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Suffocation

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 10:54 pm
by MsKelly65
I've been warned there is a suffocation risk with full face masks if my BiPAP machine is not running. Is there a fairly inexpensive way of making sure my BiPAP will either keep working or that I will be awakened if the power goes out? I live in rural Oklahoma where power outages of a few hours are common due to violent weather.

I did tell my family members that if they noticed the power went out when I was asleep, they were to come to my room and make sure I took my mask off. My teenage daughter sighed real big and said, "Mom, you are so much work!"

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:06 pm
by Pugsy
There are power outage alarms like this one.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/relian ... light.html

Full face masks have an anti-asphyxiation valve that will open if there isn't any pressure in the mask. This allows sufficient air flow through the opened valve so we don't suffocate.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:56 am
by zoocrewphoto
I just wanted to add that you can put your mask on, attach it the hose and machine, and just sit there for awhile without turning on the machine. This will let you know what it feels like if it happens to turn off. You will know that you can still breathe just fine.

I have actually had my machine turn off at least 4 times in the past 6 months. Once was a humidifier error. Two times, my cat stepped on the power button. And once for an actual power outage. All 4 times, I woke up because of the change. But no breathing problems. Three of the times, I simply turned it back on and went back to sleep. The other time, I got up and checked my phone to make sure I wasn't late to work.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 9:00 am
by quietmorning
As stated above, suffocation isn't a problem, but if you want to protect your sleep from wakes due to electrical flutters or outages, you might want to consider getting a good uninterpretable power supply. I have one connected to my machine as our electricity flutters several times a night. The first night, it turned my machine off several times. I sleep with a nasal pillow which doesn't have a vent like yours does, but I'm not inclined to open my mouth like they say I probably will. I do wake up, however, thank goodness. I also sleep with an alarm attached the uninterpretable power supply just in case the power goes out long enough to drain it. I also have my battery pack hanging from my bed post so that if the alarm goes off, I can just plug it right in and go right back to sleep. So far, I haven't had to do this - and we've had several power outages since then.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:31 pm
by MsKelly65
Thank you so much for your swift and informative responses -- I do feel much better! The device mentioned in the first reply looks like a good option for me; and I'll talk to my husband about whether he thinks an uninterruptible power supply would be a better option. We used to have one of those for our computer and it annoyed the crap out of us because not only would it keep powering the computer, it would emit an alarm when the power was off. It was a little pricey, though; would have to price and budget for it.

Again, thank you so much! I'm new to this BiPAP thing and have a lot to learn. Next week, I'm going to see a respiratory therapist about a better fitting mask and input on swallowing so much air when I use the BiPAP. I can only use it 4-5 hours before I have to stop because of stomach air.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 1:39 pm
by quietmorning
MsKelly65 wrote:Thank you so much for your swift and informative responses -- I do feel much better! The device mentioned in the first reply looks like a good option for me; and I'll talk to my husband about whether he thinks an uninterruptible power supply would be a better option. We used to have one of those for our computer and it annoyed the crap out of us because not only would it keep powering the computer, it would emit an alarm when the power was off. It was a little pricey, though; would have to price and budget for it.

Again, thank you so much! I'm new to this BiPAP thing and have a lot to learn. Next week, I'm going to see a respiratory therapist about a better fitting mask and input on swallowing so much air when I use the BiPAP. I can only use it 4-5 hours before I have to stop because of stomach air.
When I purchased mine, I made sure that I could turn that annoying beeping and alarm off. I kept the one (alarm) that goes off when the battery is completely drained - but otherwise, I uploaded the program to my computer and programmed my ups to be as quiet as a mouse. . . or else.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 2:10 pm
by chunkyfrog
I forgot to hit the power button (or hit it twice) with my ComfortGel FF.
Slept about 5 hours with it off. Turned it on when I woke up. Ugh.
The élan won't even seal without pressure. Feels like a clean sock on my face--nothing.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 4:27 pm
by archangle
What FFM Full Face mask do you have? Please fill in the equipment in your profile. There's a link in my signature line.

Hook up to your machine, unplug the power, and breathe for a while. It will be unpleasant, but you should find that air is coming in out out of the "anti-asphyxia" valve on your FFM.

It is a good idea to disconnect if the machine quits, because your breathing will be more difficult and you'll get less O2 and more CO2 with the mask on. Plus whatever effects your untreated apnea will have.

If your anti-asphyxia valve is not working properly, there is some risk of harm or even suffocation due to rebreathing your exhaled air. It's good to look at your mask and figure out how the valve works and check it every so often.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 7:54 pm
by MsKelly65
Can you see my equipment now?

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2013 10:15 pm
by archangle
MsKelly65 wrote:Can you see my equipment now?
No, it's not there. Maybe you forgot to hit "submit" when you finished editing your profile.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:33 am
by MsKelly65
Odd...it's not showing my machine, now. I checked again and it does have it in my profile settings, though. It's an S8 Autoset 25 BiPAP. It's in the list and it's set. I don't know what to do differently...maybe list it under additional comments? Or maybe it isn't listing it because I don't have a software selected? I don't know what software is in my machine.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 8:58 am
by Pugsy
MsKelly65 wrote:Odd...it's not showing my machine, now. I checked again and it does have it in my profile settings, though. It's an S8 Autoset 25 BiPAP. It's in the list and it's set. I don't know what to do differently...maybe list it under additional comments? Or maybe it isn't listing it because I don't have a software selected? I don't know what software is in my machine.
Just add your machine in your comments section. All the products offered in the equipment selection are products that cpap.com has sold in the past or sells now. Seems like some of the discontinued models are having their links broken and so the machine won't show up no matter how much we try. Your S8 machine has been discontinued. The S9 models have been out for 3 years so so.
Does your machine have AutoSet 25 BiPap on it...it shouldn't.
There is a S8 Auto set but the bilevel model is the VPAP 25 and it may not say S8 on it. It is just based on the S8 box model.
So what does it say on the machine itself? All the words.
It won't mention BiPap because BiPap itself is a marketing term for the Respironics bilevel machines.

The software choice in the equipment menu is referring to the software used to generate your data reports. Has nothing to do with the software (firmware) on the machine.
It isn't a critical issue to make a software selection. The only software that works with the S8 models is ResScan. There is a choice in the equipment menu for a very old version of ResScan that we used to be able to buy...can't buy any version now (but that doesn't stop us from getting it )
So you can omit the software choice if you want to.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:00 am
by Pugsy
If you do have the S8 model...was this machine just recently dispensed by a DME? How come they gave you an old discontinued model?

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:36 am
by MsKelly65
This is a secondhand machine that was given to me by a friend. On the front of the machine it says "VPAP Auto 25" but I forget in what order. It's a real pain the neck trying to get anything specialty done through the Indian Clinic. The machine that was ordered by the dr. associated with my original sleep study would not be covered by Medicare, and I agreed with their reasoning (I don't have central apneas and the Rx wanted a back-up rate), but to get the prescription changed meant I'd have to go through getting another referral to the specialty dr. and so on and so forth, and this (free-to-me machine) met all the parameters I needed. I don't think I could have afforded the 20% I'd have had to cover on the new machine anyway. A Resp. therapist at a medical equipment company agreed to set it up for me according to my prescription on the verbal promise I would get my "refill" supplies from her company (and I will).

However, with the air swallowing problem, I'm going to have to request a new referral for the specialty dr. anyway. I'll bring him/her my machine and when I finally get to go, and see what we can work out. My prescribed pressures are 20-25 for the inhalations with an exhale pressure prescribed as well. The thing is, if the new pressures the specialty dr. prescribes are still too strong, I'll have to go through the referral process again -- each referral process, from the time I call to get an appt. with MY dr. to the time I complete the referral appointment takes 4-6 weeks...sometimes longer! For now, I'm just using it as much as I can tolerate. I figure a partial night of better sleep is better than a whole night of terrible sleep.

Re: Suffocation

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2013 12:07 pm
by squid13
What machine did the Doctor order for you that they said Medicare wouldn't cover?