New member Moving to BIPAP- Your help and advice appreciated

[jimplasticguy]

I am looking for a good new travel/home Bi-PAP with good data capabilities. Size is a big factor. I am looking for good data capabilities so that I can get early warning rather than go through what I did over the last year. I apologize for the lengthy message. Here is a bit more detail.
I was diagnosed with apnea years ago, but had difficulty complying with CPAP due to nasal allergies, discomfort, and youthful rebellion.
I started feeling pretty bad, and no amount of coffee would help. I went back to the clinic, and they said it was severe and they were unable to titrate me in an evening. I have a jaw position issue that squeezes the airway. They recommended surgery (not the jaw to start, just the one where they remove half the inside of your throat, and throw in a deviated septum repair for good measure. For those who have not done this, the pain was excruciating.

Anyway, after some healing time, I retested. By this time, I had decided I did not ever want to go without good sleep. I was noticing some memory and performance issues, as well as heavy fatigue. They recommended CPAP, but were able to titrate me at 5 cm the last time I tested, a little over a year ago.

About 2 months ago, I started having SEVERE difficulty fighting sleep during the day. I felt depressed. I was actually falling asleep in meetings at my new job! I went back to the doctor yelling “red alert, all hands on deck.” They retested me and now I am at 12 cm! I maybe put on 15 pounds. I had quit smoking recently. None of this makes sense to me. Also, they did a daytime study and while not narcoleptic, I averaged 2 minutes until I fell asleep. I have been on nuvigil for a little over two weeks and this stuff has changed my life. I did not realize how bad I was.

I went back in to see the doctor and I now am seeing only the physician’s assistant, which kind of ticks me off, because I am not yet at maintenance stage. I said I thought I needed maybe an autopap due to changing prescription He said that he felt that due to lack of central apneas, I needed a BIPAP and wrote me a prescription for one (took into account that I am having some issues with mouth leaks now with the Swift LT and higher pressure).

I have been using an M series and swift LT pillows for maybe 1.5 years and I find it travels very well, as long as you leave the humidifier at home, which is normally not an issue for me. I have used it religiously over the last 1.5 years, and it has been around the world with me. I have stuffed it in some pretty small bags for travel. I think the GoodKnight 425 would have been perfect with respect to size, but they discontinued that for a larger model.

Right now, I think the Sandman is interesting, but I am not sure HOW much bigger it is than my old M series and how it will pack. Again, my primary concerns are size, performance, and good software capability. By the way, I did not have data capability previously. I believe this cost me a few months of my life, and maybe contributed to my leaving a good job. Seriously. I need to be on top of This.

Thanks in advance for your help,

Jim

[JohnBFisher]

... About 2 months ago, I started having SEVERE difficulty fighting sleep during the day. I felt depressed. I was actually falling asleep in meetings at my new job! I went back to the doctor yelling “red alert, all hands on deck.” They retested me and now I am at 12 cm! I maybe put on 15 pounds. I had quit smoking recently. None of this makes sense to me. ...

Stress, some weight gain. Lots of things can make your sleep worse.

... I have been on nuvigil for a little over two weeks and this stuff has changed my life. I did not realize how bad I was. ...

Hopefully with a new unit you won't need the medication.

... I said I thought I needed maybe an autopap due to changing prescription. He said that he felt that due to lack of central apneas, I needed a BIPAP and wrote me a prescription for one (took into account that I am having some issues with mouth leaks now with the Swift LT and higher pressure). ...

The BiPAP auto will decrease pressure needs, which will decrease the problems with leaks. And it's a very reasonable course of action.

As to which BiPAP? Well the M Series is a good standby. But the PR System One series would make more sense:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle ... undle.html

An advantage of the Respironics units (M Series or PR System One) is that you do not need to drag along the humidifer if you don't need it. I generally don't when I travel. It's lighter and smaller without it.

A nuisance of the Respironics units are those blasted power bricks.

ResMed has a good unit you might want to look at:

https://www.cpap.com/productpage-bundle ... undle.html

And if you search in CPAPtalk.com you will find that ResMed will come out with a S9 series soon. I don't know if the BiPAP version will be available immediately.

Both the ResMed and Respironics units are data capable. The Respironics PR System One series does not have the readily available software for the end user yet. But the "pro" model of the software can be found to follow your therapy.

Hope that helps.

[jimplasticguy]

Thank you, John. The system one looks like an update to what I have been using, which is nice.
I just need to see how this will go with the DME tomorrow. I can get some reimbursement if I go out of network with CPAP.com, and my wife and I are of a mindset just to get what we need, even if we need to spend. Our insurance company only has one DME in the area. That seems nuts from a competition standpoint, but who ever said these guys made sense?
I was previously under bluecross and there were actually enough competitors in town that I could pressure them and get some concession on equipment preference. I did get the doctor to write mask of choice on the prescription.

Does anyone have any input on how these mentioned compare to the Sandman in capability, software and machine? Size? The integrated humidifier looks to be a disadvantage, as you and I are of the same mind on traveling without.

Thanks again.

Jim

[jnk]

You don't have to take the humidifier along with you when you travel with the ResMed Auto 25, although I would.

If I were buying now, I would hurry and snap up an Auto 25 before the S9's come out. I would take an S8 over an S9 at this point, based on what I've read.

[cflame1]

the main difference that you'll see with the Sandman machines vs either Respironics or Resmed is that there isn't exhale relief on a Sandman. Now you might use it or you might not, but I always find it better to have the option in case I decide that I want to.