DEATH OF A REMSTAR.... Subtle but sure.

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 9:51 am

I have been using my RemStar Plus for about 5 years now. (My third machine) Since it was new, I haven't really been satisfied with it due to it's whining noise and all of it's varying vibrations and radio interference. It was quite a bit louder then my old Remstar Choice. My DME checked it out several times when it was new but could never find a problem with it. (I paid $1100.00 for it in 2001, they said it was a steal at that price, they claimed this was an unheard of deal they were giving me due to no insurance and having to pay cash for it....HA!!!) Well over the past few weeks, I have been waking up in a panic, gasping for air. probably 3~4 times a night. I finally asked my wife to observe me for a while after I had fallen asleep. She observed I was inhaling alright, but sometines half way through my exhaling, my breathing would stop, then I would try to in inhale more. Eventually, I would have a huge exhale and then gasp for air. This made sense to me. I tried jacking up the pressure 1 CM and it seemed to help a bit but still didn't totally fix the problem.

I went to my F/P back-up machine and started looking around for a new unit. As luck would have it, I found a almost new RemStar Plus, (39.5 total hours, 1 1/2 months old) for the whopping deal of $250.00. It came with the heated humidifier and a brand new Swift mask. I was a bit weary about another RemStar but could not pass up the price.

To my suprise, after I got the machine adjusted to my settings, I noticed it was just about absolutely silent, no whining or vibrations of any kind, just the sound of the moving air! To add to my delight, there was no more radio interference either! What a difference a few years make. My old unit had the heater set to 5, this one I only have set at 4. The icing on the cake is that I'm now back to sleeping normal again.

I guess the strange thing about this whole thing is that my other two machines did not die in this manner, and lasted several years more. (I'm on my 20th year of treatment) They just got real noisey (Like a Pratt and Whitney spooling up on the tar mac), but didn't lose pressure, especially back pressure.

Sorry for the long wind....

Dan

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:46 am

Dan, congrats on your 20th year of cpap'in'. And here's to twenty more, and twenty more again, and....yeah, twenty more after those! You could write a book.

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:49 am

Thanks RG!

JohnBob · Post by **JohnBob** » Tue Apr 11, 2006 1:00 pm

Dan, not counting my sleep study, I have now had a whopping 4 consecutive nights sleeping with a REMStar APAP with C-FLEX at my bedside. It is nearly totally silent with the exception of the breathing sounds I make which are a little amplified. I can not remember how long ago it was that I got such good sleep...it has been several years.

It is good that you posted so that you can inform those with less than the latest technology that better has arrived. I am a finicky sleeper when it comes to falling asleep...after I get to sleep, however, it takes a bit to rouse me. A noisy machine would have been a terrible impediment to my treatment. Thankfully, my REMStar is a silent partner!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:05 am

Chuckling at the P&W reference - I have worked there 30 years in engine test and know that sound well

RestInSeattle · Post by **RestInSeattle** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:29 am

Anonymous wrote:Chuckling at the P&W reference - I have worked there 30 years in engine test and know that sound well

Soooo, do wind tunnel test engineers have their OSA treated at work?

Nitro Dan · Post by **Nitro Dan** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:07 am

[quote="JohnBob"]Dan, not counting my sleep study, I have now had a whopping 4 consecutive nights sleeping with a REMStar APAP with C-FLEX at my bedside. It is nearly totally silent with the exception of the breathing sounds I make which are a little amplified. I can not remember how long ago it was that I got such good sleep...it has been several years.

It is good that you posted so that you can inform those with less than the latest technology that better has arrived. I am a finicky sleeper when it comes to falling asleep...after I get to sleep, however, it takes a bit to rouse me. A noisy machine would have been a terrible impediment to my treatment. Thankfully, my REMStar is a silent partner!

_________________

JohnBob,

Glad to hear it's going well for you! My very first unit was a Respironics Sleep Easy 2, it sounded like a small vacuum cleaner. I was embarrassed to take it anywhere!

Dan