My Philips Dreamstation broke following a power outage this morning. Need help.

[PJT]

Hi everyone.

I'm a Calgarian man, and I feel like I'm kind of in a dire situation here. I was sleeping when the power went out this morning (fourth time in the past month). It came back after 15 minutes but then my Philips Dreamstation suddenly reported a "Service Required" error and refused to work. I began panicking because I had only gotten two hours of sleep, and after dealing with it for a while, I tried to go back to sleep. I woke up around 1PM and I've been feeling exhausted the whole day. I went to my provider to get it checked, and it turns out the problem isn't the power supply, it's the machine itself and it will need to be sent in for repair.

I don't know what to do. I've been using this CPAP every night for the past six years and I am scared out of my mind wondering how long it'll take to send this, get it repaired and sent back, especially since the Dreamstation is in the midst of a product recall. I am 34 years old and morbidly obese (I am practicing diet and exercise to lose weight), and although I don't presently have any heart or lung issues that my doctors have detected, I am also a hypochondriac and terrified of passing away in the night due to sleeping without my CPAP. I just went through my first night without it and I feel exhausted and stressed, and I can't focus on anything and I'm scared of going to take a nap because I think I'll have some sort of major apneic event and that'll be it for me.

I don't have any clue what to do. Am I going to die soon? Is my Apnea going to kill me in the night? Somebody please help me, I am losing my mind and no doctors or technicians are around to ask. I've tried asking them everything I could but all they spouted was unapologetic "unfortunately" statements delivered in them most uncaring, clinicially cold way possible. I'm so scared, and so tired.

[Pugsy]

What is craigslist called in Canada? Go there and look for a cpap machine on the Canadian craigslist local to your area.
Buy it.

This is why so many people have a back up machine sitting in the closet for "just in case" situations like this.

[SleepGeek]

Welcome to the zoo.

Couldn't agree more with what Pugsy has said. Everyone should have a backup of ALL of their equipment. But that doesn't help now.

FB Marketplace is another place to look as searching this forum for used cpaps.

btw - it would help to know what model dreamstation have you been using?

[PJT]

I'm using the white one (technician this morning said it was a Dreamstation 1).

I was not aware that you could simply buy a used CPAP, we have Craigslist in Canada but sale of recalled items are prohibited. We also have something called Kijiji but I looked on there and the nearest ones are in Red Deer which is almost two hours away by car, and I don't drive.

What would you guys do right now if you were in my position?

[Pugsy]

we have Craigslist in Canada but sale of recalled items are prohibited.

Don't buy another DreamStation....don't buy another Respironics machine....buy a ResMed machine.

What is the model number of your machine??? Look on the bottom of the blower for the model number.
Once we know exactly which model you are using then we can advise which ResMed model to look for.

What would I do? I have a back up machine in the closet but if I didn't have one then I would be shopping my local craigslist.

[SleepGeek]

we have Craigslist in Canada but sale of recalled items are prohibited

So there shouldn't be any recalled cpaps for sale then right?
You don't want a recalled cpap anyway.

Look for a Resmed but in your situation you prob don't want to be too fussy.

[PJT]

we have Craigslist in Canada but sale of recalled items are prohibited.

Don't buy another DreamStation....don't buy another Respironics machine....buy a ResMed machine.

What is the model number of your machine??? Look on the bottom of the blower for the model number.
Once we know exactly which model you are using then we can advise which ResMed model to look for.

What would I do? I have a back up machine in the closet but if I didn't have one then I would be shopping my local craigslist.

Couple of problems.

1. Since posting this I've found the exact model of my CPAP on Facebook marketplace for very cheap. I don't see any resmed machines available in my area, and I can't afford much more than what this guy is asking for right now which is $300 CAD so this seems like a good deal to me.

2. I can't tell you what model Dreamstation I'm using as I left the machine at my technician's today, and I'm supposed to go back later this week with the power supply so they can start the refurbish.

My doctor told me not to stop my CPAP therapy despite the recall and that we shouldn't worry too much about the foam breaking off due to the fact that we live in a very dry climate. But still, I found an opportunity with this used Dreamstation and I think I need to take it. Since I can't afford a ResMed the only alternative for me would be no CPAP at all which is already taking an effect on me. You said not to be too fussy so that means I should probably grab this one right?

[Julie]

Take it for now and when you can get something else, keep it for a backup. And stop catastrophizing - who knows how long you had OSA before going on Cpap!

[PJT]

Take it for now and when you can get something else, keep it for a backup. And stop catastrophizing - who knows how long you had OSA before going on Cpap!

That's sound advice.

I really appreciate it. Every so often I get so anxious I need someone to slap me and yell at me to snap me out of it.

[PJT]

Once I have this other Dreamstation is there any setup I need to do? I know I need to change it to my air pressure which was 11, but is there anything outside of that I need to handle? I'm using the non-heated hoses.

[Pugsy]

Whenever I buy a pre owned machine all I ever do is change the filter and wipe down the areas I can touch with my fingers with a bit of alcohol and that's it.
Maybe wash the water chamber if I am going to use it but since it is the same model as you have then the water chamber you have should work just fine.....assuming you use the humidifier.

[PJT]

One last thing, what if my air pressure is wrong? Should I be okay with just changing it on the fly as I need it? I seem to recall it being 11.0 but I'm kind of second guessing myself as my original CPAP isn't here.

[PJT]

Update: I have the new Dreamstation now. I am pretty sure my previous machine's air pressure was 11.0 but I'm worried about that being wrong, is it okay to sleep with that pressure for one night? I set 11.0 as the auto-min and 11.5 as the automax. I'll talk to the respiratory guys about it tomorrow, but there won't be any severe health consequences for just sleeping with different settings for one night, will there? I'm worried it'll screw with my blood pressure or something.

[PJT]

Alright, I still need some help here.

I notice that the Humidifier doesn't turn on. When I go into the clinician settings I don't see any options for humidifier. I have a non-heated hose plugged in but I don't know how to turn on the humidifier.

[Wulfman...]

Not only is this why many of us have backup machineS ( multiple) but we also plug them into battery backup UPSes.
I suggest in your case you sleep in a recliner in a semi upright position until you can gt your problem remedied
And, don't let this situation happen again.

Den