Moving on to a bi-level machine

[Uff Da]

After another sleep study, my doctor has ordered a bi-level machine for me. The CRT at the DME tells me I'll have my choice of two machines: the Res Med Air Curve 10 V auto or the Respironics DSX 600 Dream Station T-11.

Question 1: Are both of these good machines and is there any reason I might prefer one over the other?

During my initial sleep study my untreated central AHI was 0.6, whereas my non-REM AHI was 88.8. (There was no REM sleep in that portion of the study.) And in the treated portion of the first sleep study, my central AHI was 5.5, with a REM AHI of 7.4 and a non-REM AHI of 13. Now in my second study, approximately six months after the first, my central AHI was 17.3 with a non-REM AHI of 38.9. Again I had no REM sleep.

Yet, as I look at my Sleepyhead statistics from my APAP machine, my clear airway AHI was only 0.31 for the past week and 0.21 for the past month. My total AHI in the past week was 27.34 and in the past month it was 16.77. So centrals were a very small proportion of the total.

Question 2: Why did I have so many more central events in the last study? Is it because of the added pressure? (They titrated with pressures up to 22, I believe, though I was only able to sleep about one hour at pressures higher than 12/8. Whereas, due to mask leakage and aerophagia, I've limited my pressure on the APAP at home to 14 in the past month. )

[palerider]

After another sleep study, my doctor has ordered a bi-level machine for me. The CRT at the DME tells me I'll have my choice of two machines: the Res Med Air Curve 10 V auto or the Respironics DSX 600 Dream Station T-11.

Question 1: Are both of these good machines and is there any reason I might prefer one over the other?

During my initial sleep study my untreated central AHI was 0.6, whereas my non-REM AHI was 88.8. (There was no REM sleep in that portion of the study.) And in the treated portion of the first sleep study, my central AHI was 5.5, with a REM AHI of 7.4 and a non-REM AHI of 13. Now in my second study, approximately six months after the first, my central AHI was 17.3 with a non-REM AHI of 38.9. Again I had no REM sleep.

Yet, as I look at my Sleepyhead statistics from my APAP machine, my clear airway AHI was only 0.31 for the past week and 0.21 for the past month. My total AHI in the past week was 27.34 and in the past month it was 16.77. So centrals were a very small proportion of the total.

Question 2: Why did I have so many more central events in the last study? Is it because of the added pressure? (They titrated with pressures up to 22, I believe, though I was only able to sleep about one hour at pressures higher than 12/8. Whereas, due to mask leakage and aerophagia, I've limited my pressure on the APAP at home to 14 in the past month. )

Vauto, hands down. The 600 is a fixed pressure machine.

maybe the bilevel pressures exacerbated your centrals.

[Uff Da]

Thanks, PR. I knew nothing about bi-level machines but was certain someone here would know right off.

I also found out from the CRT that they have three full-ace masks that I haven't tried yet, so that's good to know. I've tried seven different masks to date, all of which gave me troubles with leakage as soon as I'd go over a pressure of about 14. So at least I have a chance of lucking out with numbers 8, 9, or 10.