Question regarding diagnosis and Airsense 10 Auto FOR HER

[needsleeptoronto]

Hi All,
I had a question and was hoping someone knowledgeable on the topic might be able to help chime in.

First off, I'm a male, in my 30's, and live in Toronto.

I recently took a sleep study and was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (just borderline, about 39 AHI). When I went in for the consultation with the sleep clinic's doctor, he recommended that I get an auto cpap machine (APAP?) and recommended the Philips Dreamstation Auto, wrote it on the prescription too.

I went into a palce called Medigas here the other day to see what my options were, and they mentioned they would need to check with the clinic if I need the auto titration or a CPAP only machine, as ADP would only cover the APAP if absolutely necessary. Now, since the doctor said that to me, I figured no problem, confirm, and then we can proceed.

They contacted the clinic and said I can get a CPAP, so Medigas said my only option would be the AirSense 10 Auto FOR HER. They said I cannot have the AirSense 10 Auto regular (the black one) or the Dreamstation Auto, and the only option is the airsense 10 for her. From reading about it, it's literally the same as the Airsense 10 auto, but with an additional mode - which seems great, but I dislike the design and would rather have the standard one.

Is there any way I can still get the regular airsense 10 auto, or maybe somewhere else I should go for this? I feel like I'm being forced to take a specific machine, instead of choosing the other model, which is literally the same thing with an extra feature, but with a design with flowers on it.

In the end, I know I need it, so whatever it takes, I'll do, but I'd like to have my options open. Wondering if maybe another shop that people would recommend in the GTA may be able to do something else, or maybe I just need a shop that's more knowledgeable, though I've heard good things about that specific Medigas.

Also, I know people recommend the autoset for her anyways, even for males, but I'd like to get the non-for her version if possible. I'm leaning more towards the airsense vs the dreamstation after reading a bunch of things on these forums - yes, I've been lurking the last few days!

Thanks in advance!

FYI, I also have work insurance which will cover whatever ADP doesn't under the Ontario government (75% of cost of initial machine).

[Pugsy]

You can get rid of the leaves (it's leaves not flowers) with a new face plate if you wish.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... -faceplate

You can of course get the regular AutoSet and pay for it entirely out of your own pocket if you wish but the for Her model is the only model that OHIP will help you out on the cost that is an apap without a special sleep study titration documenting the need.. It's just the way it is.

See this thread for discussion as to how OHIP works in paying for anything.
viewtopic/t174596/Just-got-diagnosed-fo ... eight.html

[needsleeptoronto]

@Pugsy, you're awesome. This is exactly the kind of info I was hoping to get from the guru's here

So it looks like that may be my only option, and I guess I can use the APAP functionality of the For Her model if needed, but my guess is they will program it for CPAP use? My prescription says 5-15 as the pressure settings, so maybe they'll set up the auto to use that, but I guess I'm just surprised at the fact that it said I need auto, but they will only give me this "CPAP" model - makes sense though, especially based on the other threads you recommended.

I'll see if maybe they can add the faceplate to the order, or I'll just order it myself later if it does bother me.

I had another question, and don't really want to start a thread for it, so I'll ask here first. I sleep with my mouth open most of the time, and am a loud snorer. I guess that may change with the therapy, but the retailer suggested going with a nasal pillow with a chinstrap first to try, before going full face mask. My concern is, I also apparently grind my teeth and my dentist made me a mouth guard which I try to use nightly. I was hoping that a full face mask would avoid the need for this, since my mouth could stay open, and I wouldn't have to worry about grinding. Note, I also have some congestion and my ENT has given me nasal sprays to use regularly to try and alleviate this.

Would using just the nasal mask help with
1) Snoring
2) Grinding
3) Keeping my mouth closed

Or should I just push to try the full masks first to see if I'm comfortable, or start with the nasal mask and go from there. The estimate I was given includes a face mask in the quote, but I have a good feeling maybe they'll just charge me the same for the nasal pillow instead.

[needsleeptoronto]

Also, to add, I have facial hair - I keep a beard, though I usually keep it pretty trimmed down to a couple mm.

[Dog Slobber]

Is there any way I can still get the regular airsense 10 auto, or maybe somewhere else I should go for this? I feel like I'm being forced to take a specific machine, instead of choosing the other model, which is literally the same thing with an extra feature, but with a design with flowers on it.

If you want the 75% OHIP/ADP subsidy than you must choose a machine that matches your prescription from the eligible machines for your prescription.

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/prog ... manual.pdf

The medical suppliers have no choice but to give you a machine from the eligible list.

APAP machines are listed on the top of page 3, you're not eligible for any because your prescription is for CPAP.

CPAP machines are (mostly) listed on page 4. These are the devices you can choose from and all medical suppliers in Ontario have no choice but to pick one from the list to take advantage of the OHIP/ADP subsidy.

For some strange reason reason the AirSense 10 AutoSet for Her is listed amongst the CPAP machines, even though it's an APAP. Instead of feeling hard done by, because you can't get a different machine, take advantage of the oversight.

Besides the design is vines with leaves not flowers.

[Pugsy]

I have the For Her model...my husband (big macho biker kind of guy) says he doesn't see the big deal with the leaves for the guys.
Now he did say if it was some god awful pink color with really big obvious flowers....might want to use the face plate.

For masks...using a full face mask won't prevent the tooth grinding thing...so you may need that mouth guard anyway.
Full face masks simply have more surface area contacting the skin that needs to be kept sealed and facial hair is going to present an extra challenge in that regard.
My suggestion is start with a good nasal interface mask with limited areas for skin contact (nasal pillow has the least contact with skin) and try with a chin strap and/or even without a chin strap. You might just find that you don't open your mouth nearly as much as you think you will.
You may or may not also find that the teeth grinding thing also goes away once the sleep apnea is dealt with. Wouldn't be totally impossible for the teeth grinding to be related to sleep apnea.

If your RX says 5 to 15...they should set it at that setting but if they don't it's super easy for you to change it.

Start with the recommended nasal pillow...it might work out just fine. Consider a full face mask later if need be. Even with a really short beard full face masks do present extra challenges in the getting and keeping the seal department...heck they present extra challenges even when no facial hair is mixed in.

[needsleeptoronto]

Thanks folks! I've sent the quote to my insurance company and have booked a trial appointment for today, so I'll be trying it out tonight, and will probably try a nasal mask. I'll go with the for her option, and see how it is - maybe I won't even want the faceplate

Here's hoping to see some results over the coming days/weeks/months! So glad I stumbled on this forum with all of you. Got my questions answered so quick and made it a very easy decision.

Any recommendations on the nasal masks? I'm seeing the P10 being highly reviewed, but anything else that sticks out? My guess is the retailer will recommend some options too while I'm there, just don't really know what I'm looking for.

Cheers!

[Thumper68]

The P10 is a very popular mask. It is very minimalist. Also popular is the Respironics Dreamwear line. The dreamwear comes in nasal pillows, nasal cushion, and a full face version. On the dreamwear the hose attaches to the top of the mask and stays out of the way if you move around in bed. On most masks the hose attaches to the front of the mask, but works fine as well. Resmed has just introduced the N30i as an option for the dreamwear nasal cushion mask. Masks are very personal and what works/is comfortable for me may not be for you. You may have to try several to find what works best for you. You can view many masks at our host site of Cpap.com.

The Autoset for her is a great machine. You should grab it while you can!

Welcome to hose head land!!!

[Jack Burton]

If I was getting a new machine this year it would be the "for her".
It does everything the black machine does plus it has the "for her" algorithm which can be easily enabled/disabled.
I would also disable the 3g radio because I'm like that.

[needsleeptoronto]

Thanks for the great words

Yeah the autoset for her seems like a very popular machine, so I'm pretty relieved and happy going into this. Luckily, they have one of them that they're keeping aside for me as a trial machine, so I get to use that one before I buy the machine myself - awesome. Lucked out that they had one as a test machine still available.

As for the masks, I never knew about the N30i until I just read up a bit on it - looks like that may be something I'll aim to try out first since I really wouldn't want to stuff anything into my nostrils if possible, and the fact that I adjust my sleeping position quite a bit throughout the night seems like the N30i would be nice for that.

I'll see if they do carry that mask there and if not, will try another recommended one, and have them order that if needed to try out. Not sure what they carry exactly so time will tell, but that does look promising

Thanks for the warm welcome!

[Pugsy]

Just wanted to let you know that if someone "stuffs" the nasal pillows inside their nostrils they aren't wearing it correctly.
The ONLY part of nasal pillows that is actually inside the nostril is the teeny tiny tip of the inner cone and it does NOT touch inside the nostril anywhere. If it is touching inside...most often people are using either too small of a pillow or they have that sucker cranked down so tight that everything is getting squished up inside the nose. Most common error people make with nasal pillows...cranking it down way too snug thinking it has to be tight to seal and it doesn't.

Nasal pillows rest gently on the outside of the nostril...that's it. Nothing up inside the nose at all when worn correctly and sized correctly.

[Dog Slobber]

As for the masks, I never knew about the N30i until I just read up a bit on it - looks like that may be something I'll aim to try out first since I really wouldn't want to stuff anything into my nostrils if possible, and the fact that I adjust my sleeping position quite a bit throughout the night seems like the N30i would be nice for that.

I don't want to talk you out of the N30i, it's a new mask, getting lots of positive reviews.

But I do want to clear up your impression that nasal pillows go into your nostrils. They don't. They rest against the base of your nose, I guess they slightly break the plane of the nostril openings. But there shouldn't be any contact between the pillows and nasal passages.

When I was first fitted, I avoided nasal pillows because of my own irrational phobia of inserting "plugs" in my nose. Eventually I decided to try the ResMed P10s and loved them.

See if you can try them both.

[bonjour]

This I don't believe, Ontario medical (OHS?) classifies the Autoset for her as a CPAP!!! It is an Auto-CPAP with an extra algorithm than the regular Autoset which is listed in the same document as an APAP (Auto-CPAP) and is the same class of machine that you mentioned the Philips Dreamstation Auto only IMHO better (faster response to events, extra algorithm, and an expiratory pressure relief (EPR) that can perform as a limited (3 cm) bilevel machine.

I have a rather large beard and use the P10 mask with no issues as well as many others in the past.

Jump on it.

[Janknitz]

If you google, you may be able to find skins or customize skins for your new machine. I don't know how that would compare in price to a new faceplate, but if it's important to you it might be fun to design your own.

Personally I don't care what it looks like (but I wouldn't like it if it was squirelly girly pink either ). As long as it works.

[palerider]

Is there any way I can still get the regular airsense 10 auto, or maybe somewhere else I should go for this? I feel like I'm being forced to take a specific machine, instead of choosing the other model, which is literally the same thing with an extra feature, but with a design with flowers on it.

You're being ... "Forced" to get a demonstrably better machine, and complaining about how it looks... I usually have the lights off while sleeping.

No sympathy for your "plight."