Machine seems to have turned itself off - is this possible?

[hannahF]

I too have woken up and found my machine mysteriously off.

Once when I took my mask off for a brief 3 minutes, i replaced it, and felt air - which turned out to be the "cool down" pressure - and another time - I dont know what happened....It was just off...I am pretty sure it was on when I went to sleep.

My manual does not tell me anything about auto on and off features, so any detailed information would be helpful.

Thank you

[DreamOn]

My manual does not tell me anything about auto on and off features, so any detailed information would be helpful.

Hannah, the auto-on/off feature is called "SmartStart" on the ResMed machines. With SmartStart enabled, the machine will start automatically when the patient breathes into the mask and stop automatically when the mask is removed. It cannot be used with full-face masks, such as the Quattro that's listed in your profile, because of the anti-asphyxia valve built into full-face masks.

[Hose_Head]

I don't think the machine is defective. I think it is just that it shuts off with leaks.

You can tell the difference by looking at the data in Encore Viewer. If there's a major leak at the time that it shuts down, it will show. When my PR System One shut down on its own, there was no unusual leak.

In my case, the shut downs started off as rare events, more than a month apart. Then they suddenly started to occur several times a night, with complete failure the very next day.

[Zigs]

I haven't had mine turn off completely, but I've woken up the last two nights with my machine back at 5 cm, my starting pressure (it's on auto settings for right now). I've been wondering why - I do have the "mask alert" turned on, but I've never heard the machine make a beep or anything... but I will try to turn it off. Up until now, it has always been way up to 11 or 12 cm pressure when I wake up.

[GumbyCT]

Hope this doesn't confuse the issue but on the M Series there's a Split Night Setting which needs to be set to Off. I'm wondering if the PR has that setting and if so is it possible it's set to On which might then turn itself off sometime during the night?

Good Point Dori. I have NOT used the spilt-night feature but can see where that could also cause confusion.

I have never used a PRS1 so do not know for sure but IF it is like the Mseries the auto-start feature cannot be disabled - so you won't find it in any menu listings. If the auto-OFF feature is on AND there is a large enuff leak, lasting at least 1 minute, that will shut the machine off. IF the leak is resolved and the machine senses breathing it will once again start up. That will set the pressure at the starting pressure again.

Because this feature is so confusing and because when we are newbies we are prone to have leaks it is not recommended to use this auto-OFF feature.


HTH

[Hose_Head]

I haven't had mine turn off completely, but I've woken up the last two nights with my machine back at 5 cm, my starting pressure (it's on auto settings for right now). I've been wondering why - I do have the "mask alert" turned on, but I've never heard the machine make a beep or anything... but I will try to turn it off. Up until now, it has always been way up to 11 or 12 cm pressure when I wake up.

Do you have Encoreviewer for your PR S1? If you do, you can check the data to find out what happened. If the machine shut itself off due to a fault, you can see the pressure-line follow the drop in pressure all the way to zero. This is distinctly different than that caused by a machine shut down due to a leak.

[Zigs]

I don't - but I should! Someone mentioned that someone on this site has the software?

[Hose_Head]

I don't - but I should! Someone mentioned that someone on this site has the software?

A link to where you can download the Pro version is sometime posted. However, many have reported difficulties in installing it and I understand that it's clunky to run. You're better off with the consumer version: EncoreViewer 2. It's available for $99 (I think) from cpap.com. It's easy to install and runs without problems on my Vista system. I've not heard of problems on other systems.

[Rebecca R]

It probably not the usual cause of the waking with the machine being turned off, but is possible for the machine to turn off by itself. Mine did. My S8 very definitely was turning itself off. I was constantly waking up with the machine off and thought I was doing it in my sleep for a long time. I tried everything to stop myself from turning it off without success, and was sometimes waking up with the mask on and the machine off (and a terrible headache), with the data showing that the machine had been off for hours.

Then I woke up and caught it before I had a chance to even move or turn it off myself. I took it in to the DME for testing and ResMed replaced it with an S9. Since I got the new machine, I have no problems taking the mask off and turning it off in the night. I suspect that I was taking the mask off in my sleep after the machine turned off.

Good luck,

r

[JohnBFisher]

Although extremely rare, if you have problems with central sleep apnea and a machine that has an auto-off sequence, it can also indicate you stop breathing for a LONG time. I had problems with this before my move to ASV. Many of the times it turned itself off, I had major leaks. But correcting that did not make all those events go away. I switched off the auto-off feature, but still had events when I would awaken in a panic (gasping for air). So, like I say, if you struggle with central apneas, it could indicate a VERY long apnea. That's a really rare reason that would happen. In other words, if you have issues with the machine turning itself off by itself, address the other problems first (leaking, not having an auto-on feature enabled, etc).

Since it only happened a few times for you, it sounds more as if you had a major leak than a breathing problem. Hope that helps.

[snoozysue]

Thank you for the useful ideas and suggestions about how to work out what happened.
I have checked the Encore Viewer data and it wasn't due to CAs (zero) OA (zero) H (zero), nor any large leaks.
The graph just shows it stopped abruptly but it did not drop down to lowest setting. Maybe I just turned it off in my sleep. If it happens again I will return it to supplier as I have only recently purchased an additional 2 years of warranty from Respironics.
Once again thanks for all the interest everyone has shown with my questions.
In Australia the only person we can really ask is the doctor as our suppliers are just that - a shop that sells the supplies, so it's hard to get support and quick advice.

[roster]

My machine comes on automatically once I put the mask on and start breathing. Does yours have this feature? That way if the power flickers off or you turn it off somehow yourself, it will come back on automatically.

Thanks for the suggestion Jaylee but that's not the problem as that feature is turned off.
I am beginning to think maybe I "did it" myself or the machine has somehow become possessed!

1. OK, If I understand you correctly you have turned the "Auto On" feature "Off". IMO, you should turn the "Auto On" feature "On" - most of us do this. If you accidentally turn your machine off and have the "Auto On" feature turned "On", the machine will sense your breathing and turn the machine "On" again. This may solve your problem.

2. Second point, I don't believe you have answered the question about the "Auto Off" feature. Most of us turn this feature "Off". If you have it turned "On", it could be your problem.

I suppose if it's only happened to me then it must be me.
I am paranoid about getting too close to it when I am asleep as the one and only time I have slept away from home I sent it flying off a bedside table (full of water) as I tried to turn off the alarm.

3. Finally, that tank is suppossed to be leakproof, but if it took a hard knock it could have leaked into the electronics and could cause electrical shorts at times.

For now, I would take care of 1. and 2. and not worry about 3 unless the problem returns.

[snoozysue]

Thanks Rooster. I thought I was understanding - but now I am not so sure.
I understand the "auto on" feature - you put on the mask, you breathe and it starts by itself - hope I am correct so far.
I didn't realise there is an "auto off" feature - what does this do?
Thanks for the help - its appreciated.

[roster]

I didn't realise there is an "auto off" feature - what does this do?
Thanks for the help - its appreciated.

"Auto off" will turn the machine off if it detects a very large leak or if you take the mask off.

I like to have "auto off" set at "off". If I pull the mask off during the night the blower will ramp up very high trying to maintain the pressure setting. Hopefully the noise of the blower would awaken me and alert me that the mask has been pulled off. The same with a large leak: the blower would speed up to maintain the pressure and hopefully awaken me so I could adjust the mask to avoid the leak.