Frustrated and looking for opinions

[JSan24]

I am new here, diagnosed with OSA about a year and a half ago. I had a frustrating experience and am hoping for some opinions...

First Frustration/Question: I am on Bipap, and use the Respironics M series Bipap-A machine with a ffm, the liberty mirage. My pressure is 22/16 I am having to have a tooth extracted tomorrow and the dentist said I coiuld not wear my mask for 72 hrs after the dental work. My AHI at my sleep study was 123, I cannot imagine not using my bipap and especially for that long, seems risky even. So I asked if there were any alternatives and the dentist said if I wore a nasal mask I could still wear it. So I called my DME company and went in to get a new mask. The "respiratory therapist" starting telling me that I should really be using a nasal mask anyway because if I was opening my mouth with the ffm then I was not getting treated, and that I would have a chin strap on with the nasal to prevent that. She said, "look it up on the internet" uh ok. So I thought that the reason you wear a ffm was in case you were a mouth breather or were apt to open your mouth. Have I beem misinformed this whole time? I left with my original mask and with a new swift fx and chin strap.

Second frustration: The same girl says she can download my machine info and tell me how I have been doing, I tell her I read in the manual that they could set up for it to show me the nightly AHI on the screen and she says ok I will do that for me. She then comes back after downloading and says, oh sorry your machine will not show me anything. I asked why since the manual says it should and she looks more into it and says well, your dr wrote your prescription to only be on bipap, not auto bipap so the machine isnt using its advanced settings. She said I need to call my doc and get a new prescription and then she could turn the auto on and I could start seeing the AHI as well as having the machine adjust through the night as needed. I dont have full trust in my doc when it comes to my OSA, he seems to not be informed as I would hope he would be, I fully trust him for everything else just not this...The dme comp had said I should probably get a new sleep study about a month ago, since it had been over a year and I had lost some weight and my dr wouldnt refer me for one, he said that they never send patients out this soon for another. I have really good insurance so its not an insurance thing, just a dr thing. Anyways I am digressing. I am a bit frustrated that when I recieved my machine that the DME didnt recognize that my machine could do more and that it might be beneficial to have the dr adjust my prescription. At the time i got the machine they said I could have the AHI downloaded, just only with them, clearly someone is wrong. Is anyone on an auto setting? Are there any drawbacks to it? It seems some people on this forum have obtained the clinicians manuals for this machine, couldnt I just make the switch myself or would that be a bad idea somehow? I think it just makes sense that I should be able to see my nightly AHI as long as my machine can support it. As it stands, I only can tell how I am doing by how tired I am.

Sorry this is so long. I dont really complain about having to wear the mask because I truly felt it saved my life. Before I got my first sleep study I was falling asleep at the wheel, falling asleep while taking care of my baby, at work, basically everywhere. I thought I had narcolepsy and my body just started to shut down after awhile. I am ashamed at how bad I let this go before I went through with the sleep study, All that to say, this has really been the first time I have actually been frustrated with all of this...

[Jaylee]

Hi there I am also on BiPap and I use a nasal mask with a chin strap. I have never tried a FFM so I can't really comment on that. I hope that you can find something that works with your dental work. I would not want to go that long without my machine.

[ozij]

The only good info you got from the RT is to turn to the Internet.

FFM are for poeple who mouth breathe - some people's mouth leaks simply cannot be controlled with a chinstrap, and that's when FFM's let them get the therapy they need.

About the data: That does not depend on your machine's mode it depends on the type - if you have a BIPAP Auto, you can see the data, no matter which mode it is on. Assuming you have an Auto, this means the RT didn't know how to handle the menu. and fobbed you off.

Check this site http://mseries.respironics.com/ to make sure your machine itself is indeed an auto. If it is, you may find the setup data by searching the board, or someone give it to you soon --

[DreamOn]

JSan24, I'm not familiar with your machine myself, but I just sent you a PM (private message) with some information that may help you. Best wishes!