Newbie Intro with a question

[chaswalters]

Hi and thank you for letting my join.

I have had 2 at home sleep tests and the results show mild/moderate OSA. 7 apneas per hour, 16 hypopneas per hour. The only outlier was that my O2 sat dropped to 76 at one point. My GP said that while not great it is not so unusual as I take a sedative to sleep at night and the combination of OSA and benzos are not great so we are going to address that. My blood ox is always 98 in his office and my BP is good, so he told me that the CPAP should resolve it. Although he said I could buy an overnight monitor if it worried me.

I have read a lot here, but frankly getting started is overwhelming. My study was actually done through CVS Minute Clinic and there isn't a ton of support. Basically just an explanation of my test results and a prescription.

My question, being fortunate enough to not have work on a tight budget, (good insurance, HSA) is, if you were putting together your first "package" what would you get and why? I know much is subjective. I do podcasts and there are endless debates about the best microphones, but there are a few that everyone agrees that you cant really go wrong with.

I have a prescription and 5 DME suppliers near that take my insurance. (Although the internet is an option too) I'm just looking for a bit of guidance. I promise to download OSCAR and use it faithfully!

Thanks,

Chuck

[ChicagoGranny]

7 apneas per hour, 16 hypopneas per hour.

That is an AHI of 23 which is the midrange of moderate sleep apnea.

if you were putting together your first "package" what would you get and why? I know much is subjective

Not much debate about the machine: ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet or ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet for Her (OK for men also). https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... t-humidair

As for the mask, it will depend on whether you can avoid mouth-breathing. If avoided, a nasal mask is preferred. If you mouth-breathe, a full face mask will be required. You can look at mask models here - cpap.com (The forum sponsor). To start, I would ask to look at some masks at your local DME and pick one that suits your fancy.

I promise to download OSCAR and use it faithfully!

That should save you from some forum spankings.

[zonker]

I promise to download OSCAR and use it faithfully!

That should save you from some forum spankings.

[zonker]

Hi and thank you for letting my join.

welcome to the zoo!

My question, being fortunate enough to not have work on a tight budget, (good insurance, HSA) is, if you were putting together your first "package" what would you get and why?

i'm in agreement with granny.(because i don't want one of those forum spankings!)

but also because it offers an extra algorithm which you may not need, but good to know it's there. but also i would recommend it against a resperonics because of it's incremental adjustments for pressure. resperonics has a .5 adjustment while resmed has .2. it doesn't sound like a lot, but that .2 helped to conquer my aerophagia. it was easier on my system to make than .2 rather than .5 jump.

good luck!

[chaswalters]

7 apneas per hour, 16 hypopneas per hour.

That is an AHI of 23 which is the midrange of moderate sleep apnea.

if you were putting together your first "package" what would you get and why? I know much is subjective

Not much debate about the machine: ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet or ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet for Her (OK for men also). https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... t-humidair

As for the mask, it will depend on whether you can avoid mouth-breathing. If avoided, a nasal mask is preferred. If you mouth-breathe, a full face mask will be required. You can look at mask models here - cpap.com (The forum sponsor). To start, I would ask to look at some masks at your local DME and pick one that suits your fancy.

I promise to download OSCAR and use it faithfully!

That should save you from some forum spankings.

Thank you. An aside, I have twins. One is a DePaul grad, the other is a Loyola grad.

[SAG]

In this zoo it's like asking Ford or Chevy and then the flames begin bc everyone knows there is only one right way to do things, not. Respironics and Resmed are the big two.

If you are worried about the modem thing get a Respironics cuz you can remove that modem and be done with it where with the Resmed you have to put it in "sleep mode" every nite/day.

Hopefully you are seeing a doc who can write the equipment request.
IMO no matter which brand you go with get an auto at the very minimum and don't settle for anything less.

Contact your insurance directly for any questions you have. Know which suppliers are in network for you so when one gives you a hard time you can go to another w/o delay. Policies with the same company can have different coverage. Get a notebook to write your questions and their answers in. Yes lack of sleep does affect our memories and our mood swings.

Since a mask is trial and error and can take many, many tries have the doc write "Mask of Patients Choice". Reason is some DME's try to force you to buy whatever brand they are getting a discount on and they can get pretty nasty about it. This sleep business is ALL about MONEY as you will soon find out. And then there are those who think that what they are using will work for everyone - it won't, it don't, and never will.

When you find a mask that works for you not only do you want spares in case it breaks but get as many as you think you will need because that is when the mfg will suddenly stop making your fav mask - not kidding.

You may very likely want a humidifier and a heated hose. I continue to use my humidifier but stopped with the heated hose where when I started the air felt sooo cold - now its fine.

Cleaning and using distilled water is all about what you need or want. You can read the endless and mindless debates that fill these pages. Do and use what suits you.

It took time (prob many years) for you to get to this point and things won't change over night. Said another way it will take time for you to get used to sleeping with plastic on your face and wind blowing your chest full of air but when you do get used to it- sleeping thru the night - you won't want to sleep w/o cpap - so get you a backup and a spare of everything cuz you will soon find out even tho the DME tells you they will replace your cpap if it fails that it can (does) take a month or more bc they are waiting for insurance approval = its all about the money= NOT your sleep or your health.

HTH

[ChicagoGranny]

In this zoo it's like asking Ford or Chevy

We have an F150 and two Vettes.

[SAG]

In this zoo it's like asking Ford or Chevy

We have an F150 and two Vettes.

AND many other usernames to confuse the newbies too.
I've even seen you argue with yourself on here, lmao.

See that didn't take long = 5min.

[ChicagoGranny]

See that didn't take long = 5min.

You are an unhappy person that adds no value. Your alternate ID is well known. Both are unhappy humans. Thots and praiers.

[Miss Emerita]

Additional points in favor of ResMed: it offers true pressure support (aka expiratory pressure relief), which can be a great comfort feature and also help with flow limitations; and its algorithm for EPR creates a much more natural feeling than the flex algorithm used by PR machines. I've experienced both, and the PR machine felt like it started increasing pressure before I was ready to inhale. PR leads; RM follows.

About nasal masks: if you go that route, you might start with a nasal pillow interface. That will produce the least amount of contact with your face and thus the fewest opportunities for leaks. A lot of people like the minimalist ResMed P10. The vent does a great job at diffusion.

But the mask that works best for you may not be the mask that works best for other people. So much depends on the contours of your face and the way you position your head when you sleep. So some trial and error may be in your future.

[SAG]

I'm told the new model Dreamstation 2 is available and is the size of a travel cpap if that matters.

https://www.cpap.com/productpage/philip ... p-advanced

[rested gal]

When you find a mask that works for you not only do you want spares in case it breaks but get as many as you think you will need because that is when the mfg will suddenly stop making your fav mask - not kidding.

AMEN to that!! The mask I use, and have been using for many, many years, was discontinued a long time ago. I had a feeling that might happen, as it was made by a new (at that time) small company called AEIOMED. It was started by a man who had previous experience designing the Breeze mask, which (back then) had become a game changer.

The mask the new little AEIOMED company produced was eventually called the "Headrest" nasal pillows mask. I tried it, made a number of drastic changes to it, and absolutely LOVED it for my habit of sleeping on one side and the other.

Foreseeing that such a little company would not last forever against the big established cpap/mask manufacturers, I bought more and more of the mask that suited me so well. Sadly, the small company did go out of business in a relatively short time. Years later, I still have more of that wonderful-for-me Headrest mask than I'll ever use up in my lifetime.

While I was on the buying spree, I wondered if the silicone would deteriorate as time went on. Would the extras stored for the future "go bad" and end up being unusable? That hasn't happened. Yet. Excellent quality -- each one lasts seemingly forever.

So, yeah. SAG's right. If you do find a mask that ABSOLUTELY suits you (can be a long, long journey finding it unless you're very lucky) buy spares. And then spares for the spares.

[LSAT]

WOW...Haven't seen that avatar in years...welcome back RG.