Received apap w aflex from cpap.com :)

frapilu · Post by **frapilu** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:22 pm

I'm so excited!!! It's been 5 years that I've been using a crappy Respironics Remstar Pro. Yes, that's Pro, not Pro 2; it's not even listed in the profiles because it's so old and lousy! Not data capable at all other than compliance, which is useless because I'm 100% compliant.

In July 2007, the idiots in Ontario OHIP changed the rules for APAPs (see http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/reposito ... 274760.pdf), to say (on page 13) that:
7.4.1 Medical Eligibility Criteria for APAP
The following individuals are eligible:
Individuals with polysomnographically documented OSAS where there is a
change in pressure of a minimum of 4 cmH2O on a prescribed fixed CPAP
level of 10 cmH2O or more.
The change must occur between REM vs. NREM sleep or supine vs. sleeping
on their side.

This means that practically no one in Ontario is eligible to get an APAP. So I figured I'd live with it and just get a cpap but get a card reader and the sofware so I could manage my therapy. My DME says they're no longer allowed (by whom??) to sell the card reader and software. I can buy a data-capable cpap machine but have to bring them the card to have it downloaded. NOT!!!! Besides, the amount I would have to pay AFTER OHIP's ADP kicked in was the same amount as cpap.com charges, period. There's gotta be a better way.

So, I called my work's extended health insurance and discovered that I was allowed buying a cpap, humidifier, card reader, software, etc on the internet so long as I had it delivered and didn't go out of the country to get it myself. Hey, fine by me. They said that a "reasonable" amount was up to $2,000. Yahooo!!!!!

So I called cpap.com and spoke with a wonderful person called Claudia (hey Johnny Goodman, you've got a wonderful customer service/sales person there who truly is amazing at soothing nervous buyers!!) and she helped me place the purchase. I figure so long as I'm buying, I may as well go hog-wild so I got the Respironics M Services apap with aflex, a heated humidifer, a whisper cap, filters, a card reader, software and a basic starter package of that Pur-Sleep stuff I've read about here. I also got another quattro mask to use as a backup to my current one just because it's so much cheeaper at cpap.com than here: US$169 at cpap.com and CAD$295 here. I just got the package today!! I'm so thrilled.

What a neat little machine that is! And what an easy to understand manual -- they've learned a lot over 5 years. As far as I'm concerned, it's quieter than my old Remstar Pro so I don't think I'll be using the whisper cap but I had gotten it just in case. I'm also not sure I'll be using the Pur-sleep stuff. I didn't figure it was just a little dish that you put on the floor behind the apap machine. I expected something enclosed that you attach to the machine somewhere. I'm a terrible housekeeper so I'll probably end up with nice-smelling dustbunnies but we'll see. Who knows, I might try it.

I've used an apap before (as a trial) and I can't sleep worth beans with it -- I wake up each time the pressure changes but I want the option to occasionally be able to run it in apap to see what pressure is good for me. For tonight, I plan to use it in cpap mode with cflex, exactly the way my old machine was -- just to make less of a change. On the weekend, when I have time, I'll look at the reports and then give apap a chance then see how cflex and aflex are different. So for now, it's pressure 13.5 and we'll see. But it's so cute and little

Hubby thinks it's cute to see how excited I am about this. I'm glad you guys are here because you guys understand how thrilling a new xpap can be, right?

Thanks so much to this forum for having given me the knowledge to figure out where to order this and exactly what to order. Thank you cpap.com for hosting this forum and for having such a wonderful site and a wonderful Claudia to take me through the process

France

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap machine, respironics, humidifier, cpap.com, cflex, CPAP, DME, APAP

NeedinZs · Post by **NeedinZs** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:34 pm

Congratulations, frapilu!!!

I am SO happy for you! It's like being a kid at Christmas, isn't it?

I have that same machine (for a year now) and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

I do find the A-Flex much more comfortable. I recently used my travel C-Flex one, and realized how much more I love my A-flex. However, if you've only ever known C-Flex you may be used to it.

Sweet Dreams!

crossfit · Post by **crossfit** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:16 pm

Congratulations.

I went to get something fixed by my DME the other day and she said, "most people aren't as enthusiastic as you". Well, I probably should have said that more people should come here and get control of their treatment.

I certainly understand your excitement. Tell us how it all goes.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:47 pm

When you switch to AFLE mode, just be sure to set your Auto:Min pressure up closer to you CPAP pressure (if you are used to that pressure), you can also set up Auto:Ramp, it will work in Auto mode, so you could set it for example:

Auto:Min=13.5 (same as your Pro is now)
Auto:Max=20 (default maximum)
Ramp Timer=30 (or there abouts)
Ramp Pressure=8.0 (lower than your usual pressure)

Now when you turn on the machine it will go to your current 13.5 pressure just like your Pro did. Except now if that pressure seems too high, you can hit the Ramp button and it will drop from 13.5 to 8.0 for 30 minutes.

The benefit of lower pressure is comfort and less noise. I would install that whisper cap or silencer on the back of the machine, the quieter things are the better and that silencer seems to have larger foam filter which is always better especially with dust bunnies.

Don't forget to zero out your LCD data when you start.

frapilu · Post by **frapilu** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 4:12 am

NeedinZs

I set it the same as what I'm used to and slept well so far. I will try the apap/aflex thing this weekend though. Yes, definitely feeling like a kid at Christmas

crossfit

I can't understand why more people don't feel this way to manage their treatment. There are 2 other people in my office who have cpap and they don't even know what kind of machine they have other than "kind of a beige cover". Amazes me.

Snoredog

Makes sense to make the minimum the same as I have now. I don't normally use ramp because the 13.5 doesn't bother me at all but I can set it just in case. My problem with apap isn't that it's too high but that every time the pressure changes, I wake up so I have a terrible night when I use an apap. I'm hoping when I use it that this will be different but that was my previous experience (I borrowed an apap for about a week a couple of years ago).

The silencer doesn't have a foam at all. It's just an empty plastic cube that you stick over the foam filter in the machine. But I already find this machine quieter than my old Pro so I'm not sure of the value of using it, other than to keep dustbunnies away from the foam filter .

What does "Don't forget to zero out your LCD data when you start" mean? How would I do that? I suspect it has to do with why I'm disappointed not to see any LCD data this morning. I don't have time to use the card reader to check my data so I looked at the screen. Everything is zero, even 0 days > 4 hrs except that it says the machine was used 6.9 hrs. So if the machine was used 6.9 hrs, wouldn't that qualify as 1 days > hrs?

Thanks!
France

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:49 am

Hey, welcome to the Cool Kids Club!

Congratulations and Happy Sleeping!!!!!!!

Cheers,
Babette

frapilu · Post by **frapilu** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:58 am

Thanks Babette

France