Newbie here. Thinking of going DIY route for now

[adesetisland]

Hi everyone, found this forum through reddit and have been lurking and soaking up as much info as I can. I just wanted to introduce myself and say how grateful I am to have found a wealth of resources here.

I’m sure I have OSA due to snoring, feeling my tongue blocking airway and getting jerked awake, waking up every couple hours, headaches in the morning, pulse rate high upon waking, etc.

I have an appt scheduled with my PCP this week and will be asking for a sleep study. But the timeline between appt to sleep study to machine is a long one and i’m desperate for relief now. I also have a high-deductible that i definitely won’t be meeting soon (plus my insurance might change next year). A friend had a cpap that i’ve been trying out but it’s basically a brick (resmed #37015).

I’m currently looking through offerup and craigslist to see if i can find an apap to buy today. Are there any apaps that are not compatible with oscar? or is it safe to assume that most are?
I’m waiting for the sellers to provide model numbers.

Thank you!
Username was supposed to be “a desert island” but ended up with a typo

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, there are apaps not compatible with software of any kind not just OSCAR.
Just because it is an apap doesn't mean it collects the data needed to use something like OSCAR and some apaps that do collect full data are so old they don't used SD card which OSCAR needs.

So you really have to know your machine models.

Contact forum member LSAT....I am pretty sure he has a ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet that is likely cheaper than what you can find on craigslist....and he can be trusted...and it's a full data machine that will work with OSCAR.

Otherwise stick with looking for these models on craigslist

Resmed brand models
ResMed S9 AutoSet
ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet or the AutoSet for Her model

In the Respironics models...look for
PR System One models 550 or 560...that's the Auto CPAP model in the discontinued models
or the DreamStation model DSX500xxx which is the current Auto CPAP model.

Don't even bother with older models or different brands...either they won't be compatible with OSCAR or the data needs a high priced smart card reader...or the brand is inferior and the data collected is inferior even if you could get to it.

Don't trust craigslist sellers to just tell you the model name...get the model number or a picture of the model number or name on the machine. Often they don't have a clue what they have.

[adesetisland]

Thank you Pugsy for the info .

A seller on offerup has a Resmed Airsense 10 with autoset, ref number 37028. I think i’ll pick it up today.

Fortunately I have a mask that a friend never used and it fits great when i was trying out his old cpap.

Are resmed supplies compatible with other resmed? My friend has hoses and filters (never opened) that I’m hoping to use on the airsense.

[Pugsy]

You will need a ResMed compatible filter so other brands unlikely to work due to size of the filter opening more than anything else.
Also old S8 filters from ResMed won't fit the newer machines. S9 and AirSense 10 filters are the same though. So if it says S9 filter on the package...it will work on the AirSense.

Otherwise all masks and all non heated hoses are compatible with the exception of maybe some of the specialty travel masks and hoses.

The heated hoses between the 2 ResMed models (S9 and AirSense)...are not interchangeable though. Different power connections between the hoses.

[adesetisland]

Good to know, thank you.

I’m about to meet with the seller about the Airsense. Only downside is it doesn’t come with an SD card, but I can grab one afterwards.

[raisedfist]

LSAT is also selling 2 bi-level VAuto machines which are very nice. Someone here can help you set up the settings as well.

[Pugsy]

Any generic SD card will work.
I got mine at WalMart. You will likely not be able to find a smaller size now (the machine only really needs a 1 or 2 GB size) since most SD cards are at least 8 GB but they will work fine.
I got a cheap Sandisk SD card at Walmart...been working great for years now.

[adesetisland]

I was able to get the Airsense 10 Autoset today yay! And it’s new with 0 run hours, which is nice.

After going through some threads, i think this is how I’ll initially set it up: Min: 8, Max: 18, and no ramp or EPR. Are there any other details I might be missing?

Hopefully things will work out and I can collect some data to share with my doc this week.

Praying for decent night sleep tonight.

Edit: and humidity at 3

[Pugsy]

Gotta start somewhere. If you have trouble exhaling against the pressure you might add in a little EPR for comfort.
Try all the settings and just use the one that feels the best to you.
Give yourself some awake time getting used to the machine and mask.....like reading a book or watching TV and under no stress to fall asleep so less likely to get frustrated.

[palerider]

I was able to get the Airsense 10 Autoset today yay! And it’s new with 0 run hours, which is nice.

After going through some threads, i think this is how I’ll initially set it up: Min: 8, Max: 18, and no ramp or EPR. Are there any other details I might be missing?

Hopefully things will work out and I can collect some data to share with my doc this week.

Praying for decent night sleep tonight.

Edit: and humidity at 3

I'd do min 8 (I usually say 6, but no harm in and max 20... just leave the max at 20 unless some compelling reason comes up to lower it.

EPR, play with it if you like for easier breathing, as well as humidity levels. Make sure the SD card is in... post a screenshot tomorrow: wiki/index.php/Sleepyhead:Organize
(that's for sleepyhead, but Oscar works the same, for now).

[adesetisland]

Thanks for the tips Pugsy and palerider.

I completely forgot about getting an SD card so no data for tonight. Gonna grab one tomorrow.

[Pugsy]

There is still a little data available on the machine's LCD screen in the morning.
Just go into the clinical setup menu area and look for a setting called "Essentials" and set it to "Plus" if it isn't already set that way.
Here's the clinical manual in case you don't have it already.
https://www.respshop.com/manuals/ResMed ... %20her.pdf
Explains the features better than the user manual does.

The SD card absolutely must be in the machine during the night to get the detailed data graphs. Otherwise all you get is the summary numbers that are what you see on the machine's LCD screen.

[adesetisland]

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get any sleep last night. I found that starting at 8 was too low to prevent the back of my tongue from blocking my airway. I’d get jerked awake as i’m about fall asleep. I tinkered with the min until i felt my airway was clear and i was up to 15. At that point i was dealing with leaks from different sleeping positions and aerophagia (i’m a mouth breather sadly). If anyone has any tips to get me through i’d greatly appreciate it. Appt with PCP is Thurs but i’m gonna call to see if there are any open slots today.

[D.H.]

You might want to look here ===> https://www.secondwindcpap.com/

You need a prescription to order from them. However, they offer you assistance in getting one.

[D.H.]

Another thing you might want to do is travel overseas for treatment. I understand that you go to Thailand, see a sleep doctor, get tested and titrated, and be sent home with a machine for $1100 (not including airfare, meals, or accomodations).

Hopefully, you can find something nearer than Thailand.