Airsense 10 or Philips Dreamstation

[stephenn]

Hi all,
My first post. I am new to CPAP. I get severe sleep apnea on back moderate on side. I was given a System one 50 series machine but have found it to noisy. I tried 6 masks and finally settled on Amara view. Tried nose one not enough oxygen, tried full face and left sore mark on bridge of my nose. The amara view was the most comfortable without too many leaks.
I am choosing between 2 machines, Philips dreamstation and Airsense 10. I want something that is gentle on breaths and comfortable and very quiet as I am light sleeper. Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
Steve

[Julie]

Hi, what you want would be an auto vs plain cpap to begin with, as autos will do cpap if you end up preferring it (something you can't know til you experiment, though autos are far more popular), but cpaps don't do auto, and auto's important as it will allow you in future to tweak your pressures if and when you might feel the need (way too often machines are supplied with wide open pressure ranges (4-20) that don't treat adequately, regardless of what titration pointed to, because too many doctors still don't appreciate that the machines' low setting (default one) of 4 is not effective for apneas that occur at a higher level... the machines can't address them in time from the low setting... doctors know the science of apnea, but far too little about machines.

In any case, what you also want is a machine that gives all the data (through software) of what goes on overnight when you're asleep, so you can understand from night to night why you've either slept well or not, and again be able to address the issues - far more so than just tweaking pressures. It gives you control over your therapy, and understanding, which is important. You want a fully data capable machine, not one that only gives 'compliance' data (the stuff sent to the insurance co. to say you're using the machine long enough for them to pay).

"Gentle breaths" - it's not about that - you may find you need slightly (very slightly) more forceful ones - driven by the pressures - to be treated effectively, and all machines respond to programmed pressures - it's not about whether you prefer one type or another, and all will feel the same relatively if set to the same pressures, though some older machines may be a bit louder than others (something though that most get used to quickly in any case).

Dreamstation's a good new machine, but 'Airsense 10' is not the full name of the other (good) machine unless 'Auto' accompanies it. Phillips and Resmed both have made very many machines over the years, different types with very many models, so it's important to know the full name & model you're getting.

I don't actually use either of the above, but others will chime in here with more info for you and you can look on Cpap.com at both (and many other) machines for details.

[Pugsy]

What pressure are you using/needing?

[Guest]

Thanks Judy,
It will be set at 9cm.
Cheers
steve

[Pugsy]

Are you using insurance or paying for it totally out of your own pocket?

If insurance is paying so that the cost to you is the same with either machine...get the Airsense 10 (please avoid the AirSense 10 CPAP model because it doesn't gather much useful data)...get either the Elite or better yet the Airsense 10 AutoSet. I think that the exhale relief on the ResMed machines might help you at least feel like breathing with it is "gentler" because it allows a little more reduction in pressure during exhale than the Respironics machine allows.

Overall I think that the ResMed machines are maybe a little bit less noisy but the Respironics Dream Station isn't nearly as noisy as those older 50 series machines...so if you are paying out of pocket and the Dream Station is significantly less expensive then it's certainly worth considering.

[Cardsfan]

Hi steve- I find that some white noise, helps distract from the cpap noise. I use a fan because it is a constant sound.

[Cardsfan]

sound levels:
if you go to https://www.cpap.com and look under each machine it shows the sound level. Look under specs.
I think the Dreamstation was 25 dcb
and the Resmed autoset was 26 dcb.

[stephenn]

Hi,
Rented a Airsense 10 , tried it last night no noise which is great however the exhale I found harder than the old 50 series machine. I found it not as easy to breath, I need to feel it smooth and natural to breath. Can you adjust the setting for exhale pressure for a fixed machine, even though I have rented a auto machine. Also it was set at 9cm straight away with no RAMP put on so no prep before sleep. What should I do, rent a dreamstation? The goodnews I had 5.6 per hour which is much better than around 50 when I sleep on my back and 25 on my side.
Cheers
Steve

[Pugsy]

Yes...there is adjustable exhale relief for machines that are both fixed pressure (cpap) or auto adjusting pressure (apap).
It sounds like you didn't have EPR exhale pressure relief turned on last night with the AirSense 10
It offers up to 3 cm drop during exhale and with the pressure of 9 it should have felt quite easy to use 9 inhale and 6 exhale.

You might want to look at the manual for the Airsense so you can see where EPR is set. I bet if they didn't turn on ramp they probably didn't turn on EPR either.
https://sleep.tnet.com/home/files/resme ... -guide.pdf

ResMed machines will go up to 3 cm drop in pressure during exhale.
Respironics machines go about their exhale relief a little differently and it's flow based so if you breathe rather shallowly you might not get the full benefit but the most exhale relief a person can get on a Respironics machine is 2 cm at the setting of 3. Or at least that's the way Respironics has always done their exhale relief and I don't see it changing with the DreamStation.

[stephenn]

I will try a dreamstation tomorrow, have they updated the software as I read back in December the software was very limited.
Cheers
Steve

[sptrout]

One thing that I did not see mentioned is the size of the two devices. The footprint of the DreamStation with the humidifier attached is much larger than the AirSense 10 (w/o the humidifier about the same size). When I saw them side by side at the CPAP.com brick and mortar store here in the Houston area, that difference alone made it an easy call. The DreamStation's footprint is at least 2x the AirSence 10. Check your available nightstand space.

[yaconsult]

Hi, stephenn. Please create an account so that people will be able to send private messages and to link all of your posts together.

Basically, there are no substantive differences between the top of the line Respironics and Resmed cpap machines. They are both excellent machines although one or the other could be better depending on such things as if the person were planning on using it while camping or something. They are both very quiet and equally effective. But you have to make very, very sure which specific model of machine you get to be sure that you get a full data, auto adjusting cpap. There is just no reason to get anything else as they can also be set to operate in fixed pressure mode. But the model names within a brand are intentionally made very similar and confusing and the outward appearance is the same except for a word or two somewhere on the machine.

In terms of the software, only the most basic information on threapy is provided by the machine or any apps or websites that they provide. To access any detailed data, you have to use something like the excellent, free SleepyHead software to see the breath-by-breath recorded data.

How much is the machine going to cost you out of pocket? The reason I ask is because our sponsor, cpap.com, is having a fantastic sale on PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto with Bluetooth. It's only $314 which is the best price I have ever seen for a new cpap. The accessories are also on sale. For many people, they would save money by buying out of pocket versus the monthly fee or deductible that they would have to pay before they owned the machine if they went through insurance. Here is the machine that is on sale at cpap.com and there is another whole thread about it in this forum: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/pr-sys ... tooth.html Yes, it's the model before the dreamstation, but there are no major feature differences. Whenever one company comes out with the new model, the other company has to do the same to "keep up".

[stephenn]

Hi all,
I took the Airsense 10 back today and swapped it for the Dreamstation. Last night was terrible got to sleep around 3pm; the amount of Apnoea was around 12.6. I still found it hard to exhale naturally. It wasn’t switched onto RAMP at all so that was some of the issue, so hence long time to get to sleep. It was on level 3 for exhale so that shouldn’t be a problem. Also the technician said they both have a exhale function up to 3 cm and another sales rep said the Philips has a slightly smoother more natural breathing rhythm.
I tried the Philips Dreamstation and for about 10 minutes in the clinicians shop and then for 10 minutes at home. Straight away I felt I could breathe out (exhale) smoother and more naturally but the real test will be the next couple of nights before my final decision.
So my initial impressions between the two models, but this may change:

Airsense 10:
Positive: Prefer its size and look, Ease of use, very quiet, a little more solid machine.
Negative: No ramp button, hard to exhale naturally, water tank emptied quickly

Philips Dreamstation:
Positive: Water tank seems larger, quiet, easier for more natural breathing, Separate Ramp button, cheaper than Airsense
Negatives: Larger footprint, maybe very slightly nosier, slightly more technical settings.

If it turns out I can breathe slightly better with The Dreamstation and have a better sleep then that will be the decider for me.

Cheers

Steve.

[palerider]

Airsense 10: , water tank emptied quickly

Philips Dreamstation:
Positive: Water tank seems larger,

appearances, they can be deceiving.

air10: Water Capacity: 380 mL

dreamstation: Water Capacity 325 ml (11 oz.) at recommended water level

right outta the manuals.

[Guest]

Yes it always pays to check the manuel
Cheers
Steve