New to using Cpap (a bit lost...)

[zonker]

Are there any top contenders I should consider?

aye, there's the question. which mask? and it's not easy to answer because we are each of us different. many users have had to try multiple masks until they find one that suits them.

i didn't go back through the thread to see, but if you can afford to go out of pocket for your mask, i would recommend cpap.com, our sponsor. they have a trial period (or they used to) of 30 days for masks. that's good news. the bad news is they don't bill any insurance.

good luck!

[LeonieX]

Bigger SD cards can be used if you cannot get the smaller cards.

But the 16GB card I have now would work though, right?

[LeonieX]

i would recommend cpap.com, our sponsor. they have a trial period (or they used to) of 30 days for masks. that's good news. the bad news is they don't bill any insurance.

I have been purchasing some supplies from cpap.com already since my doctor recommended to purchase from there. I figure I can get a mask from the DME as that will go towards my deductible. I will likely end up purchasing more masks myself down the road as I'm trying to figure out what works for me.

[Pugsy]

Bigger SD cards can be used if you cannot get the smaller cards.

But the 16GB card I have now would work though, right?

Yes, it will work just fine. I am using a 16 GB card myself.
No sense is paying more for the higher capacity cards anyway.

[GrumpyHere]

Bigger SD cards can be used if you cannot get the smaller cards.

One just have to go through the effort of creating a 32GB or smaller partition on the bigger cards.

It helps if you have a relative who's a computer geek on call. Or just spend some effort reading the many simple online tutorials.

I used a 128GB sd card and inserted into my AirSense11 Autoset and I didn't have to do any formating myself. It could have formatted without telling me.

That's a new feature for AirSense 11s.
The S9s and AirSense 10s needed repartitioning for cards bigger than 32GB.

[KobeT]

Bigger SD cards can be used if you cannot get the smaller cards.

But the 16GB card I have now would work though, right?

Yes

[LeonieX]

Good day everyone!
Would my max pressure need adjusted due to a change in sleeping position?
I've been a side sleeper, but had to switch to sleeping on my back a little over a month ago due to an injury. My sleep quality has gone down since, and I had attributed that to pain or discomfort. I had not looked at my OSCAR data since just prior to that change. I'm reviewing my charts today, and noticed that I tend to reach my max pressure of 15 a large majority of the nights. It makes me wonder if I really need higher pressure now as I'm not in the ideal position for my breathing.

[Jlfinkels]

[snip]
Would my max pressure need adjusted due to a change in sleeping position?
[snip]

If does not hurt to test with a higher pressure, for example using 5-20 instead of your current 5-15. The machine will adjust based on flow limits as needed.

You can also consider increasing your min so the pressure adjustments have a lower chance of waking you. For example, use the median as your base pressure. Without an OSCAR report it is hard to figure out what a new setting should be, but you can try 10 or so for a min and 20 for a max. It will likely feel weird the first few nights, but you'll get used to it fairly quickly. This will help give you an idea of what your ideal pressure range may be.

BTW, if it is a shoulder problem forcing you to sleep differently there are special pillows and wedges you can use to help with the pain. I use one nightly when my shoulder pain is bad and it allows me to sleep on my side.

[LeonieX]

you can try 10 or so for a min and 20 for a max.

That is the exact setting I was contemplating! I've actually already increased my minimum up to 9 recently and was thinking to get to 10 or 11 soon anyways.

BTW, if it is a shoulder problem forcing you to sleep differently there are special pillows and wedges you can use to help with the pain.

The injury is in my lower spine. I have tried all the options that were recommended, with supportive pillows to sleep on my side in a good position but I was waking up worse off. I also tried using a wedge to at least raise my head up if I'm sleeping on my back and that has been another fail. So now I'm down to the combination of sleep position and pillows that seem to do best for my back, and hoping I can adjust my cpap treatment and get back to where I was.

[ChicagoGranny]

Good day everyone!
Would my max pressure need adjusted due to a change in sleeping position?
I've been a side sleeper, but had to switch to sleeping on my back a little over a month ago due to an injury. My sleep quality has gone down since, and I had attributed that to pain or discomfort. I had not looked at my OSCAR data since just prior to that change. I'm reviewing my charts today, and noticed that I tend to reach my max pressure of 15 a large majority of the nights. It makes me wonder if I really need higher pressure now as I'm not in the ideal position for my breathing.

I haven't followed your thread. Is there a reason you have limited the max to 15? Most of us set it to 20. The machine will not raise the pressure any higher than needed.

[ChicagoGranny]

for example using 5-20 instead of your current 5-15

If he needs 15 or more, 5.0 is a poor choice for the minimum. He could have many apneas while the machine is methodically increasing the pressure.

[Tec5]

The machine will not raise the pressure any higher than needed.

IIRC, machine will not raise pressure beyond 20cm, that is physical limit of machine.

However, your DME or Physician can set the maximum pressure to the limit of the machine or less, depending on your physician's assessment. The APAP machine will adjust the pressure, as it (the machine) thinks is necessary UP to the maximum set by the clinician (doctor/nurse/DME).

Most importantly.... have you posted (here) any OSCAR data?

[LeonieX]

I haven't followed your thread. Is there a reason you have limited the max to 15? Most of us set it to 20. The machine will not raise the pressure any higher than needed.

That is how my doctor set it up when I started cpap treatment. He reviewed my data just before I had to change my sleep position and started having these issues. The only recommendation I was given is to increase the minimum which I had been adjusting gradually. I just took a look back at my older reports and I I was hitting 15 quite a bit back then too, so he obviously missed that detail. I need to do better with monitoring my data. I got a bit lax on that this past month and paid the price!

[LeonieX]

.... have you posted (here) any OSCAR data?

I had posted some reports and was given the recommendation to increase my minimum and to increase the maximum if I noticed I was reaching 15 frequently. My doctor happened to review my data that same day and gave me the advice to increase the minimum. I started sleeping on my back two days later, so my fault for not looking at my own data or posting it here when I started having issues! I am learning albeit slowly and painfully!

[ChicagoGranny]

I am learning albeit slowly and painfully!

Despite the most recent setback, you've come a long way since starting this thread. You are going to "get it right".