month? I learned sometime in early 2014 that I need to use distilled water and NEVER to put in tap water. I used to put tap water in it since I don't have to use my own money for the tap water.

I purchase distilled water from the store (a gallon) I don't know how often. May be go through a gallon a month, may be a gallon in 3 weeks. I'm on a limited income (No, not SSI or Social Security). I only get about $70 a month and looking for work like crazy. From what you say you go through a gallon in 9 days! WOW. Jesus Christ Superstar. I guess I need to now waste the water I'm putting in and dumb out the water in the morning. I hate wasting the water. When you get $70 a month, I think others would understand.

Footballgirl2013

Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by Footballgirl2013 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 1:09 pm

RogerSC wrote:If you would tell us what kind of machine that you have (model and so on), that would be really helpful...for cleaning, warm water and a dish detergent with no additives is what you're looking for in general. The 10% vinegar solution (just white vinegar and water) is good for getting mineral deposits off the humidifier tank, etc., but you don't have to use that regularly, just as needed. As the other poster said, it's all in your user's guide. Generally speaking, user guides can be easily downloaded on the internet...the clinical guides that tell you how to do your own settings and how to interpret your sleep data are a different story, but you can get those, too.

And I wipe the nasal pillows on my mask every night with a soft, moist cloth, and the dry them with part of the same cloth before I use my mask, which gets the skin oils off and gives me better "traction" for the night.

Sorry that this ended up being so long, but you had a bunch of questions, and I'd like to help you and encourage you to stay with it and get some sleep *smile*. Take care.
it's nice to know that others are light sleepers and had issues getting use to CPAP for the same reason. Um, do you think insurance companies will pay for the supplies to clean the machine - such as those soft moist cloths you use for your nasal pillows? Or will any old washcloth do with warm water? I don't want to make that plastic or silicone wear out faster by using water and soap on the nasal part.

I'm sorry - I though I mentioned the kind of machine I had. I have a 2011 RemStar - System One from Respironics. I looked at the bottom of the machine and I can't find anything that says "Model number". I DID find many "numbers" on the bottom, but I'm not sure if those numbers are serial numbers, model numbers or what. Also: My machine does NOT come with that A-Flex option. It has a ramp where I can set the ramp to start at 4 or 7 or 10 or whatever. But I know how to change the "real" settings when I used it, not only when I need the ramp changed.

Good thing you mentioned 10% vinegar. I was told to use vinegar and about 3 months ago I poured 100% vinegar into the water chamber and didn't dilute it and my doctor told me to make sure it doesn't smell like vinegar when I use it at night. Now I know dilute it with water. If I do this cleaning once every 4 weeks, I'm hoping that the orange deposits stop. I've seen them before around September. I actually saw floating things in the water chamber. And I guess I'll spend around $4 a month on distilled water instead of $2.

I wonder - since I seem to get sinus issues pretty much regularly (once every 3 or 4 months) I'm thinking that these floating things could be causing me sinus issues. But I cleaned out my water chamber last night and the water is clean. Looks good.
I hope I get a new machine. This one is so old and the insurance company used a supplier that must not have understood what kind of machine it was. I asked for filers and they send me wrong filters that didn't go into my machine and if they DO go in, they didn't explain to me where they need to go. I only see one black filer on the outside back.

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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by Sleeprider » Tue Jan 27, 2015 1:18 pm

Behind the black foam filter is a fine filter. It starts off white, but remove the black foam filter, rinse it out well and see if you find a paper filter that needs replacement.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Jan 27, 2015 1:20 pm

I usually don't dump out the leftover distilled water. When I wash the tank,
I try to get it very clean with unscented (or lightly scented) dish detergent and hot water.
I do always look inside the tank, and dump/clean like crazy if there is any foreign material
in there or if it smells "off". When the ambient humidity is high, I don't fill the tank all the way.
That orange gunk is not good. Wash it out!

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archangle
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by archangle » Tue Jan 27, 2015 1:58 pm

Footballgirl2013 wrote:Ek? You mean If I pour 50% water into the chamber and the next morning there is still 25% water in the chamber, I should just dumb it out and waste my hard earned income of only $70 a month? I learned sometime in early 2014 that I need to use distilled water and NEVER to put in tap water. I used to put tap water in it since I don't have to use my own money for the tap water.
Many of us don't dump distilled water every morning, but it's important to dump the water every morning if you use tap water.

When my tank gets close to empty, it tends to stink and wake me up. If there's just a little water left, I'll go ahead and dump it.

Pure vinegar probably won't do any harm, but use the 10% solution.

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BrooklynCPAPer
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by BrooklynCPAPer » Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:44 pm

My apartment in Brooklyn tends to get very dry so I go through nearly a full tank nightly anyway. When summer gets here, that may change. I'm most comfortable putting in fresh water daily so I'll continue to do so. People on here are giving you some very good input that they don't have the experience of needing/wanting to change the water daily and we all live in different parts of the country with different humidity levels.

Good luck with your treatment.

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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by library lady » Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:57 pm

You mentioned the headgear straps, to which no one has yet responded. The straps do tend to stretch out over time and it's a good idea to replace it periodically. All of your equipment should be replaced periodically.. the water tank when a film that can develop over the surface can't be washed away, which is why it's a good idea to empty and clean the tank on a regular basis if not daily.. once a week, perhaps. Washing the hose regularly will prevent orange, yellow or green stuff from appearing, you really don't ever want the air you breathe at night to pass by that stuff. Even your cushions should be replaced periodically, as they do lose the ability to seal the air in... not as often as the tank. My cushion tends to get a bit smelly if I've had a cold/cough, or if I neglect to wash it every week and let it go too long.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:05 pm

Medicare and many insurance plans allow for new headgear every six months.
Don't be surprised if that is not often enough, especially if you have high pressures.

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footballgirl13
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by footballgirl13 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:32 pm

archangle wrote:Please sign up for an ID and list your equipment in your profile. There's a link in my signature line below to help tell you how to do this.


You can also buy replacement water tanks and hoses online fairly cheaply at our host, cpap.com, and other places. Most insurance will replace them every 6 months or so, but it may be cheaper online. It's good to have a spare and I like to wash one set of parts and switch to my backup set after my weekly cleaning. That way, everything can dry out for a week. Spare masks are good to have, too. Insurance usually will pay for them every 6 months or so.

Okay, I did that. I filled out all info. But the website does not list my specific machine since my machine is so freaking OLD. I don't think I have that PR System One "60" thing. I don't see anything that says "60" on it. I see "P150". I may need to call PR and ask them what year this machine was made and inform that I got it in 2011. I had horrible insurance that only did the basis stuff. I couldn't even get a pap smear for free- they wanted me to pay for it with MISP insurance. Now I have real Medi-cal (same thing as Medi-caid) and I get real stuff and I'm HOPING I get a Bipap machine. Since I was finally titrated in Dec 2014 to 15/11.

I'm wondering if my insurance will cover the cleaning supplies for me? Do you think a wet washcloth with some bar soap will work just as good since my mom has washcloths and we have bar soap. I just don't want to destroy my WISP mask if I use Oil of Olay bar soap on my nasal pad. I don't want the oil to destroy the silicone! But me going out to get some special detergent or special cloth is out of the question until I find employment. I don't qualify for SSI or SSDI or anything like that. If water will not eat the silicone, I will use that. But I have NEVER cleaned my WISP nasal nose piece before. I see it turns colors (like a tan ish) and I can feel the oils on it from my body. I get a new nasal piece from insurance once every 6 months or so.

if anyone objects to me using warm water, please stop me and let me know. Thanks

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Mask: Nuance & Nuance Pro Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Gel Nasal Pillows
Additional Comments: I don't use software yet, this should be an option in the dropdown box
3rd sleep study Dec 2014:
1st half of study:
Total AHI: 18.4
RDI: 29.7
RERAs: 11.3
oxygen saturation below 90% during 0.4% of the time
Lowest oxygen: 84%

Weight
spring 2015: 202
fall 2015: 182 MBI 34
spring 2016: 194
fall 2016:

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footballgirl13
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Re: Kind new to CPAP what is this orange film?

Post by footballgirl13 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:37 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:Medicare and many insurance plans allow for new headgear every six months.
Don't be surprised if that is not often enough, especially if you have high pressures.
Um,what I have noticed is that the "Cloth" version of the WISP headgear is very poorly made/cheaply made and it lasts me about 3 months, sometimes 2 months and it breaks near the nose. If I ask for the silicone mask frame that will last up to 5 or 6 months. It is thicker and I like it. I also notice that the mask headgear fits much better when new and it seems to loose it's grip on my head after 3 months of use. 3 months. Is this normal for it to loosen that much or am I tightening up way too much? I know for me, I can't stand ANY leaks in my face. I also can't stand how the mask has an opening and if my hand is anywhere NEAR my nose - I can feel the air on my hand and I don't like air on my hand. Why does this CPAP thing have to be such a pain in the rear?????????????????????????? EEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Btw,I have Medi-cal. Due to Affortable Care Act , I can now get Medi-cal as a low income person. It used to be you have to be pregant, have kids or be disabled to have Medi-cal. I'm not 65 - not yet at least. Me having Medi-cal is a life saver for me!

_________________
Mask: Nuance & Nuance Pro Nasal Pillow CPAP Mask with Gel Nasal Pillows
Additional Comments: I don't use software yet, this should be an option in the dropdown box
3rd sleep study Dec 2014:
1st half of study:
Total AHI: 18.4
RDI: 29.7
RERAs: 11.3
oxygen saturation below 90% during 0.4% of the time
Lowest oxygen: 84%

Weight
spring 2015: 202
fall 2015: 182 MBI 34
spring 2016: 194
fall 2016: