There goes my Everest 2 ....

[Dazed and Confused]

Greetings folks!

This is my first post. I've spent the last several days reading this forum and others. Feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole

My Aeiomed Everset 2 is giving up the ghost - as the manufacturer apparently did in 2010. This could be a good thing! Time for a new machine.
My unit right now will only run on the battery - which charges fine. As soon as the battery goes dead the machine starts gasping (dying). If I run it with no humidifier I can get 7 hours sleep. With the humidifier I get 4 hours (dazed and confused). Without the humidifier my sinuses and head are taking a beating!
I also tend to lose cognitive abilities and get very moody without good sleep (sometimes with it as well) So I'll probably order a unit ASAP, w/overnight delivery.

Any feedback, comments, insights, thoughts are well appreciated. I'm blown away by the knowledge on this board
Some of you should be working for the companies making these machines Your input and dedication is amazing!

I was diagnosed with OSA about 5 years ago. Looks like a lot has changed since then. I need to dig out the two sleep studies I completed to look at details
My pressure is at 8. I'm in my early 50's. Not overweight (maybe could lose 5-10lbs to be perfectly lean). Before OSA was very active/athletic, though I've snored most of my life. None of the 3 sleep doctors I've seen are anything to write home about. The second one just closed 4 offices (maybe malpractice?). The third did me very little good either. I dropped my EXTREMELY expensive private insurance policy earlier in the year - so I'm on my own health wise for awhile.

Besides OSA, I also suffer from bruxism, restless legs, insomnia, non-restorative sleep, depression.
(It's possible the new data on these machines may improve the "non-restorative" aspect of my sleep issues).
In spite of using a CPAP machine for 5 years, I don't feel I've got much restorative sleep. I almost never awake feeling refreshed, though I no longer have heartburn, and rarely feel like I need a nap in the daytime. I also rarely am able to sleep more than 6 hours - though I'd love too

btw - I'm on no medication, I eat healthy whole foods.

I'm looking at 3 machines right now. With the (unknown) given they may be equal in treating my OSA, none have exactly the configs I like.
There is some compromise with any choice.

These are the three on my shortlist:
Intellipap Auto
PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto
S9 AutoSet

These are my wants/needs:
- Battery(s)
- Software for Mac
- Possibly view past night events on screen
- Quiet
- Reliability
- Humidifier
- Rain out protection (heated hose)
- Cost
- Smallest footprint

Aside from the heated hose, Intellipap seems to be the best fit if I use Sleepyhead software.
In the winter my bedroom will be in the 50's with no heating. I would prefer blankets and cool air, but the rainout usually has me heating the room at night.


The Remstar 60 has no software available for Mac, and the footprint is rather large. I keep my machine in a small antique wood cabinet next to the bed. It fits my current machine (6x8") and a gallon of distilled water. This is very convenient as I want bedtime to be a cakewalk.

The S9 is a bit pricier. The batteries for it are very large/heavy, and don't last long. The footprint is also broad as opposed to high (stacked) with the humidifier. Sleepyhead is apparently available for this model too.


My current mask is the Resmed Swift fx, which I tolerate pretty well. I sleep on my sides mostly. Occasionally I get a dry sore mouth in the morning, so it is possible I may be opening my mouth at night I'll probably order a chin strap with my unit to test. There is a benefit I find with CPAP therapy: before I had regular sinus issues and sinus headaches. I rarely get this anymore

My ultimate goal is full refreshed sleep with a clear high functioning mind and no moodiness.

Should there be any response, I thank you in advance. I'll try to respond back quickly.

[Slartybartfast]

Well, we've been talking offline so you know I like both my S9 Autoset and my Intellipap. Either one should do the job for you. But the iPap gets the nod when you are looking at running off of 12 V. And it's half the cost of the S9 Autoset, and it has half the footprint size, too. And if you yank it off the table and it rolls over the humidifier is designed to contain the water and not spill it into the guts of the machine. I have both machines, each bought out of pocket and can't tell the difference unless I look at it. That's how similar they are as far as their functioning goes. They're both essentially silent. Don't know what else to say other than either machine is likely to be lots better than your old one.

I've got the Swift FX, too, but prefer my Opus 360 to the Swift. The nasal pillows stay in place better. I, too, sleep on my side or even 3/4 on my stomach with head turned. If you position your head on the edge of the pillow with just your nose sticking over and your lower jaw on the pillow that should keep your mouth shut. I've also found that a fairly flat pillow with the bottom edge resting on top of my lower shoulder, in other words squished between my shoulder and neck, provides good support for my jaw and keeps it from opening. I sleep very soundly and turn over only once or twice during the night. Haired the wife out when I first got on the hose. She said I didn't move or make a sound; thought maybe she should go out in the kitchen and take a look at my life insurance policy!

Best of luck with your decision.

[Dazed and Confused]

Mr. Bartfast,

Thank you, sir. You are a gentleman and a scholar. Appreciate all your input - including the PMs.
I'll keep the Opus 360 in mind as an alternative. I believe you may sleep a bit more peacefully than I.
I sleep with Japanese buckwheat hull pillows which rest under the neck and lower side of head, though am open to try your approach.
Unless my next couple of tech support calls change my mind, I'll probably go with the Intellipap.

btw - Love your work!
Norway - pure genius!

Cheers!

[archangle]

The Intellipap does not record airflow waveforms. In my opinion, treating apnea without airflow waveforms is like treating heart disease without an EKG.

You have to pay an extra $100 for the data module for an IntelliPAP in order to get the limited data the machine does record.

The PRS1 will run directly off of 12V with the proper $25 power cable. The S9 requires the $85 converter to run off of 12V.

The free SleepyHead program has a Mac version. The S9 version for Mac works. I'm not 100% sure the mac version works with PRS1 60 series yet. SleepyHead works for IntelliPAP, but there is no airflow data.

SleepyHead is "beta" software written by a user and has some bugs.

I don't think any of the manufacturers have Mac software.

[tetragon]

The free SleepyHead program has a Mac version. The S9 version for Mac works. I'm not 100% sure the mac version works with PRS1 60 series yet. SleepyHead works for IntelliPAP, but there is no airflow data.

My personal build of SleepyHead (from the rich-current branch) supports the PRS1 60 Series, but I don't think there is currently any pre-packaged copy that does.

[archangle]

The free SleepyHead program has a Mac version. The S9 version for Mac works. I'm not 100% sure the mac version works with PRS1 60 series yet. SleepyHead works for IntelliPAP, but there is no airflow data.

My personal build of SleepyHead (from the rich-current branch) supports the PRS1 60 Series, but I don't think there is currently any pre-packaged copy that does.

Someone published an updated .exe file for the PC. See here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=83551

I don't know if there's a compiled mac version published yet.

[Dazed and Confused]

The Intellipap does not record airflow waveforms. In my opinion, treating apnea without airflow waveforms is like treating heart disease without an EKG.

You have to pay an extra $100 for the data module for an IntelliPAP in order to get the limited data the machine does record.

The PRS1 will run directly off of 12V with the proper $25 power cable. The S9 requires the $85 converter to run off of 12V.

The free SleepyHead program has a Mac version. The S9 version for Mac works. I'm not 100% sure the mac version works with PRS1 60 series yet. SleepyHead works for IntelliPAP, but there is no airflow data.

SleepyHead is "beta" software written by a user and has some bugs.

I don't think any of the manufacturers have Mac software.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
archangle - do you have any links to articles about "airflow waveform" data. I searched on this forum, and most links lead back to you.
Without this data what changes or compensations will I not have access to control?

- PRS1 has yet to be support publicly by Sleephead, which leaves me with the option of the other two or buying another (PC based) computer or OS system (no thanks).
- S9 with a converter cuts the available power significantly.
- both of these machines are larger as well.

There are MANY people successfully treating OSA without utilizing these graphs at all. 5 years from now we could be in a whole 'nother range of tech changes - with new perceptions and treatments. This is the nature of technology.

[archangle]

- S9 with a converter cuts the available power significantly.

Why do you say that?

I would expect the S9 DC-DC converter to be reasonably efficient.

Now, using a battery-inverter-power brick-S9 combination would be less efficient.

archangle - do you have any links to articles about "airflow waveform" data. I searched on this forum, and most links lead back to you.
Without this data what changes or compensations will I not have access to control?

Without airflow waveforms, you'll have a chart on a timeline with a little tick mark saying "Obstructive apnea", hypopnea, etc.

With airflow waveforms, you can see the actual breaths. For instance, look at this one SleepyHead graph.

"Flow rate" is the graph in question.



This person stopped breathing completely for two full minutes. Then she got a few quick breaths, and stopped breathing for nearly another two minutes. Without airflow waveforms, it would just be two tick marks two minutes apart, which wouldn't be all that obvious.


Here's another graph where you can see that he's barely breathing for a fairly long period of time with short gasps between. If it were just shown as 3 apneas, you wouldn't know that he's basically not breathing for this period of time.



Here's a graph where the person has a severe flow limitation. The airflow should be fairly smooth sine waves, like waves on an ocean. The flat, bumpy nature of the curve shows that breathing is really strained.



I didn't find any graphs to post, but sometimes it shows the opposite. My CPAP will sometimes flag some events, but when I go look at them, I only stopped breathing for a very short period of time, or it shows as a long apnea, but I was actually breathing at a reduced rate for most of the time. It's important to be able to tell a complete cessation of breathing from a period of time with somewhat reduced breathing. Sometimes, I think my CPAP is just flat wrong and nothing happened.

There are even more serious conditions like Cheynes Stokes Respiration (CSR), which will show up on an airflow waveform.

You can see a lot more things like varying breathing rates, heavy and shallow breathing, irregular breathing, etc.

There are MANY people successfully treating OSA without utilizing these graphs at all. 5 years from now we could be in a whole 'nother range of tech changes - with new perceptions and treatments. This is the nature of technology.

Many people are successfully treating OSA with dataless bricks. Ten years ago, nobody had data capable CPAP machines. Times are better now. Don't buy a fossil CPAP machine that doesn't record your breathing.

[Dazed and Confused]

- S9 with a converter cuts the available power significantly.

Why do you say that?

I would expect the S9 DC-DC converter to be reasonably efficient.

Now, using a battery-inverter-power brick-S9 combination would be less efficient.

archangle - do you have any links to articles about "airflow waveform" data. I searched on this forum, and most links lead back to you.
Without this data what changes or compensations will I not have access to control?

Without airflow waveforms, you'll have a chart on a timeline with a little tick mark saying "Obstructive apnea", hypopnea, etc.

With airflow waveforms, you can see the actual breaths. For instance, look at this one SleepyHead graph.

"Flow rate" is the graph in question.



This person stopped breathing completely for two full minutes. Then she got a few quick breaths, and stopped breathing for nearly another two minutes. Without airflow waveforms, it would just be two tick marks two minutes apart, which wouldn't be all that obvious.


Here's another graph where you can see that he's barely breathing for a fairly long period of time with short gasps between. If it were just shown as 3 apneas, you wouldn't know that he's basically not breathing for this period of time.



Here's a graph where the person has a severe flow limitation. The airflow should be fairly smooth sine waves, like waves on an ocean. The flat, bumpy nature of the curve shows that breathing is really strained.



I didn't find any graphs to post, but sometimes it shows the opposite. My CPAP will sometimes flag some events, but when I go look at them, I only stopped breathing for a very short period of time, or it shows as a long apnea, but I was actually breathing at a reduced rate for most of the time. It's important to be able to tell a complete cessation of breathing from a period of time with somewhat reduced breathing. Sometimes, I think my CPAP is just flat wrong and nothing happened.

There are even more serious conditions like Cheynes Stokes Respiration (CSR), which will show up on an airflow waveform.

You can see a lot more things like varying breathing rates, heavy and shallow breathing, irregular breathing, etc.

There are MANY people successfully treating OSA without utilizing these graphs at all. 5 years from now we could be in a whole 'nother range of tech changes - with new perceptions and treatments. This is the nature of technology.

Many people are successfully treating OSA with dataless bricks. Ten years ago, nobody had data capable CPAP machines. Times are better now. Don't buy a fossil CPAP machine that doesn't record your breathing.

CPAP.com makes that statement regarding the battery.

Do you have any links to articles discussing the importance of flow rate data?
What do you do with this data to improve your sleep?
If the equipment may be providing faulty data how do you determine which items are credible?

[Burkebang]

I own an IntelliPAP and have had two S9's and am now using a PRS1 551P through the public healthcare.
I will also reccommend the IntelliPAP Autoadjust to you. It's the most quiet of all, the humidifier is much better designed than the others and the Autoadjust algorithm suits me best of all. I also think the IntelliPAP is the machine that feels most solidly buildt, the perceived quality is best of all these machines.

Allthough you can get a good overview of how your treatment is going with the Smartcodes, I do suggest that you get the Smartlink module, get the module only, you don't need the software and other stuff. Since it has been a while since your last sleepstudy and you probably will not get another for a while? I think the in depth data has the potential to really make a difference for you.

I find the lack of flow data to be a minor inconveniance than Archangle. Flow is of cause a very useful grapf, but the IntelliPAP gives you the events, pressure, leaks and snores, that is good enough to see what's going on.

I can make due with only a hosecozy to control rainout, but if you need a lot of humidity, rainout can be controlled very effectivly with a reptile cord in a hosecosy or a Hybernite:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/heat_cable.php
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/hybern ... -hose.html

[chunkyfrog]

Has anyone mentioned the Intellipap has a 5 year warranty?
My S9 will be off warranty when it is only 2.

[archangle]

CPAP.com makes that statement regarding the battery.

Where? Got a link?

Do you have any links to articles discussing the importance of flow rate data?
What do you do with this data to improve your sleep?
If the equipment may be providing faulty data how do you determine which items are credible?

The medical community tends to want to only look at expensive in-lab PSG sleep tests, not CPAP machine data. PSGs have airflow data. They'll show airflow graphs when they discuss apneas.

I don't know what particular faulty data you're talking about. I might have something that falls in the technical definition of an "apnea," but when I look at it, it may look like something very minor like an 11 second long period of reduced breathing, or a sequence of 2 minute long total halts to breathing with short gasps of air between.

Looking at the data often gives me some clues about what's wrong and how my adjustments are working. I've used it to help me decide whether to increase my pressure. Mostly, it lets me decide how "serious" an individual apnea or other breathing pattern is.

[Dazed and Confused]

I own an IntelliPAP and have had two S9's and am now using a PRS1 551P through the public healthcare.
I will also reccommend the IntelliPAP Autoadjust to you. It's the most quiet of all, the humidifier is much better designed than the others and the Autoadjust algorithm suits me best of all. I also think the IntelliPAP is the machine that feels most solidly buildt, the perceived quality is best of all these machines.

Allthough you can get a good overview of how your treatment is going with the Smartcodes, I do suggest that you get the Smartlink module, get the module only, you don't need the software and other stuff. Since it has been a while since your last sleepstudy and you probably will not get another for a while? I think the in depth data has the potential to really make a difference for you.

I find the lack of flow data to be a minor inconveniance than Archangle. Flow is of cause a very useful grapf, but the IntelliPAP gives you the events, pressure, leaks and snores, that is good enough to see what's going on.

I can make due with only a hosecozy to control rainout, but if you need a lot of humidity, rainout can be controlled very effectivly with a reptile cord in a hosecosy or a Hybernite:
http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/heat_cable.php
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/hybern ... -hose.html

Thank you, Burkebang!

I just ordered the full kit today. I'll be using it tomorrow night. Have to say, I'm excited. My last unit was designed over 6 years ago, so I think this will be a nice change.

I no longer carry insurance, so no immediate plans for another sleep study. The data should help.
Thanks for the advice on the rainout control! The reptile cord looks like a great option. I already made a fleece hosecosy.
Good stuff!

btw - I see you are from Norway.
Have you met Mr.Slarkybartfast yet?
He did a great job with the design of your coastlines!

Cheers!

[Dazed and Confused]

@archangle -

Estimated Run Times. Please see the "Machine Pressure and Battery Performance" feature below to estimate the battery run time for your machine at your pressure setting. Using a heated humidifier on a 12volt battery power source will significantly reduce the amount of power provided. In most cases, usage is reduced to less than half the estimated operational time. CPAPs or BiPAPs requiring inverters reduce the power time even more.

https://www.cpap.com/cpap-machine/CPAP. ... lipap.html

My comment about "faulty data" is in response to some comments you made about getting possibly fault, inaccurate or erred data.
If the data you are using is working for you, that's great. It may allow you to make certain adjustments faster than those without that one chart.

@chunkyfrog - Yes, 5 year warranty rocks! If my Aeiomed had that (along with the company still in business, I would have saved a nice chunk of (out of pocket) change today.

[archangle]

@archangle -

Estimated Run Times. Please see the "Machine Pressure and Battery Performance" feature below to estimate the battery run time for your machine at your pressure setting. Using a heated humidifier on a 12volt battery power source will significantly reduce the amount of power provided. In most cases, usage is reduced to less than half the estimated operational time. CPAPs or BiPAPs requiring inverters reduce the power time even more.

Here's what that means.

Run the CPAP on the battery without humidifier get x hours.
Run the CPAP on the battery with heated humidifier, and you'll get considerably fewer hours.

True for all CPAPs running from batteries. The ResMed DC-DC converter has nothing to do with it.

Good luck with your purchase. If you don't have any problems, you may get by just fine with the limited data.