Great Forum!

[lowpsi]

I just wanted to thank everyone that has gone before me. You've blazed the trail and made my CPAP journey much shorter. I was recently diagnosed with apnea (My wife got concerned when she noticed that I stopped breathing repeatedly while sleeping.) and have been "outfitted" with an S9 and a Swift FX. My pressure is 10 and I was struggling to stop the leaking. (It was driving both my wife and I nuts!) I was given permission by my Doc to enable the EPR and AutoStart. Not having to exhale as hard has made the difference and I have virtually no more leaks - even when I sleep on my back. I actually look forward to going to sleep! Having the pressure self-adjust while I sleep is great and the FX is so comfortable, I almost feel guilty for having it so easy.

Again, thanks to this Forum, I knew some of the questions to ask and had an idea of what equipment to start with.

[Emilia]

Congratulations on a great start! I could not agree with you more about the wonderful folks on this forum. I stumbled across it just as I was diagnosed, and it became my guide through the entire process of dealing with insurance, researching machines, learning fixes to leaks, etc. I cannot imagine trying to navigate this process without their guidance! No doubt that is why so many fail to comply.....they have not found this wonderful resource to help them!

[elena88]

Good for you!

Glad youre getting everything situated.. a little information goes a long way with this therapy

[Hawthorne]

I was 6 years on cpap before I got involved in this forum! I found it after about 2 years on cpap but just read. I was 100% compliant from day 1 so didn't feel I needed much help. I certainly was not getting any help from my Provider or sleep doctor! I had a plain Remstar Pro - no c-flex, no nothing!

In 2008 I began to feel sleepier again and was looking at a long wait for another sleep study. While waiting, I began to look at this site more seriously and it lead to me asking for an inhome sleep study with an autopap. I then bought an autopap and software online. I was still waiting for the sleep study. With the help of the forum, I got it set so that I had my leaks under control and my AHI almost always below 1 and I was doing fine again.

I went for the sleep study (finally) anyway, to be sure nothing else sleepwise was going on. In Ontario, you can get a new prescription after 5 years and another sleep study. We also have a Provincial Government program that pays 75% of a new machine every 5 years.

Only my pressure had changed so my sleep doctor would not write a new prescription. I told him I had found out about exhalation relief and would like a machine with that on it, and autopap (didn't tell him I bought one on my own with flex settings). I was hoping to get a backup machine for the one I had bought. In Ontario, even if you are willing to pay the total cost of a machine by yourself (about 4 times+ as much as the one I got on line) you can't without a new sleep study and a recent prescription.

My sleep doctor said I would get a new prescription "if and when" my current machine (the old tank compliance only) got broken beyond repair!

I went ahead and bought a backup auto machine on cpapauction.cm and have purchased many masks there and at cpap.com since.

Without this forum, I would be using my old tank and paying big bucks for masks still!
I wouldn't have known that I could get machines at a much more reasonable price and that I could have all these comfort features and a machine and software that I could use to get optimal therapy with my old original prescription! They also helped me interpret my software data and get set up for optimal therapy.

I am so grateful to have found this forum!!!

[DoriC]

They also helped me interpret my software data and get set up for optimal therapy.

I am so grateful to have found this forum!!!

Hawthorne, so many of us are grateful you found this forum too!

[gpk111]

What is it with all the cat pictures? I'm starting to think there's a distinct correlation between cat lovers and OSA. I guess I'm an exception.

[Emilia]

I think we are all jealous of how well cats sleep!

[howkim]

I think we are all jealous of how well cats sleep!

Maybe, but one of mine snores. And, of course, he's the one that sleeps by my pillow. He's my avatar here.