RemStar Pro C-FLEX + AIR PRESSURE

[seeker01]

I have a RemStar Pro and have noticed that the air pressure sometimes surges. This happens when I stop breathing after a few seconds the machine will ramp up and the pressure increases. Also I know you get use to the the pressure but when I first cut the machine on it almost blows the mask off my face but as the night goes on the pressure seems to easy off. I asked the DME about it and she said its not suppose to do that and to beat it all I could not get the machine to do it in the office. Has anyone experienced this?

[Sergey45]

I have a RemStar Pro and have noticed that the air pressure sometimes surges. This happens when I stop breathing after a few seconds the machine will ramp up and the pressure increases. Also I know you get use to the the pressure but when I first cut the machine on it almost blows the mask off my face but as the night goes on the pressure seems to easy off. I asked the DME about it and she said its not suppose to do that and to beat it all I could not get the machine to do it in the office. Has anyone experienced this?

What is a pressure setting on your machine?

[seeker01]

Ok .... Not sure what its called .... 13.9/cm is what the machine is set at ....and I see an increases in CM...

[ronster2]

I have a RemStar Pro and have noticed that the air pressure sometimes surges. This happens when I stop breathing after a few seconds the machine will ramp up and the pressure increases. Also I know you get use to the the pressure but when I first cut the machine on it almost blows the mask off my face but as the night goes on the pressure seems to easy off. I asked the DME about it and she said its not suppose to do that and to beat it all I could not get the machine to do it in the office. Has anyone experienced this?

I have the same machine. I remember reading that the machine will ramp up 3 cm on a particular event, but I'm not sure which event. It had something to do with an apnea event and a non-response for a time period. I'll try to find where I read this.

Ok. I found it. It is under NRAH Index in the help file. A Non-Responsive Apnea/Hypopnea Index. A non-responsive apnea/hypopnea flag is generated when a patient has apnea and or hypopnea that do not respond to increased pressure from a pressure therapy device. It is detected when the patient has at least 2 apneas and/or hypopneas, the pressure of the therapy device increases at least 3 cm H20, and the patient continues to have apneas and/or hypopneas.

I hope this helps you determine if this could possibly be what you're seeing.

Ronster

[Guest]

I have had a cpap for about 10 years. I am currently using a REMstar Pro C-Flex +. About 8 months ago I got my first model of this unit. I noticed all the complaints you described in this unit. I called my supplier and they replaced the unit with a different model. It did not have some of these features and after a few weeks I returned that unit also. It just wasn't doing anything for me. The REMstar Pro C-Flex + is supposed to, in my understanding as part of an airway check, boost the pressure momentarily if you don't breathe for a few seconds. Yes I also had the problem that after the unit ran for a half hour to several hours it would lower the pressure. In February I had my supplier replace my second recent unit with REMstar Pro C-Flex +, with better results. This was my second of this unit. This unit still seemed to lose pressure also overnight, but not as badly as my first machine. In my case the pressure boost if you are not breathing seemed to help me start breathing, so to me this feature was beneficial. I am now sleeping without snoring and feel much more rested when I wake up. I also am not falling asleep in long meetings at work. Accoring to records I am still having many apnea episodes, but still feel this machine is helping me quite a bit.

I have had a few other issues with this unit. The most aggravating is that during the night, with no loss of electrical power, the unit will beep and shut off, then immediately beep and turn back on. Right now I need to call my supplier again. Last night this unit got much worse about the turning off then on. As soon as you exhale or put the mask on your face it shuts off then turns on. It does this continiously so I have had to turn it off.

[Wulfman]

I have a RemStar Pro and have noticed that the air pressure sometimes surges. This happens when I stop breathing after a few seconds the machine will ramp up and the pressure increases. Also I know you get use to the the pressure but when I first cut the machine on it almost blows the mask off my face but as the night goes on the pressure seems to easy off. I asked the DME about it and she said its not suppose to do that and to beat it all I could not get the machine to do it in the office. Has anyone experienced this?

Is the Ramp feature turned on? If so, what is the Ramp starting pressure and the Ramp time? If it is turned on, try turning it off and see if that helps to get the full effect from the beginning.
You could also try a different C-Flex setting, too.

You get used to the pressure after some time has gone by. New users have reported waking up and thinking their machines have turned off.......only to discover they're still running.

I have had a cpap for about 10 years. I am currently using a REMstar Pro C-Flex +. About 8 months ago I got my first model of this unit. I noticed all the complaints you described in this unit. I called my supplier and they replaced the unit with a different model. It did not have some of these features and after a few weeks I returned that unit also. It just wasn't doing anything for me. The REMstar Pro C-Flex + is supposed to, in my understanding as part of an airway check, boost the pressure momentarily if you don't breathe for a few seconds. Yes I also had the problem that after the unit ran for a half hour to several hours it would lower the pressure. In February I had my supplier replace my second recent unit with REMstar Pro C-Flex +, with better results. This was my second of this unit. This unit still seemed to lose pressure also overnight, but not as badly as my first machine. In my case the pressure boost if you are not breathing seemed to help me start breathing, so to me this feature was beneficial. I am now sleeping without snoring and feel much more rested when I wake up. I also am not falling asleep in long meetings at work. Accoring to records I am still having many apnea episodes, but still feel this machine is helping me quite a bit.

I have had a few other issues with this unit. The most aggravating is that during the night, with no loss of electrical power, the unit will beep and shut off, then immediately beep and turn back on. Right now I need to call my supplier again. Last night this unit got much worse about the turning off then on. As soon as you exhale or put the mask on your face it shuts off then turns on. It does this continiously so I have had to turn it off.

It's possible that all those machines you've been through were not "defective".......but probably not configured properly. It's possible your current machine is shutting down due to large leaks (there are settings in there which will allow that).
I'm guessing you need to know more about how your machine is configured.
Probably wouldn't hurt to have your outlet checked out or move the plug to a different one, depending on what the symptoms are. Is it shutting down while you're asleep or awake? Is it on a good surge protector? (not just an outlet strip)


Den

[fjumayao]

I also have a REMstar, but it is the plus model with C-flex and I have noticed it losing the pressure sometime later in the evening. I've brought it to the DME supplier and they say it's fine but they don't really test it after several hours of running. Anyone know if the medical flex plans will pay for repairs. Planning to send it out to an online biomed shop for repairs.

[nanwilson]

I also have a REMstar, but it is the plus model with C-flex and I have noticed it losing the pressure sometime later in the evening. I've brought it to the DME supplier and they say it's fine but they don't really test it after several hours of running. Anyone know if the medical flex plans will pay for repairs. Planning to send it out to an online biomed shop for repairs.

You may just be getting used to the pressure of it blowing. After about a few weeks of using my machine, I woke up and thought the machine wasn't blowing but when I put my hand if front of the exhale..sure enough it was. As to getting your machine repaired, you have a 2 year warranty on it. If the machine is not working properly take it back to you supplier, they have to fix it or give you a new one.

[Pugsy]

As Nan has said, it is common for the pressure to feel like a hurricane when we first start it up and feels like nothing later on. We do get used to the pressure.

I wanted to mention your machine choice.
Are you brand new to this therapy. The machine you have chosen in your profile has been discontinued for several years. So click on the picture link showing in your profile and look to see if your machine looks like that one.
I suspect you have the new PR System One Remstar Plus Cpap with C Flex.. In the equipment drop down menu of your profile look for PR..... Now regarding the "PLus" that comes after Remstar, this means the machine will not collect full data. It will only collect hours of use to satisfy insurance requirements. If you have problems, don't feel good, or simply have bad leaks, you cannot tell because the machine can't be used with the software that is available to monitor effectiveness of therapy. If you are brand new to this therapy it may be possible to swap the non data machine to a full data machine. If you wait till you think you have a problem it may be too late.
You might want to read this.
http://maskarrayed.wordpress.com/