S8 Auto Set Vantage??? What do YOU think?

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 11:10 am

I am confused. Rastaman's original post says that the DME provider will switch machines, but where does it say that the machine is some form of a ResMed S8? I mean, it is pictured at the bottom of the post....

Also, I would ask the RT about the breakout of the costs for everything. All these FDA rules amaze me (at least, I think the humidifier chamber would be due to the FDA). Aren't these things able to be sterilized? If we cannot adequately clean humidifier chambers, then I never want to eat in a restaurant again! And, how do the sleep labs manage to titrate with the same equipment? Or do they have specialized models just for sleep labs?

Rastaman, given the same situation I would jump right in and pay the extra. It is definitely worth it to get what works best for you. If you are getting a version of the S8, mine is just a straight CPAP but it is VERY quiet and nice to use. The machine itself is small, but by adding the humidifier, the size more than doubles.

My only beef is that the humidifier chamber does not open up for me to "wash it" as if it were a dish. It would also be helpful for travel if the two halves could nest and save space.

And, it sounds as if your DME provider is really looking out for the best interests of their patients/clients.

I think I have the same thing going with my DME provider, as long as I ask a lot of questions. They are so nice, but just pretty busy and I think that they forget that a newbie does not know everything already. I am becoming more and more grateful for my DME provider as I read more and more forum posts!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:34 pm

Rastaman wrote:Yeah, that's definitely true. And I don't know what to think about that except that it should fluctuate and hopefully I can get use to that. I still have options even if I buy this unit down the road. And I do plan on trying out the EPR option sometime too in CPAP mode just to see how that compares with C-flex. In straight CPAP mode, it makes more sense (to me) to have EPR instead of C-Flex....but in the auto unit it kind've makes more sense to have the C-flex. IMHO.

since your starting pressure is 8 you probably don't even need EPR if you use Auto mode.
I really like the S8 because of it's design, size and LCD display for stats.
good luck!

jcarn · Post by **jcarn** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 12:36 pm

guested (that was me above)

Murkk · Post by **Murkk** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:10 pm

Well, I decided to go with the S8 as well after much debate... mostly for the quick visual stats I can get in the morning. Just a note... but isn't the 8-17 a bit much for a range to set you at for an auto?

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:17 pm

I don't know. But that's what she told me. In theory, if I needed a 13 before I'll not need more than that very often at all. So, then the machine should range from 8 to 13.

Besides, aren't these apap's easy to change the settings on? I might notice I need different numbers over time right?

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:39 pm

Well RM-

Being a mere mortal, you shouldn't access the clinical menu to change the settings yourself. You should seek a medical professional to do that FOR you.

So, I know that you won't want to be confused about how to access the clinical menu. Therefore, you won't need to hold the down and right keys down for a few seconds until the clinical menu comes up "Clinical Menu-Welcome". Then you won't want to hit the left key ("Menu") to bring up the menu, and you won't want to then hit the left key again("Enter") to enter the settings menu. You also won't want to change the mode setting from AutoSet to CPAP. So, you won't want to hit the down key to bring up the Min. pressure. screen, nor the left key to change the value. You won't want to use the up and down keys to scroll to the pressure that you would want to set, because you'll leave that to a professional. Then, there'll be no need to hit the left key ("apply") to set that pressure. Then you won't hit the down key to scroll to the Max. Pressure screen and do the same.

If you HAD done this, you'd be done, so you'd then just have kept on hitting the right key to exit back to the "Settling" screen which is what you would see to confirm that you're in AutoSet mode. If you were in CPAP mode for some reason, that screen would have said RAMP instead of SETTLING.

But thank G-d that you decided to leave this all to a professional and not confuse yourself by doing any of this.

Cheers!

Chuck

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:49 pm

Hahahahaha! Duly NOTED.

I'm taking the new car out for a spin tonight! Should be dreamy.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:14 pm

I recently got this machine too , and I have a couple questions

1. The humidifier water only seems to really warm up if I have to on 4 and a half, anything less and the water stays room temperature. This is after using the warmup function too.

2. Do people who use EPR mode think that the machine is completely quiet? It makes some noise, not really loud but I dont have anything to compare it to.

3. Is the heated hose worth it, wife keeps the room super cold and I have chronic sinusitis.

4. Do people who have the software and a card reader think that it is worth it? Is it just a novelty? Are there cheaper places to buy it then CPAP.com

5. What are thoughts on the comfortlite 2 mask? I have the Swift mirage. I like to put the hose above my head, so that is why I thought the cl2 could work.

Any other suggestions? Thoughts? I am using EPR with a pressure of 6 that may have to be raised to 7.

Thanks for the info!

Jack

Paul B · Post by **Paul B** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:45 pm

Jack,

The heated hose is definitely worth it. Check out the Aura rather than the CL2 if you like the hose over your head. I like it that way myself because it's easier to sleep on your stomach on either the right or left side.

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:05 am

Last night:

Last night was the first night with the new machine. I sleep like a baby. The machine also has a lighted display so I don't have to use a flashlight during the night to avoid waking up the wife.

At first, I thought it was really really noisy until I closed the humidifier door all the way and then it went quiet. Sweet! <click> I noticed during the night my pressure was at different places, sometimes around 12.2 and other times lower and one time at 14.9! That's a bit above 13 huh?

In all the excitement I forgot to address my mask problems. My nasal swift hurts my left nare because my cartilidge on that side has a "spur" and because the nasal pillow goes slightly inside my nose, it really hurts. I have to keep re-adjusting just to get to sleep. And when I wake up it feels like I have a bloody nose even though I don't. And it hurts for hours afterwards.

I called the DME and sprung that one on her and told her I might be interested in a Activa. It's less expensive and seems to be the 2nd most popular mask on this website in recent polls, plus it's also a nasal. I'm hoping it fits over the nose instead of going up to my nose (and slighly inside.) I had to leave voice mail because I reached her before hours. First thing I did was thank her for the good night of sleep I got last night

Losing C-Flex didn't bother me one little bit. I don't even notice.

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:17 am

Congrats on your good night with your new S8!

Couple of points:

Make SURE that the top of the humidifier snaps shut with an audible click. That will not only reduce the noise, but that creates a seal around the outlet of the humidifier that the machine needs to maintain the right pressure. So, its critical that you make sure that the top is shut, after you refill the reservoir.

I went from an Activa to a Swift. I actually did my sleep study with the Activa. I like the Activa alot, and the seal is awesome, with it's "Active Cell" technology. The nice part is that it actually works better the LOOSER the straps are. Now, I really like my Swift now, but you'll be happy with the Activa, I'm sure. BTW, one other advantage for choosing an Activa is that the S8 Vantage has a setting for the Activa (since its a ResMed mask) and therefore, the S8 will be accurately calibrated for the bias rate of the Activa.

Have you had a chance to review your numbers yet?

Congrats again!

Chuck

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 8:45 am

How do I do that GoofyUT? I thought I could see information scrolling across the screen in the morning but that wasn't the case. And upon tabbing through the options (I am computer literate LOL) I didn't see anything other than basic compliance info. Now, I did NOT put the data card in yet. Should I? And what am I doing wrong about the data? I know the data will be gone by noon or so I've been told.

I did see my number down below 13 and even up as high as 14.9 at one point. I couldn't tell the difference though. And I did NOT miss C-flex AT ALL. What? Yes, let me say that again, I did NOT miss C-flex at all in Auto mode. I slept like a baby with the exception of the nasal spur problem. From your post the Activa sounds great and won't hurt my cartilidge? Without getting too graphic there's a tiny little ridge on one side of the cartilide wall that seperates my nose. I can feel it on both sides but on the left side there's a little bump there that's VERY sensative. My cartilidge actually curves a tiny bit to the left there. And while I really wanted to like the Swift, and kind've did anyway, I can't stand this pain anymore.

Eventually, I'm going to be in like FLYNN. My mask will work, my machine will work, I'll know how to read the machine. All that good stuff. I know nose condition is VERY rare at best so I don't expect others who use Swift to have the same problems. This brings new meaning to "you're special aren't you?" LOL!

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:21 am

I put a post on another thread that you had posted on, "Auto data interpretation", where you inquired about how to query your S8 for efficacy data. I told you that you shouldn't do it, because it would just confuse you, and then I told you what NOT to do, to make sure that you weren't further confused.

Cheers!

Rastaman · Post by **Rastaman** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 10:59 am

I forwarded what NOT to do to my home email.

I told my wife about the "only professionals should do this" and she thought that was pretty silly. I can understand in situations where people flub it up or perhaps don't want to know all that stuff in the first place. Many people are that way.

But thanks for all of your help. I'm looking forward to the Aptiva. It looks about as popular as the Swift Nasal System. I'm curious though. Did you try Swift for any particular reason? The smart features of the Aptiva seem like they would equal the Aptiva becoming the most popular mask available because they're about $25 or $30 cheaper. Both offer a great seal.

Btw, until I closed my humidifier door, I has Mask Leak Warning of High. Close the door and the whirl and whine go away. It seemed just as quiet as my Remstar Plus M Series with C-Flex. And again, I didn't miss C-flex at all last night. But I'd use it if I had gotten the Auto with C-flex. They just didn't carry it at my Sleep Doctor's office.

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 11:37 am

I had problems with the Activa, though it was during my first week, and if I tried it now, I probably would have kept it. I found that, as I turned in my sleep, if I happened to push the Activa against the pillow in a certain way, its soft and floppy seal, which otherwise was so comfortable, would allow the entire mask to shift. At times, it would shift up against my nose and close a nostril, and then I'd wake up feeling air-starved. But like I said, it was during my first week, and I was much more sensitive and confused about what the whole experience was like, then.

However, I took to the Swift IMMEDIATELY and have only grown to love it more since. I had sore nares or the tip of my nose for the first week or so, but AyrGel took care of that just fine. Now, I have NO discomfort whatsoever, and really enjoy how clear teh Swift keeps my nose ALL THE TIME. I'm sailing through allergy season with a completely clear nose for the FIRSTR time in my life. I also enjoy how minimalist and light the Swift is, and the fact bthat I can have my glasses on easily, for reading or watching TV in bed.

Hope this helps!

Chuck

S8 Auto Set Vantage??? What do YOU think?

RemStar vs. ResMed S8

ResMed APAP settings

Congrats RM!!

What NOT to do

Activa

Humidifier

Additional Comments: Auto range 11-15

Machine