Just been diagnosed help this newbie

Had my sleep day time sleep study done on 8-6-13
My tech came in and woke me 3 hours into the sleep study and said I had enough episodes and put the cpap machine on me for the rest of the study.
my questions are what is some the best machines that I should be looking at?
I used a nasle pillow mask I think that what she called it was difficult to get use to as my a mouth breather so what are some of the best masks?
what should I expect for my insurance to pay?
any other help would be great

buckeyes614,

Welcome to Hosehead land.

You asked some really good questions about machines, insurance, masks, and so on.

My standard advice to the newly diagnosed is on my blog at http://adventures-in-hosehead-land.blog ... -with.html Reading through it may help you with some of your questions.

Also read JanKnitz's blog entry at http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/what-y ... me-part-i/ before talking to your durable medical equipment provider (the DME as it's known around here).

And spend some time reading the stickies at the top of the forum---the series by mollete that starts here: viewtopic/t88637/CPAP-Basics----Table-of-Contents.html

Best of luck in your new adventures.

Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier". When you get the machine, make sure it doesn't say "Escape" anywhere on it. Ask the doctor to write a separate prescription for "Mask of Patience Choice". Make yourself a copy of both prescriptions. Go to our host (cpap.com) and look at the masks. Select the order as the "Most Popular". Write down the mask maker and model number. When you go to your DME (the place you get your cpap stuff), see what masks fit the best and let the person there show you how to adjust the mask. Bring your pillow, hook up the mask to a display machine that is set at your prescribed pressure... get on the floor, and roll around with the mask on. This will tell you if the mask leaks a lot or not when you are in the prone position. Ask the person if you can return the mask within 30 days for an exchange. I went thru about 6 masks before I found one that I love and using now. The mask search is the key to success in getting used to this treatment. Masks are like shoes. You may hate the mask I like and vice versa. Work all your issues here. There's a bunch of people at each others' throats here, but ignore them. There are many folks here that will help you resolve your issues. Trust me, we've all been thru it...

Sheriff

Welcome, you have found us before the sharks have tasted blood.

thanks everyone for all the good info.

Check out my equipment, have been a hose head since last October 2012. Using only distilled water in my machine, and generic unscented baby wipes to clean from Walgreens. Has worked well for me, a mouth breather & a side/stomach sleeper.

Good luck.

Hi Buckeye,
I am new here also and so grateful that I found this forum before I got started and ordered my machine. The information here is amazing, and so far it has saved me about $1200 along with getting a more versatile machine. Read, read, read here. Concentrate on the basics, otherwise it is way overwhelming. There is a wealth of info in the Wiki section and the Announcement section. I just go my S9 Autoset yesterday, so we will be on our way to a healthier life together. Good luck!

Thanks eveyone

Sheriff Buford wrote:Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier".

I have to butt in and say this is not necessarily good advice.

You CAN request an S9, but I wouldn't recommend it. The S9 series has fewer options to record efficacy data in general, and while the S9 Autoset does have the most ability of the S9 CPAP line (in that it will record AHI, leaks, etc.), other machines such as the Devilbiss Intellipap do it much better. If you're interested in reading the data yourself, the Devilbiss is easier to use, easier to read, the PDF version of the report has an extra page at the back explaining what every term means in easy-to-understand terms, and records more informaiton than the S9 Auto does. The Devilbiss also has a 3-year warranty, while the ResMed S9 has a 2-year warranty.

A lot of people think Resmed (and the S9 series especially) is a better machine than many others out there, but this is simply not true (the older version, the S8, is actually a better machine in most respects). The machines and masks cost more than all the others if you buy online, because the company prices their supplies higher than other manufacturers, and many take this as a "better deal" when shopping at a DME, since as far as insurance is concerned, you aren't getting any specific brand, you are simply getting "CPAP Machine," and you pay the same amount regardless of which machine you get.

In the end, the machine you get matters less than the mask you get, since that's what you'll be feeling every night. Every machine will blow the exact pressure that's been prescribed for you, and they all have heated humidifiers (well, unless you go to a marvelously sketchy DME, they all will) that all have effectively arbitrary settings. The humidifier is a comfort feature that some people don't care about, but most people like and use. The machine itself will blow air. If you had the money to buy all the machines on the market, all set at the same pressure, and if you switched machines every week, you wouldn't really be able to tell the difference. They all do have different features (the S9, for instance, looks nicer than any other machine, has a full-color screen, and has a light on the heated humidifier that goes from blue to orangy-reddish when the tank gets up to heat), and you should pick the machine based on the features you like. I am openly biased toward the Devilbiss, since it has the features that I like (for instance, no power brick and a longer warranty), but ultimately, the machine you get is much less important than what mask you get.

I want to stress that the S9 Autoset is not a bad machine. It's just not what I would advise at all.

Sleeping Manatee wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier".

I have to butt in and say this is not necessarily good advice.

Are you kidding me??

Sheriff

Sheriff Buford wrote:

Sleeping Manatee wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier".

I have to butt in and say this is not necessarily good advice.

Are you kidding me??

Sheriff

Whoooooooo gurl! Blower fight!!!!!!!! Blower fight!!!!!!!

Sleeping Manatee wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier".

I have to butt in and say this is not necessarily good advice.

You CAN request an S9, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The Devilbiss also has a 3-year warranty, while the ResMed S9 has a 2-year warranty.

DeVilbiss now has a 5 year standard warranty. Longest of anyone out there.

hyperlexis wrote:

Sleeping Manatee wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier".

I have to butt in and say this is not necessarily good advice.

You CAN request an S9, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The Devilbiss also has a 3-year warranty, while the ResMed S9 has a 2-year warranty.

DeVilbiss now has a 5 year standard warranty. Longest of anyone out there.

Oh, that is very nice, particularly since it seems insurance guidelines will allow a replacement machine at five years. It would be like leasing the darn thing in that its always under warranty.

Sheriff Buford wrote:

Sleeping Manatee wrote:

Sheriff Buford wrote:Get the doctor to specifically write on a prescription for a "Resmed S9 Autoset with Humidifier".

I have to butt in and say this is not necessarily good advice.

Are you kidding me??

Sheriff

No.

In fact, I gave several reasons, and you have yet to dispute any of them. Let me reiterate. The DeVilbiss has a 3-year standard warranty with a purchaseable 5-year extended warranty (at least, as of my last understanding of it. I need to look into this possibility that the 5-year warranty is now standard), while the S9 has a 2-year warranty. The S9 has a power brick that, if lost or damaged, costs $60 to replace, while the DeVilbiss has no power brick (already a plus, especially if you travel), and the power cord is a standard boom-box power cable that fits half the electronics in the world, and is almost impossible to NOT find for maybe $10 in a store, if the hotel you're in somehow doesn't have one they'll let you borrow or you don't want to unplug the stereo or sewing machine or any other device in your house that has one for a night so you can sleep.The DeVilbiss sits on top of the humidifier chamber, so it takes up less room on the nightstand. The DeVilbiss is made in America, for those who care, while the ResMed S9 is made in New Zealand, I believe. And all in all, the DeVilbiss is the better-made machine, with incredibly low return rates compared to ResMed, Respironics, and Fisher & Paykel. The travel bag for the DeVilbiss is second to none in terms of size, while the S9 is like a bulky laptop bag. The Smartcode system on the IntelliPAP is incredibly easy to use, and while Sleepyhead software is a great way to see the machine's efficacy recordings, it's not as easy as the Smartcode system - not to mention that the IntelliPAP records more than the S9 Auto (the base IntelliPAP records more than the S9 Auto, in fact, while the IntelliPAP Auto is even better).

On the other hand, the S9 looks prettier.

Again, the S9 is NOT a bad machine. It's just not as good, for a variety of reasons. Hell, the S8 was honestly a better machine almost every way. The only thing the S9 has going for it over the S8 is a better shape and slightly smaller size. Some people may like the S9's pressure relief better than the IntelliPAP's smartflex, but that's personal preference. If you like it, that's clearly the way to go.

It's like saying one car is better than another. I had an Acura TL, which was objectively vastly better than my old Honda Civic, but I liked my Honda Civic more. Objectively, the IntelliPAP has better features than the S9 by a long shot. That doesn't matter one bit if someone likes the S9 better - which you clearly do. And again, it's not a bad machine. There's nothing wrong with liking that one better. But he's asking for advice, and I see ResMed people the same way I see Apple people - rabid fans who feel their preference is superior in every way (even when it's objectively not), and who often refuse to list what specifically makes their preference better. "I like it better, it works better for me, I didn't like X about this other machine," are all perfectly acceptable answers to this. "Are you kidding me??" is not.

ughwhatname wrote:Oh, that is very nice, particularly since it seems insurance guidelines will allow a replacement machine at five years. It would be like leasing the darn thing in that its always under warranty.

Depends on your insurance. Some (like most BCBS plans) allow a replacement every three years, and there's at least one that technically allows one machine per lifetime, but will actually replace them on as as-needed basis.