Just got my CPAP machine today...

tekman88 · Post by **tekman88** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:08 pm

Here's what they set me up with.....I don't know enough about this equipment to know if it's going to be a good thing for me, but I guess anything beats nothing at all....I could use it after last night.....

I woke up this morning with a terrible headache that aspirin wouldn't help...it hurt so bad that it made me feel sick at my stomach....that doesn't happen TOO often, but more and more often than it used to....hopefully this CPAP machine will help prevent the occasional headaches as well as give me all the other benefits also....

The RT gave me a ResMed S8 Elite System...it has a ResScan Data card that I'm supposed to send back to the RT in a couple of weeks...and I will have my first Dr's visit after one month..

http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/third_tie ... -elite.htm

It has the HumidAire 3i humidifier with it....I also have a Mirage Micro nasal mask with hose and etc....

He told me that BC/BS will pay 80% of the equipment with no deductible and that I'd be billed after insurance pays their part.....

I guess giving this stuff a try is needed before I know how it'll work for me.....

Have I got a good initial set-up??.....TIA

Stanley

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap machine, resmed, humidifier, mirage, hose

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:43 pm

TekMan88 - Welcome and YES, you really got hooked up, I think... It looks like a very nice set-up! CONGRATS SleepyNoMore (noy logged in)!

jimbassett · Post by **jimbassett** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:52 pm

Hey Stanley you really lucked out with the ResMed Elite. It is fully data capable which is what you want so you can see the results of your therapy.
You will find the hardest piece of equipment to get to fit comfortably is the mask. Don't be afraid to try everything you can get your hands on. I have purchased most of mine from CPAP.COM in between what medicare buys me. I think you have to have several to switch from sometimes during the night. Good Luck with your treatment and stay with the course. Your life depends on it. Cheers jim

sleeplessinaz · Post by **sleeplessinaz** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:55 pm

Hi there --wow you HAVE lucked out and got the Resmed ELITE right out the gate!! I got the Escape which has no data capabilities and have had to now jump the hoops to get that coveted ELITE!! CONGRATS to you!! I also am interested in that Mirage Micro nasal mask --that is the one that I want to try next----so let me know how it works for you? it is a nicely made mask and seems like it will do the trick---

SIAZ

tekman88 · Post by **tekman88** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:53 pm

The RT only gave me a ResScan data card to be mailed back to HIM in a couple of weeks, so if I wanted to see the info myself, I'd have to buy the card reader with software and load it on my pc??....would it be anything I could understand myself??...I'd be willing to buy the actual card reader and software if I can get any meaningful info from it.....I just want to make sure it's not a deal where only the RT or sleep Dr. is able to read/use it.....make sense??....

This machine has the exhale relief.....the sleep clinic machine didn't have that feature but I didn't seem to have a problem with that, so maybe this will just be like "gravy"??.....I was able to sleep for 4 straight hrs in the second sleep study with CPAP....maybe with this machine I'll be able to sleep a full 6-7 hrs straight?.....

I just hope that the occasional morning headaches and sometime "foot-aches" will be gone now....and not being tired while driving, riding my motorcycle, or watching TV would be nice too.....

bigguy42431 · Post by **bigguy42431** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:21 pm

Hi Stanley
I have been on cpap for 8 mos. now before cpap i was wakeing up every 2 hours or so. Now I average 6 to 7 hours straight through without wakeing up. I feel so much better and don't fall asleep all the time.

PS I was not so lucky and got a machine thats not data capiable a m series plus. I just order a Respironics m series auto with a flex and the software +card reader. But had to pay for it out of pocket.

James

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): CPAP

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:21 pm

You fell in a pile of poop and came up smelling lilke a rose w/the Elite!! Tomorrow morning when you get up, push the Left and Right buttons on your Elite and hold them for 3-4 seconds.

Efficacy Data will pop up on the LED screen. From then on the navigation is pretty self-explanatory: Left button to Enter, Right Button to Exit, Up button to return to the previous screen, Left button to proceed to the next screen.

Don't worry, you can not accidentallyl or intentionally change your therapy settings or lose your data in this menu. Come on back here w/any questions you may have about the data you gather from your Elite.

Enjoy!!!

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:27 pm

tekman88 wrote:if I wanted to see the info myself, I'd have to buy the card reader with software and load it on my pc??

Actually, you can see the most important info already...right there in the machine's display window...without having any software at all.

If the machine was already set up (in the clinical menu) to show the smart data, you can hold down the right arrow and left arrow buttons together to get to your "Efficacy" data results the next morning.

Gotta look for it before noon the next day, though, or there will be no data to see. The machine resets that feature at noon, to get ready to record the next sleep session's data.

In the Efficacy data results in the little window...

You can see your AHI for last night; you can see it broken down into "AI" (apnea index), "HI" (hypopnea index), and Leak...which should be under 0.40 (liters per second.) With a resmed machine the leak can be zero, so the lower the leak number, the better. Leak above 0.40 means too much leak from somewhere...either from the mask, the mouth (if not using a Full Face mask) or both. Or even from a hole in the hose.

AHI is "apnea/hypopnea index" -- tells how many of both of those totalled together you were having, on average per hour. In other words, how many apneas and hypopneas (averaged out per hour) were sneaking through despite treatment.

It's good if the AHI is below 5.0. But with the way a resmed machine reports stuff, I wouldn't worry if the AHI was a little higher than that... even as much as AHI 7.0...IF most of the events contributing to a "higher than 5.0 AHI" were hypopneas (shown by the hypopnea index -- the "HI") and the apnea index ("AI") was very low.

resmed machines tend to score more flow limitations as "hypopneas", resulting in a higher "HI" than other brands of machines do, imho. In other words, a certain amount of partial closure that another brand might still call a "flow limitation" might be marked as a "hypopnea" with a resmed machine.

That doesn't mean one or another brand is right/wrong about whether it's a "hypopnea" or not. It's just a difference in the threshold the designers of each brand pick for how to report certain degrees of flow limitation. None of them are going by PSG (sleep study) criteria for definition of a "hypopnea"...a definition which also takes into account a certain percentage of drop in O2. The machines we use aren't measuring that. Our machines are measuring just the amount of airflow from us.

Bringing up the data in the machine window doesn't do anything to the card in the machine. Doesn't change or erase the data that's being recorded on the card.

heheh...I was typing and didn't see that Slinky had already told you how to get to the Efficacy data. WTG, Slinky.

tekman88 · Post by **tekman88** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:28 pm

Do you have to push the left and right button and hold them at the SAME time??....and I guess I should write down what I see then?.....and if I bought a card reader/software I could have all that info loaded into the pc?....thanks for the help.....

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:35 pm

tekman88 wrote:Do you have to push the left and right button and hold them at the SAME time??....and I guess I should write down what I see then?.....and if I bought a card reader/software I could have all that info loaded into the pc?....thanks for the help.....

Yes, push the right button down, keep holding it down while you push the left button down. So that you have them both down together. Then release both of them. From that point on, do like Slinky said about using the up/down arrow button and the Left button, to go through the menu. Right button will always show the word "Exit." "Exit" will take you back up to a higher level of the menu if you've dug down in it. Or, to completely Exit if you get lost, just hit the right button under the word "Exit" about three times to be absolutely sure you're all the way "out."

Yep, write down what you see, to keep your own running record of how your treatment was each night.

tekman88 · Post by **tekman88** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:39 pm

"If the machine was already set up (in the clinical menu) to show the smart data, you can hold down the right arrow and left arrow buttons together to get to your "Efficacy" data results the next morning."

[/b]I guess I won't know if that's the case until after I use it tonight then??....and another Question is....if the display is supposed to be on ALL the time when it's plugged up.....right now it has

"RAMP=25mins
menu Warm-up"

I know about the ramp feature and how to move it up and down...

I was told to clean the mask, hose, and humidifier with a mild soap WITHOUT anti-bacterials in it....my Wife says most soaps have those these days....

tekman88 · Post by **tekman88** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:42 pm

faster than I'm seeing the replies to them....

Thanks SO much for the help everyone...you are highly thought of here Rested Gal and I see why....thanks for being so helpful.....I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get into the therapy....Thanks again....

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:54 pm

Stanley, here's something you might find useful:

LINK to Mile High Sleeper's great information resource for cpap users.
http://www.smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com

And here are some links you might want to tuck in your pocket for future use:

viewtopic/t17435/ALL-LINKS-by-rested-gal.html

You're gonna have a long, happy life with "cpap."

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:42 am

I was told baby shampoo to be safe and a mild vinegar rinse for cleaning mask, etc.

Yup, holding both Left & Right buttons at the same time for 3-4 seconds.

Yup, that Ramp, etc. is the usual window when first turned on at night.

This is the way I wrote down and kept my nightly data before I got the software and reader:

Sun - 25 Feb 07 - Pressure 8.2 - Leak 0.70 - AHI 3.9 - AI 0.0 - HI 3.9 - Used 00345 hrs - Usage 0047/0048 nts - Day 10.2 hrs
Mon - 26 Feb 07 - Pressure 8.4 - Leak 0.62 - AHI 8.1 - AI 0.0 - HI 8.1 - Used 00353 hrs - Usage 0048/0049 nts - Day 8:14 hrs

tekman88 · Post by **tekman88** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:19 pm

Leak 0.18L/s

AHI 7.3

AI 1.1

HI 6.2

I think my pressure is 9......

As far as the leak thing goes, I intentionally pulled the mask away from my nose a time or two to re-seat it ...I also loosened the two side straps a little once last night to take a little pressure off my upper lip........I have a thick mustache and it was just a little sore this morning....and I had some redness around each side of my nose, but it didn't hurt.....

My throat was just a "wee" bit dry, so I moved the humidifier knob from III to IV.....

My display screen is on all the time and I'm not sure it's SUPPOSED to be??....it says.....

"Ramp= 25mins
Menu......arrows up and down-warmup"

Just got my CPAP machine today...

Just got my CPAP machine today...

A question about Data Capability...

Re: A question about Data Capability...

Another question......

Re: Another question......

Thanks Rested Gal......

LOL...Sorry....you are answering my questions....

My First night's #'s ......were as follows....

Machine	Mask

Additional Comments: new Airsense auto set 12/08/14. Cpap pressure is