DROOLING

[SKYTALKER]

I'm a newbie here, so if I do or say something wrong, just let me know. I recently up'ed my pressure on my machine from 16 to 17 because while sleeping, I wake up in a pool of drooling. I thought that my pressure was too low and so my mouth was opening while I was asleep. The problem is that even though my pressure went up, I am still drooling. I got a strap that is supposed to keep my mouth from opening, but it doesn't work very well. I'm just wondering if I need to get my pressure raised again. In my case, it's a big hassle and fairly expensive to get it adjusted. I have to go to my doctor and get a script, so that's a $40 co-pay and then go to my CPAP company and that's another $50 co-pay. My doctor will only allow me 1 CFM per visit. My concern is that if it needs to be adjusted to a high level...say 21, that's going to cost me a lot of money. Is there a way I can change the setting on my CPAP machine to see which pressure setting is best for me? If I can change it myself and find the correct setting then hopefully I can go to my doctor and get him to write the script for that setting. BTW, this is such a great site!!! I had no idea that there was so much info out there about Apnea from the suffers themselves. I'm so tired of going to company websites, just to read their propaganda instead of getting helpful info.

[Bigburd2008]

Welcome, SKYTALKER

"Drooling" & / or mouth opening I do not believe can be stopped by upping your pressure. Go to the top "Where a CPAP Newbie Should Start". A lot of information.

Yes, you can change your settings. Someone with your system can help you better than I. You may have lost a lot of viewers with your topic title. If response is a little slow start over and ask for help for your specific system.

[SKYTALKER]

Thanks for replying Big Bird. I glanced through the "Newbie" topic, I'll go back and read it more carefully. I'll also do a search of my CPAP to see if my question has already been answered.

Skytalker

[DreamStalker]

You really need the software in order to know how much and in what direction you should be changing your pressure settings if they need changing in the first place.

You seem to be at a very high pressure already and so the likely scenario is that you are leaking the air pressure out of your mouth while asleep. You may need to go to a full face mask like Quattro or Hybrid/Liberty.

[Hawthorne]

Software will not help with a Remstar Plus machine. All that will be reported is how long the person slept.

To get detail about your sleep from software, you need a Remstar Pro or a Remstar Auto.

In the mean time you need to find the Clinician's Setup Manual that will tell you how to change your own settings.

PM me. I might have it.

I'm off to check my documents!

[DreamStalker]

Hawthorne is correct ... I just noticed that your machine as listed in your profile does not provide useful data.

[LoQ]

I'm a newbie here, so if I do or say something wrong, just let me know. I recently up'ed my pressure on my machine from 16 to 17 because while sleeping, I wake up in a pool of drooling. I thought that my pressure was too low and so my mouth was opening while I was asleep. The problem is that even though my pressure went up, I am still drooling. I got a strap that is supposed to keep my mouth from opening, but it doesn't work very well. I'm just wondering if I need to get my pressure raised again. In my case, it's a big hassle and fairly expensive to get it adjusted. I have to go to my doctor and get a script, so that's a $40 co-pay and then go to my CPAP company and that's another $50 co-pay. My doctor will only allow me 1 CFM per visit. My concern is that if it needs to be adjusted to a high level...say 21, that's going to cost me a lot of money. Is there a way I can change the setting on my CPAP machine to see which pressure setting is best for me? If I can change it myself and find the correct setting then hopefully I can go to my doctor and get him to write the script for that setting. BTW, this is such a great site!!! I had no idea that there was so much info out there about Apnea from the suffers themselves. I'm so tired of going to company websites, just to read their propaganda instead of getting helpful info.

There is something odd about this post. You are saying that your doctor will only write a prescription to adjust your pressure by only 1 cm per visit? That doesn't make any sense. Also, how can your CPAP company charge you a copay? I've never heard of that.

And in particular, you say:

If I can change it myself and find the correct setting then hopefully I can go to my doctor and get him to write the script for that setting.

Once you know how to change it yourself, why on earth would you think you woud need a prescription for the pressure setting anymore?

The whole post just seems a bit off kilter. You need a new doctor and a new DME. Or better yet, unless there is a chance of getting your current DME to trade your machine for a better one, I'd boot them entirely.

[Hawthorne]

I agree with LoQ! Here's where to get the info on how to change your pressure setting on your Plus - Go to http://www.apneaboard.com. Click on the question "Can I adjust my own cpap machine pressure?" It's the last of a number of questions near the top of the screen on that site.

I think reading the article that comes up when you click on that question would be a good thing for you to do. Then scroll down to "Respironics Remstar M Series". There are step by step instructions on how to change any M Series machine (I think it's an M series you have).

You can change it yourself with that information. You shouldn't have to wait for a doctor's prescription to change your own machine although many doctors and DMEs will tell you that! If you need a higher or lower pressure you should not have to wait that long for better therapy.

Then,as LoQ says, see if your doctor will write you a prescription for a Remstar PRO or a Remstar AUTO. With the instruction that I directed you to, you can change any Remstar M Series machine. The Pro and and the Auto will have more things that you can adjust. With either the Pro or the Auto, you can use Encore Viewer Software and the Card reader purchased in a bundle from cpap.com, to get a lot of data that will help you to tweak one of those machines for the best therapy for you. Lots of people here are able and willing to help you do that.

If your doctor won't give you a Pro or an Auto and your DME won't exchange your Plus for one of those, get another doctor and/or DME, (as LoQ also suggests) who will write a new prescription for you or a DME who will give you a Pro or an Auto with your current prescription. Give the old DME his machine back and deal with the new one. There may, of course, be things to check out with any insurance you might have that is involved in your cpap stuff in pursuing this.

If you can afford to out of your own pocket, you can buy one of those machines (Pro or Auto) from cpap.com using your prescription for you Plus ( unless the prescription says, specifically, a "Plus").

You can keep the Plus as a backup machine (always a good thing).

[SKYTALKER]

There is something odd about this post. You are saying that your doctor will only write a prescription to adjust your pressure by only 1 cm per visit? That doesn't make any sense. Also, how can your CPAP company charge you a copay? I've never heard of that.

What can I say...That is what my doctor charges per visit and he'll only go up 1 CFM per visit because he says that I had a sleep study done in September 2008, so my settings should be set correctly. I forget his exact reason for only 1 CFM per visit. Frankly, I think that it means he gets another $30 out of me. I would get another doctor but I've been with him for almost 25 years and I like him.

And in particular, you say:

If I can change it myself and find the correct setting then hopefully I can go to my doctor and get him to write the script for that setting.

Once you know how to change it yourself, why on earth would you think you woud need a prescription for the pressure setting anymore?

The whole post just seems a bit off kilter. You need a new doctor and a new DME. Or better yet, unless there is a chance of getting your current DME to trade your machine for a better one, I'd boot them entirely.

[/quote]

Maybe I'm wrong but when I went to get my pressure changed, I mentioned what a hassle it was to go through the process, just to change the pressure 1 CFM. I said that it would be much easier if I could just change it myself at home. The tech said that it was against federal law for an end-user to change the settings and if I were caught, although I probably wouldn't got to jail, by law, my insurance company and CPAP company would not be able to supply equipment to me for whatever length of time that the judge specified. I had never heard of anything like this, but at the time, I didn't care. I just wanted to get a good night sleep without drooling all over my pillow, which as you can see, is still occurring. I figured if they caught me, I would just buy a unit over the internet, using Craigslist. As you can see, I am still learning to take what a "Professional" tells me with a grain of salt or was that saltpeter, I get confused about the two. BTW, AETNA rents this machine, I do not own it. As for APRIA charging me a co-pay, sorry I was wrong about that. I went back and checked my records and I guess I got my sleep study confused with my CPAP adjustment. That's what Morphine and Oxicontin will do to your memory.

Skytalker

[Slinky]

Here are the suggestions Dr Park gave me to reduce or eliminate drooling.

If your nose is more congested for whatever reason, the pressures may be inappropriate.
Is your leak rate any different?
I'm assuming you're using CPAP without dentures, right?
Did you ever try CPAP with your dentures?
Also, sometimes the chinstrap can slip and pull your jaw backwards, rather than upwards, which leads to less effective pressures, try adjusting your strap.

[Hawthorne]

Do you have the prescription for your machine? If not, you should get it. Then you can buy a new machine online from an online supplier rather than risk a machine from Craigslist.

You are intitled to a copy, at least, of your prescription.

I don't believe that they can do anything to you legally if you change your own pressure! If they refuse to sell to you, make sure you get a copy of your presscription!

[Slinky]

HORSEPUCKIES! Your tech is either one of the most ignorant I've ever read about or is the biggest liar yet. Make it a point to tell the ignoramus that it is illegal to offer legal advice and you intend to report him! (I can't take credit for this response but I don't remember who to give credit to). It is illegal for him/her to change YOUR pressure w/o an doctor's order BUT - it is NOT illegal for you to change your pressure yourself.

[SKYTALKER]

Here are the suggestions Dr Park gave me to reduce or eliminate drooling.

If your nose is more congested for whatever reason, the pressures may be inappropriate.
Is your leak rate any different?
I'm assuming you're using CPAP without dentures, right?
Did you ever try CPAP with your dentures?
Also, sometimes the chinstrap can slip and pull your jaw backwards, rather than upwards, which leads to less effective pressures, try adjusting your strap.

My nose isn't congested, even though it sometimes gets very "dry", so when that happens I take a Q-tip and dip it in Vaseline and put a very thin coat in my nose which helps immensely. I rarely have this problem though...mainly when I forget to refill my water container or don't turn the heat on. I have no idea what my leak rate is??? I guess I'll have to do a search and find out how to determine it. Yep, no dentures. I also don't use a chinstrap. I did get one because it was supposed to help keep my mouth shut, but it didn't work so I stopped using it. For the first time, I decided to use tape on my mouth last night. I'm still unsure what I think about it. Thank you very much for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming. It's people like you that make this site such a great one. My only regret is not finding it sooner.

Thanks again,
Skytalker

[SKYTALKER]

HORSEPUCKIES! Your tech is either one of the most ignorant I've ever read about or is the biggest liar yet. Make it a point to tell the ignoramus that it is illegal to offer legal advice and you intend to report him! (I can't take credit for this response but I don't remember who to give credit to). It is illegal for him/her to change YOUR pressure w/o an doctor's order BUT - it is NOT illegal for you to change your pressure yourself.

I just figured he was telling me this for his own job security. BTW, who would I report him to? Even if I did, it would be my word against his. Knowing human nature, I'm almost positive that if I accused him, he would simply deny he ever said it or else say that I misunderstood what he said. I guess the only way to get proof was to have a hidden recorder on me, but I think it's illegal to record audio without informing the person you're doing it. The funny thing is that it is legal to record video, you just can't have any audio. Oh well. I only care about getting a good night's sleep. The rest is small potatoes or is it tomatoes???

Later all,
Skytalker

[Hawthorne]

Vaseline is not a good thing to use for lubrication when you wear a cpap mask. Ayr nasal gel or Nasomed nasal gel is better. It does a better job of clearing congestion too.

In terms of mask leak, your mask manual has a graph. It is usually entitled "Vent rate". You look at the line where your pressure crosses the rate and that is the vent that your machine will compensate for. The difference between that and your actual leak, is your true leak. You want to keep your leak line at, below or not much above the Vent rate.

Of course, you do not have a data capable machine and I don't think you can get your leak rate with the M Series Plus. You need to have a "Pro" or an "Auto" to get that.