New Equipment and S8 Elite II data questions

[fiberfan]

I picked up my equipment today. The tech was good. I had to push but as soon as the tech realized it was important to me, he called the doctor's office and they approved switching from the S8 Elite II cpap to the auto-pap. When he went to switch machines he left the clinician's manual so I looked at it. When he came back he joked about me looking at it and I commented it would take me < 10 minutes to find it online and he said 5 minutes was more likely.

I see the software is no longer available at online vendors but a card reader and a usb cable are. Does anyone have experience with the usb cable? I plan to buy either cable or card reader this week.

I did find software on ebay so I am debating buying their or just doing a download. Work blocks torrent download sites for obvious reasons so I have to wait until tonight to download and my home internet connect is slow. I might visit one of the places in town with wifi and see if their connection is faster.

[sheep1234]

Hi,
I have the same equipment as you...well, not the auto-pap, but the others are the same. I was just wondering what you would do with the software and info you eventually would get from the machine???

I put my mask on, go to sleep, wake up, rinse, repeat. Sometimes I do look at the numbers by accessing the "results" in the Elite II, but that's about it. I can tell by my daytime activity how my sleeping is going. I've seen some of other people's graphs and stuff but it's all hard to dicipher.

[SoccerMan]

I wouldn't bother with EBay for the software and it sounds like you already have a bee-line on acquiring it so no need to comment there.

I've been checking my data daily for the past month. I have a USB card reader (purchased from cpap.com) and have made reviewing data part of my daily routine when I get home from work. It takes me about 5 minutes to transfer the data and view it (I keep my computer in sleep mode when not in use so it boots up right away).

[PST]

ResScan 3.7 can be purchased from cpapaustralia.com.au for $100 Australian, or about $90 American. Seeing the graph of a night's events yields information beyond the summary numbers in the window of the CPAP machine. I think that this would be especially true with any form of auto PAP, but I feel like I benefit with my Elite II as well. Just as an example, occasionally I have an AI that is much higher than usual. It turns out to be a cluster of events all together just after I put the mask on and before I go to sleep. Perhaps it has to do with my breathing slowing as I go from last minute tasks to lying quietly in bed. Whatever it is, it isn't sleep apnea, so now that I see what's causing my inflated score I don't worry about it. That just scratches the surface of why many people like having information that only the software can make available.

[Komodo]

Hi,
I have the same equipment as you...well, not the auto-pap, but the others are the same. I was just wondering what you would do with the software and info you eventually would get from the machine???

I put my mask on, go to sleep, wake up, rinse, repeat. Sometimes I do look at the numbers by accessing the "results" in the Elite II, but that's about it. I can tell by my daytime activity how my sleeping is going. I've seen some of other people's graphs and stuff but it's all hard to dicipher.

The sofware is extremely important in helping YOU manage YOUR therapy.

It's because I got the software, that I saw something was wrong, that I'm going for a new sleep study in order to switch to a bi-level machine.
I printed out the report and brought it to my doctor. He was happy with the summary page results. It wasn't until I pointed out things in the DETAILED graphs that he saw the problems I was talking about.

"I've seen some of other people's graphs and stuff but it's all hard to dicipher" I thought so too at first, but it's not true. Once you get the software, it really IS easy to understand. Trust me, if I can understand it, ANYONE can!

[famousnick]

Hi Folks,
I have the same equipment and I've been charting my data every night working at finding the best interface. So far, the my Activa with mouth taping has produced the best numbers (I'm a bad mouth breather). I have a leak problem with all of the FFM's that I've tried. Regarding the software, can this be obtained through your DME or is the only option to purchase on your own? From what I've been able to see on-line it costs about $200 for the software and a card reader.

What does my CPAP community suggest?
BY the way thanks for all the valuble information that is shared on this forum. I read it every day.

[JohnBFisher]

... Regarding the software, can this be obtained through your DME or is the only option to purchase on your own? ...

Depends. Some DMEs will provide it. Due to problems I'ld had with my therapy, I talked my DME into providing a copy. It is easier for me to have it than for me to keep bothering them. They checked with my doctor first, who did not mind as long as I didn't not try to submit data every other day. He's since decided I *really* know how to read and effectively use the reprots.

But very few offer the software.

[fiberfan]

Thanks for the pm's about the software and the manual. I appreciate a safer source than a torrent download. I now just have to wait until the usb cable gets here, should be Friday or Saturday.

It might be the geek in me but I want to see data.