Maintenance

[1999jacko]

I'm from the UK where its not as common to buy your own equipment. I've not been called to clinic for about 20 months now. I understood I would have a review every 12 months. Things are going brilliantly on my apap with ahi always under 0 and 7/8 hours use daily. The thing is I went and bought a dreamstation of my own as I wanted apap and they would only supply cpap but I was told they would happily "service" my apap every year for me. But as I'm not being called in its not happening. Do apap machines require a yearly healthcheck/service?

[A KLERK]

I can say no, maintenance is not necessary indeed. But that implies that you should take care of it yourself. Simply: Listen to your body. If you feel bad and it's getting worse, please look into SleepyHead or at your machine to see anything change. I cannot think of anything to go wrong silently, but make sure that if the pump stalls, you need a new one IMMEDIATELY! After having been successfully treated you cannot sleep even a few hours without it anymore!!

[D.H.]

Under 0? It can't go lower than zero!

[A KLERK]

Sorry, read it again. What do you mean with "below zero?". If the machine is OK, AHI will stay as it is now. When the pump stalls, your AHI will rise high, but you wouldn't see that anymore: When the pump does not blow, it cannot measure your breathing... And you would feel it. You need a new machine then for that night!

[1999jacko]

Ha. Sorry. In the zeros I meant, ie under 1! My question is simply about maintenance of the machine and not of my therapy which is fine at the moment.

[Thumper68]

For the machine itself, the only maintenance I perform is changing the filter when necessary and wiping the dust off occasionally.

[Jas_williams]

I am in the UK and get an annual check up with the sleep clinic and i use my own machinecI do this so that the DVLA can check I am adequately treated my yearly summary data goes on my file. You have reported your sleep apnoea to the DVLA and your insurance?

[rick blaine]

Hi 1999jacko,

The staff at some sleep medicine departments in the UK think that if they send a machine to the hospital's engineering department "for a service", the engineering department will open up the unit and 'put grease on all the axles' – or something like that.

In fact - and it's the engineeers at the foundation trust hospital I go to who told me this – the engineering department are instructed not to open up the units. If anything of that nature is required, the units go back to the factory.

What the engineering department can do - and in effect is the sum total of their 'service' – is change the filters.

And you can change the filters yourself. In fact, if you're smart, you'll do this – every six months for the dust filter, and once a month for the biological filter - just like PR UK recommend you do.

To get spare filters, call Philips Respironics UK in Chichester and order some. You can pay by card and they will overnight them to you.

As to your not being called in for your annual review – this seems to be happening all over the UK. Sleep medicine departments have become the victim of their own success. Because the treatment works and is cost-effective, more and more GPs are sending more and more patients in for assessment and treatment.

With the result that keeping track of all the new patients while also servicing their existing patients is now overloading the number of appointments that are available in the sleep medicine department with the number of staff they've got at the moment. And a policy of 'see you in two years for review' is now quite common.

[palerider]

And you can do that yourself. In fact, if you're smart, youll do this every six months like PR UK recommend you do.

Last I checked, Philips respironics recommended *monthly* filter changes, have they changed,

[rick blaine]

Hi palerider,

PR UK say:

Every six months for the dust filter (meaning complete replacement, although you will have washed it several times). And once a month for the biological filter.

[zonker]

Hi 1999jacko,

The staff at some sleep medicine departments in the UK think that if they send a machine to the hospital's engineering department "for a service", the engineering department will open up the unit and 'put grease on all the axles' – or something like that.

In fact - and it's the engineeers at the foundation trust hospital I go to who told me this – the engineering department are instructed not to open up the units. If anything of that nature is required, the units go back to the factory.

that's both hilarious and sad at the same time! i know from my own experience with my sleep doctor and lots of talk here that you can't get good service from your doctor.

but this goes far beyond that!

i'm SO glad this forum exists.

[palerider]

Hi palerider,

PR UK say:

Every six months for the dust filter (meaning complete replacement, although you will have washed it several times). And once a month for the biological filter.

Well, it needs to be checked and cleaned monthly, at least... That's what I was getting at.

[D.H.]

How frequently you change the filter depends on where you live. If you live in downtown London, you will need to replace the filter more frequently than if you live in the countryside.

[zonker]

How frequently you change the filter depends on where you live. If you live in downtown London, you will need to replace the filter more frequently than if you live in the countryside.

d.h., international man of mystery.

[Goofproof]

How frequently you change the filter depends on where you live. If you live in downtown London, you will need to replace the filter more frequently than if you live in the countryside.

Right, International Experts like like D.H., know by first hand less dirt blows in the countryside. It says so on the bottom of his wastebasket! Jim