CPAP machine turns itself off?

springsteenfan75 · Post by **springsteenfan75** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:24 am

Hi all:

I am still new, adapting to my machine. Last night, I woke up after about 4.5 hours with the mask on, and my machine was off. This had perhaps happened once prior, when I was still adapting to the mask...once when I took it off in my sleep and found the mask on my nightstand, I believe the machine had stopped running as well.

Today I ran the machine as soon as I got home from work, for at least 6 hours, I think, to test it. It ran flawlessly. Then I fell asleep, woke up no more than 3 hours later (probably fewer than that; I keep my clocks obscured at night as a psychological tactic), and although my mask was on, my machine was off.

Bear in mind, I picked the machine below the best I could...but I'm not sure this is an M-Star Pro and not an M-Star Plus.

Once I may have run the machine with the humidifier on for a short period without water, inadvertently...I also wonder if I've been overfilling the humidifier receptacle.

But I really hope my machine isn't damaged. It's 4 in the morning now, it's been running fine for almost an hour since my last awakening. I'm very nervous. I really hope there isn't a problem with the machine; as I noted in a previous post, I'm trying to get a good full night's sleep with the machine and will be away from home for 2 weeks starting Sunday. I don't want to have to scramble for a new or repaired machine.

Has anyone had problems with machine turning themselves off? Particularly the RemStar M Series? I am very much hoping the answer is NO, and that this is probably something psychological...that (like when I was taking the mask off in my sleep and not realizing it until I woke up) I am turning the machine off without realizing it in the middle of the night because I am still uncomfortable with it. Is that a common habit for newbies? If so, are there strategies to keep me away from the machine's controls to prevent that?

Thanks,
Ross

potholerepairman · Post by **potholerepairman** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:33 am

I will venture a complete guess on it being electrical on the notion that you would take the mask off in your sleep before you turned the machine off so as to be able to breath but stranger things have happened.A lot of electrical things heat up and turn themselves off which would show a problem with the machine or the wiring in the place you have the machine plugged in at..If you dont mind being the guinea pig go with a way to not allow it to happen in your sleep without waking up would be a place to start troubleshooting. good luck.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 3:50 am

First thing I'd check is to see what the "Auto Off" setting is set for. Best to have "Auto Off" set to "off."

If "Auto Off" is set to "on", the machine will turn itself off when presented with a Large Leak for a certain amount of time.

springsteenfan75 · Post by **springsteenfan75** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 5:38 am

Thank you both!

I don't know if that's it, restedgal. Because when I left the mask completely out in the open for six hours, not touching anything but my nightstand and with the mask exposed to open air, everything ran as planned. Could the machine somehow sense that a seal against my face has been made, and THEN leakage occurred? Do you (or does anyone reading this) know how to adjust the "Auto Off" setting on my type of machine, however? I gave up trying to go to back to sleep and have been futzing with the controls for a while, but don't see how to make this adjustment.

Potholerepairman, you may be right. I want to obscure the controls to my machine somehow, or move the machine, perhaps, so that it is inaccessible to me during sleep. That might take some experimenation since I have a very small apartment.

Now I have to have a day where I am running on very little rest and am agitated. I'm sure everyone on this forum has experienced that and had to use little tricks to get themselves through the day. I'm even second-guessing whether I woke up with the machine running fine, and then pressed the "on" button twice...meaning everything was running okay from the get-go (I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case, though). Thanks to everyone for listening and trying to help.

Ross

Gerryk · Post by **Gerryk** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:16 am

Ross, the auto off is designed to turn the machine off if you take the mask off. It can also shut off if you have a big enough leak that the machine thinks you took the mask off. I do not know if it it will auto off if you are running the machine free like that just to test it. But you can wear it for a little bit and take it off, set it down and watch and see.

I agree that it is highly unlikely but still possile you are turning the machine off. It's something new, new noise, new light, so yes perhaps you are turning it off.

Lastly, their were units that had a problem with this in the past. I had one of those units. I could not narrow it down to any particular time or anything, I would just wake up with the mahine off. I did however wake up a few times with the machine shutting down completely and restarting and that's how I finally got a new machine. I actually had two machines that did this and had a problem with the manufacturer or my DME believing me at first.

Talk to your DME about this problem.

Gerry

springsteenfan75 · Post by **springsteenfan75** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:45 am

Thanks, GerryK. I've just experimented with both masks I have, wearing each for three or four minutes, then taking them off and letting them sit for at least five minutes. In neither case has the machine shut itself off. (Here's a case where I wish Big Brother really were watching, so I could see a tape of what happened in the middle of the night!) I may call my health-care provider today to ask about this issue. If I do, hopefully, there won't be much of a hassle. Frustrating!

Gerryk · Post by **Gerryk** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 6:54 am

Being new to this machine and being tired and just restarting on cpap I waited a while thinking maybe it was me, maybe they won't believe me, maybe I am dreaming this. Don't put it off, just call them and let them know, tell them to do something about it.

Gerry

springsteenfan75 · Post by **springsteenfan75** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:03 am

The healthcare provider said that I had a 2-year warranty...and it just lapsed. He said oftentimes the machine needs new filters, and he was sending me out some free of charge. But I'm going to try to get the local agency to pay a visit to look at it, and see if something other than the filters. Unfortunately, it looks like it's my dime if that's not the case. I'm still hoping that these 2 nights were flukes, or that I imagined at least one of them, because I wasn't planning to buy a new machine, and the healthcare provider said that it might not be as simple as having my dr. send in a new Rx. Thoughts?

springsteenfan75 · Post by **springsteenfan75** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:51 am

Looks like a respiratory tech will come out to my office tomorrow, evaluate the machine, and if the machine is "broken beyond repair," it looks as though I'll be able to get an Rx for a new machine before my trip. It's ironic, of course... I wouldn't have gotten so worked up about this if I weren't so chronically sleep-deprived... but I've been chronically sleep deprived because I haven't been properly treating my apnea...

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:04 am

springsteenfan75 wrote:(Here's a case where I wish Big Brother really were watching, so I could see a tape of what happened in the middle of the night!)

I read on another message board once, about a fellow who kept removing his mask and turning his machine off during the night, with never any recollection at all in the morning of having done that. He even went so far as to move his machine away from the bed far enough that he couldn't reach out to touch it. Still was finding the machine turned off in the morning.

He finally rigged up a camera to videotape himself all night. To his amazement, he saw himself taking the mask off and then getting out of bed AND WALKING to the machine, turning it off, going back to the bed. No memory of any of it.

I don't think that's what you're doing. Hope a new machine will solve the problem for you.

The full name of your machine should be written on top of the machine.

Something like "Respironics REMstar Plus M series" or "Respironics REMstar Pro M series."

P.S. Check your Private Messages (up underneath the Search box.) I just sent you one.

Gerryk · Post by **Gerryk** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:47 am

My insurance BCBS said they will not pay for a new machien unless mine no longer fits my needs, gets broken or breaks down and will cost more to repair than a new one. They will however pay for repairs to the one I have as long as they are less than the cost of a new machine, but it has to be sent in to the manufacturer for repairs.

Gerry

harry33 · Post by **harry33** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:43 pm

I had a CPAP that turned itself off due to an electrical fault, does yours display some sort of error message and does it always run OK when you turn it on again

Scarlet834 · Post by **Scarlet834** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:52 pm

My machine is a Remstar Pro with CFlex. I was having issues with it temporarily turning off long enough for me to not get air but go back on before I could see anything amiss on the display. My RT said that some of that model were found to have unusually loose connections at the jack and to return it if the problem continued. I made sure to really seat the jack and relieve any pull on the power cords. I haven't had the problem since then. Since Ross's machine turns off and stays off it's probably something different.

Gerryk · Post by **Gerryk** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 9:37 am

Also check your power supply. You should be plugging into a good surger suppressor to pretect the equipment. Also check the power cord and supply that is part of the machine, make sure something hasn't been damaged.

There was also something with the connections on the older M series. Do a search on here for recalls on that machine and see if your serial numbers match those in the recalls. It doesn't matter if it's still under warranty or not, if their was a recall, they have to fix it.

Gerry

MidnightOwl · Post by **MidnightOwl** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:48 pm

Hi Ross,

Do you have pets? Those buttons are just the right size and place for cat paws. That's happened to me more than once. Or is it possible that you are having electric current fluctuations?

You may want to set the "auto on" feature. This turns the machine on when it detects that you have the mask on so that even if it does get shut off it will turn right back on. That was how I solved my cat problem. Of course if there's any chance it's overheating that might not be a good idea.

Midnightowl.

CPAP machine turns itself off?

CPAP machine turns itself off?

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