First night - Advice please

[Isako]

Hi fellow OSA sufferers!

I just got a rental auto-cpap from my local DME on the advice of my respiratory physician to check a) whether I have OSA b) how severe it is (This is the way they diagnose here in my town in Europe). I rented a Remstar M series Auto with C-flex and purchased a comfort 2 full face mask. I managed to sleep last night for about 3 hours with it on. It is set to 4-18 and when I woke up the display showed 6 - No idea if thats good or bad. I felt quite good even after 3 hours of sleep. A few questions which I would greatly appreciate some advice;

1. I woke up with an extremely dry throat. My DME didnt give me a humidifer. With a full face mask is this not totally neccessary? I'm worried that Im waking up just from the dry throat and wont be as compliant without one.
2. I am scheduled to go back to my DME in one month to analyse the data on the smartcard. However, I would like to know some results about my possible OSA before then. Is it possible to get some basic stats off the machine itself? I know how to access the clinician menu, but I dont understand the symbols. I managed to download the quickstart guide but it didnt cover the symbols found on my device. Can anyone help?
3. The noise was unbreable and I had to end up sleeping with my headphones on and my girlfriend went to the spare room. If I decide to purchase a unit and go for a newer model unit such as S9 or PR1, should it be much quieter?

Thank you very very much

[kurth83]

Your DME didn't do you any favors by not giving you a humidifier,
around here DME's that do that are considered medieval from what I can tell.

Search for the clinician manuals online for your model.
Most models are available.
I don't know what kind of data that model will give you.

The newer models are quieter.
Quiet was important to me, I got the quietest one I could.

[Wulfman]

Hi fellow OSA sufferers!

I just got a rental auto-cpap from my local DME on the advice of my respiratory physician to check a) whether I have OSA b) how severe it is (This is the way they diagnose here in my town in Europe). I rented a Remstar M series Auto with C-flex and purchased a comfort 2 full face mask. I managed to sleep last night for about 3 hours with it on. It is set to 4-18 and when I woke up the display showed 6 - No idea if thats good or bad. I felt quite good even after 3 hours of sleep. A few questions which I would greatly appreciate some advice;

1. I woke up with an extremely dry throat. My DME didnt give me a humidifer. With a full face mask is this not totally neccessary? I'm worried that Im waking up just from the dry throat and wont be as compliant without one.
2. I am scheduled to go back to my DME in one month to analyse the data on the smartcard. However, I would like to know some results about my possible OSA before then. Is it possible to get some basic stats off the machine itself? I know how to access the clinician menu, but I dont understand the symbols. I managed to download the quickstart guide but it didnt cover the symbols found on my device. Can anyone help?
3. The noise was unbreable and I had to end up sleeping with my headphones on and my girlfriend went to the spare room. If I decide to purchase a unit and go for a newer model unit such as S9 or PR1, should it be much quieter?

Thank you very very much

Good luck with that mask. I tried one a few years ago (it was similar to the one I had in my sleep study and I got curious and bought one) and only made it three nights before going back to my Ultra Mirage Full Face. The lower part of the seal cut into the area between my lip and chin. It also felt like it leaked alot.

1. Dry mouth probably indicates mouth-breathing. That can happen with either a nasal or full face mask. Do nasal cleansing/rinses before bedtime if you have congestion issues.

2. I'll post the instructions below. Make sure "Show AHI/Leak" is turned on.

3. Nice "loaner"...... From reports on the forum, the users of the M Series reported very quiet to very noisy machines (and some in-between). It's "the luck of the draw. Sorry to hear you got a noisy one. You might want to mention that to the place you're renting it from.


Den



Hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the little power cord in the back, wait for 2 beeps release buttons. Then press the + key to enter setup mode, use the <- -> buttons to move to the next field, use the -/+ keys to decrease/increase values, when set press the On/Off button to exit Setup.

Therapy Mode = CPAP/AUTO (If Auto is selected, there will be A-Flex or C-Flex options)
CPAP Pressure = NN (only appears in CPAP mode).
AutoMax = 20 cm (default)
AutoMin = 4.0cm (default)
C-Flex Setting = Off, 1, 2 or 3
Ramp Time = (0:05 to 0:45)
Ramp Start Pressure = 4.0cm (can be from 4cm to AutoMin pressure).
Mask Alert = On/Off (beeps on large leak, mask removal).
Auto Off = Off (turns off machine on large leak/mask removal) Suggest leaving it "Off"
Split Night Time = Off (options are Off, 120, 180, 240) Should be "Off"
Show AHI/Leak = On (enables logging to display) Suggest leaving it "On"
Patient Reminder = Off (days to remind you that you get a new mask w/Insurance).
returns to Therapy Mode
Pressing On/Off exits Setup



==========Resetting LCD Display Data====================

To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds and/or until therapy data is reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.

[echo]

Hey Isako, glad you managed to get your hands on a machine

I would urge (DEMAND) them to give you a humidifer, it also wasn't standard in my little European town either but my throat and sinuses were quite raw without it (even though I use it on the lowest setting now, most of the time).

Though with the FFM you can still get dry mouth - a chinstrap _might_ help with that, to help keep your mouth closed.

[SleepingUgly]

That is very interesting that they diagnose OSA based on the results on Auto-Pap because here in the U.S. I was told that there are no studies supporting making a diagnosis that way (I was on an empiric trial of Auto-Pap to see if I benefited from it, and I kept wondering whether the data spoke to whether I had SDB). Clearly it is not the ideal way to do it because they can't examine any other sleep disorders, or nuances to sleep disordered breathing, but I guess it's better than nothing. If you end up with a high AHI, I assume they will diagnose you with OSA, but I have no idea what they would do with something like an AHI of 7. From an Auto-Pap, I would expect it is not reliable enough to call it abnormal like if you got that result on a sleep study. Also they can't correlate events with outcomes such as oxygen desaturations or arousals. Hmmm, very interesting.

[Wulfman]

That is very interesting that they diagnose OSA based on the results on Auto-Pap because here in the U.S. I was told that there are no studies supporting making a diagnosis that way (I was on an empiric trial of Auto-Pap to see if I benefited from it, and I kept wondering whether the data spoke to whether I had SDB). Clearly it is not the ideal way to do it because they can't examine any other sleep disorders, or nuances to sleep disordered breathing, but I guess it's better than nothing. If you end up with a high AHI, I assume they will diagnose you with OSA, but I have no idea what they would do with something like an AHI of 7. From an Auto-Pap, I would expect it is not reliable enough to call it abnormal like if you got that result on a sleep study. Also they can't correlate events with outcomes such as oxygen desaturations or arousals. Hmmm, very interesting.

It's been standard operational procedure (SOP) for Kaiser for some years. I've been reading about it on the forum for about as long as I've been here. That method can leave alot to be desired, but for simple OSA, it can work. Unfortunately in Kaiser's case, the user then ends up with an el cheap-o, non-data-capable CPAP. ("Plus" model) They don't know if they were prescribed the correct pressure or not.


Den

[Isako]

Good luck with that mask. I tried one a few years ago (it was similar to the one I had in my sleep study and I got curious and bought one) and only made it three nights before going back to my Ultra Mirage Full Face. The lower part of the seal cut into the area between my lip and chin. It also felt like it leaked alot.

1. Dry mouth probably indicates mouth-breathing. That can happen with either a nasal or full face mask. Do nasal cleansing/rinses before bedtime if you have congestion issues.

2. I'll post the instructions below. Make sure "Show AHI/Leak" is turned on.

3. Nice "loaner"...... From reports on the forum, the users of the M Series reported very quiet to very noisy machines (and some in-between). It's "the luck of the draw. Sorry to hear you got a noisy one. You might want to mention that to the place you're renting it from.


Den



Hold down the <- -> buttons while plugging in the little power cord in the back, wait for 2 beeps release buttons. Then press the + key to enter setup mode, use the <- -> buttons to move to the next field, use the -/+ keys to decrease/increase values, when set press the On/Off button to exit Setup.

Therapy Mode = CPAP/AUTO (If Auto is selected, there will be A-Flex or C-Flex options)
CPAP Pressure = NN (only appears in CPAP mode).
AutoMax = 20 cm (default)
AutoMin = 4.0cm (default)
C-Flex Setting = Off, 1, 2 or 3
Ramp Time = (0:05 to 0:45)
Ramp Start Pressure = 4.0cm (can be from 4cm to AutoMin pressure).
Mask Alert = On/Off (beeps on large leak, mask removal).
Auto Off = Off (turns off machine on large leak/mask removal) Suggest leaving it "Off"
Split Night Time = Off (options are Off, 120, 180, 240) Should be "Off"
Show AHI/Leak = On (enables logging to display) Suggest leaving it "On"
Patient Reminder = Off (days to remind you that you get a new mask w/Insurance).
returns to Therapy Mode
Pressing On/Off exits Setup



==========Resetting LCD Display Data====================

To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds and/or until therapy data is reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.

Thank you Wulfman, I really appreciate your help.