Just got my Resmed AirSense 10

[kurth83]

This is my once every few years post, I'll share some of the things I have learned on the way as I drive by.

After five years and two S9's (one auto and one elite), the second S9 broke (like the first one before it) and I couldn't buy a new one so was "forced" into an A10. cpap dot com to the rescue as usual.

After one night using it, all I know so far is it seems exactly the same from a sleep perspective except the humidifier is a lot more aggressive (with the climateline tubing). On the S9 I had it set for 4.5 out of 5, and it barely got warm. I started this one at six out of 9 and it used up half the reservoir in 3 hours and filled the tube with water, set it down to 4 (of 9) and it was great, still warmer (and wetter - a good thing), than the S9, with no rainout at that setting.

In summary, all is still well, many things have improved. Seems like the story never changes though, I always fight with new masks and chin straps, usually when they stop making the previous one I got used to. Switching to a new type of chin strap or mask is always traumatic for me. I used to use the SP-CHADJ strap, then found a better one which they recently stopped making. I tried the new ruby but didn't like it, now I am trying the Resmed one. It works, but it is finicky just like everything CPAP, the basic problem I have with chin straps is I adjust it too tight it seems to cut off circulation and I get a headache when I wake up, and too loose and I wake up when my mouth pops open, nasty, defeats the purpose of CPAP entirely. Sometimes I think you have to be a rocket scientist to get CPAP to work well.

Another recent fight was I got a fungus infection on the scalp under the chin strap, lots of tinactin, nizoral, and head and shoulders later, and it is gone, now I just use Nizoral as a preventative. Fun, fun, fun, wonder what is next, CPAP is always an adventure.

Another thing is I decided is I hate ramp, and EPR, turned both off, sleep better. Yet another trick from a long time CPAP'er (me) is pressure that is too low makes my oxygen levels drop (or CO2 levels in the tube higher), which creates headache + tiredness the next morning. My prescription is set to 9 and I started with EPR of 2, but raising the pressure to 10 with no EPR (exhale pressure relief) reduced headaches and tiredness a lot for me. I knew CPAP was supposed to get oxygen levels higher, but rebreathing old air in the tube defeated that purpose. I tried autoset once with a minimum setting of 4 and it nearly killed me, worst headache I had in years after only a few hours on it. The idea is the higher pressure keeps the tube purged of used air better, it was really noticeable for me. On that note I once tried to expand the exhaust hole in the mask with a drill to increase exhaust (yeah laugh it up, it is funny in retrospect), it didn't work out as expected, the humidifier couldn't keep up, so sore throat the next morning. All this took me years to figure out, and what settings work best for me. So for those of you using autoset, I would never let the minimum be 4 (which seems to be the default), I would start it at 9 or 10.

I also epoxied a little 1/4"x1/2" wooden dowel to the tip of the mask like a horn, it prevents fabric from pressing directly on the exhaust port of the mask, thus blocking it, thus another headache the next morning. I like to sleep on my back, with a sheet over my face (CPAP lets me do this, another wonderful thing about CPAP, a navy sheet is like a blackout curtain), why can't they make all masks like this I don't know, I have noticed a few of them do have protected exhaust ports so there are a few good mask engineers out there.

More good news is I started a new diet a year ago (the book "eat to live" - by Joel Fuhrman), lost 30 lbs, and feel much better than I did, riding my bike to work helped too (took 3 months of physical therapy to get to where I could ride again, yet another battle in the war to stay healthy and feel good).

I also had deviated septum surgery, that helped too, a lot, wish I had done that 30 years ago. The recovery was bad though, not being able to breath through my nose for a week was awful, slept with cut-to-length straws in my mouth (I was so proud of myself for thinking of that) so I could breath with my mouth closed, mostly worked, but nasty, nasty, nasty, didn't sleep well at all, but after recovery the world was a better place, the sun was brighter, the grass was greener, and so on.

Another trick I will share with y'all is I put the CPAP machine on top of an Austin Jr HEPA air filter. I have the A10 intake in the exhaust of the air filter, I take them both when I travel, that trick keeps my allergies at bay anywhere, amazing, CPAP used like that is a huge benefit for my allergies.

I have a current research project too, I recently bought a CO2 meter because of a recent study said that levels of 950 ppm had people scoring 25-30% less on cognitive tests (outside air is currently 400 ppm), levels of 550 ppm had no adverse effects on cognitive tests. This is much lower than previous indoor air-quality standards targeted, anything below 1000 ppm was considered good. What I know so far is my bedroom spikes up to 900 ppm when I am awake, and is steady-state at 700 ppm when I am sleeping. Guess I convert less O2 to CO2 when prone, kinda figures I guess. On nights when it is windy outside, my indoor CO2 levels are much lower, stay at 550 or below, guess the house breathes a little bit. The BIG SURPRISE is I noticed I feel significantly more rested on those lower CO2 nights, I would never have known this if it weren't for that CO2 meter. I still haven't figured how to keep my indoor CO2 levels low in the winter though - open windows increase the heating bill a lot - but I am working on it. $100 on Amazon gets a decent CO2 meter. I never sleep with my bedroom door closed as a result.

The same study also observed similar adverse effects on cognitive abilities from VOC's, my Austin Air filter supposedly takes out some VOC's, another reason I like it. I originally bought the CO2 meter to test my work environment, which turns out is fantastic, never gets above 550 there, but my home is a pit of despair by comparison.

Bottom line is CPAP is a winner for me, but remains one of the more challenging things in my life. I have learned to love the warm, humidified, HEPA-filtered air that I can take with me anywhere. I have started to like travelling again because I can sleep, dare I say I have discovered cruise ships (me likey)... All those things I did (and lots of Tylenol) made me able to travel again, nice to have an upward swing for a change, now if only there were reverse birthdays to go along with it. Dare I say praise God for (not so small in this case) favors.

To think, all this began (roughly) 10 years ago when I went to an allergy doctor complaining I couldn't sleep, 5 years later he referred me to a sleep doctor, best thing he ever did for me.

Well, that's it for now, later and best wishes to all.

[otrpu]

When I have trouble keeping the seal with my regular FFM I switch to a RespCARE Hybrid FFM. A combination mouth seal/nasal pillow FFM. Has a much smaller mouth area to seal. Comes with all three cushion/pillow sizes. Might take a look and see what you think. Good luck finding what works for you.
Cheers,
otrpu