New to APAP: with some observations on my equipment

Hi,
I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea last November and I have been lurking around this forum since May. So it's about time to come out and make a contribution.
These comments apply to my equipment and my experiences with them.
Flow Generator: Resmed S8 AutoSpirit with HumidAire 3i. An excellent machine that has performed very well. Relatively quiet. Currently set in Autoset mode with pressure range of 9.6 - 15. Titration was about 14.
HumidAire set about halfway on the temperature setting. about right for Australian conditions and with no rain out.
Masks: Started out with a ResMed Ultra Mirage FF mask, but had a lot of trouble stabilising leaks. I bought a Mirage Quattro as soon as it hit the market and have not looked back since. No leaks registered on the software since I started using it, (after the plumber's tape fix). Excellent side sleeping mask due to the lower profile. I might have a look at the Liberty as I like the idea of no nose bridge obstruction.
Rescan software and cardreader: Purchased from the US as it was not available in Oz. I have handled my own management since then and have not been back to ResMed, just my respiratory consultant.
Oximeter: I found an excellent recording meter (MD300B0 with alarms from a company in China. Beijing Choice Electronics Technology Co.,Ltd. Website http://www.choicemmed.com. About $580 USD. Records up to 72 hours of readings, one every minute. Downloads to PC. I also have the Nonin 9500 fingertip type.
Blood Pressure Monitor: http://www.yahorng.com/. Tawainese Co. Records up to 100 records in 2 memories. Downloads to PC.

I am still having problems with hypopnea. Apnea is now virtually nil with the Quattro mask. I am getting AHI ranging from <1 up to 20+. Still experimenting with pressure.
Current settings:
Low pressure: 9.6 Started out at default level of 4.
High pressure: 15
Settling: 10 mins
Max settling time 15 min.

Hope this has not been too long a post

That was not too long at all. Very interesting. Sounds like you are being very proactive about your treatment and are doing it well. Welcome to the board!

Wow! This is an Approach!
Question.
What are you doing with Oximeter? Do you sleep with it through whole night and recording your oxygen consumption?
Thanks.
Sergey.
http://www.sleepapneasymptom.medgrip.com/cpap_mask.html

I have that mask - tell me about the plumbers tape fix.

I'm guessing it has to do with where the elbow meets the mask?

Mine seems to have started leaking from there...

I sleep with the oximeter attached and download the results to my laptop the next morning. See the URL below for an example of the output.

http://files.myopera.com/Aussiegrouch/a ... 062007.jpg

It also gives a tabular output, about 10 pages, minute by minute, of the time/date SpO2 & pulse data that allows you to correlate to any event showing up on the ResScan output.

Re the plumber's tape solution. It was discussed at length in the forum but I just can't pick up the postings. Basically it just meant wrapping plumber's sealing tape around each end of the swivel and reassemble. Easy to do and works well.

Thanks for the "welcome" Patrick!
I will keep it in mind.

Thanks for sharing the links!

Patrick A wrote:Hey Aussiegrouch


I give lessons in be crude, rude, and socially unacceptable

Hey! That's my job.

Welcome though Brian. It sounds like you have a great setup and are doing really well! I'm a ResMed user myself and it's quality equipment.

And I am jelos you have good data capability. Mine only does compliance data.