New to CPAP, my experience, machines, software

[dmax]

Hi All,

Thanks for the great resources. I've learned a lot from reading here. I had my sleep clinic appointment about two months ago, which became a split study, followed by a trial with a Phillips CPAP (my pressure is 10cm). Had no problem adjusting to sleeping with the mask (resmed swift, nasal pillow), and only a bit of fussing to get the humidity right - but now I know the signs to tweak by.

My appointment with the sleep doctor is next Wed, so if there are any questions I should make sure to ask, please let me know Once that's done, I'll be finalizing getting a machine permanently.

My MD also has sleep apnea, and recommended the ResMed S8 Autoset II. Since my weight is likely to change, he says my pressure will change, and if I get a CPAP I'll need to go back to the clinic periodically for reevaluation. I'd prefer to avoid the hassle by getting an APAP instead.

Here in Canada, the Dr can't prescribe an APAP unless you need one, but I can apparently use my CPAP prescription to buy an S8 Auto from US retailers, though I may not need to after all.

It seems a number of my relatives are on CPAP as well, so it seems to run in the family.

One of my cousins started on CPAP, and after a couple of months was having a bad reaction of some kind. He said "feels like shards of glass in my sinuses". Despite investigations, his doctor couldn't resolve the problem, so he has reduced his need for CPAP through diet/exercise - and has offered to give me his S8 Auto!

So right now I have two machine here. I'm going to cautiously try his S8 and see if I have the same problem he did (i.e. Is it the machine, or my cousin that's the problem?). From the manuals posted here, I got into the clinician menu and set it up for my pressure, and can switch to Auto as well.

I would like to be able to download data from the machine as well (Well, from both the Phillips and the Resmed, actually!) - that's one of the things that attracted me to the S8 to begin with. It looks like the S8 uses a proprietary flash card form factor, and I see online vendors don't have them any more - is that correct? The Phillips is at least a standard SD card.

Can someone recommend where I should look to purchase card, reader, and software?

Thank you!

[cflame1]

check cpapaustralia

[dmax]

check cpapaustralia

Great! Thanks. I see they have lots of software and card/reader options for both machines.

As an aside, I notice that CPAP machines in .au are more than twice the US price - which makes .au more like Canadian pricing. I wonder why it's that way.

[cflame1]

it's aussie dollars... so not sure what the exchange rate is at present.

[Wulfman]

I don't think you'll be able to purchase a ResMed machine (or any of their equipment) outside of the country you live in. You might want to look at CPAPAuction.com. Some of the sellers MAY ship to Canada.

With other brands like Philips/Respironics, it shouldn't be a problem.

APAPs are nice, but not "necessary" for good therapy.


Den

[dmax]

I don't think you'll be able to purchase a ResMed machine (or any of their equipment) outside of the country you live in. You might want to look at CPAPAuction.com. Some of the sellers MAY ship to Canada.

With other brands like Philips/Respironics, it shouldn't be a problem.

APAPs are nice, but not "necessary" for good therapy.


Den

Hi Den,

My MD bought his resmed machine in the US, so I don't expect to have a problem if I end up needing to do that too. Not worried about shipping - it's easy enough to ship to a US address and import it myself.

The CPAP therapy has been fine, I think - but I'd rather not have the ongoing stress of wondering if my pressure needs have changed. I never knew I had any sleeping problem before, so I don't assume I'd be able to identify future issues either. I'd rather have a machine where I can monitor the data results, and not have to go back to an overnight clinic periodically for the rest of my life...

[Hawthorne]

Your profile shows that you have the PR System One PLUS with C-Flex plus.

It that's the machine you have it will only tell you how long and how often you used your machine even with software. You will not get detailed data.

To get detailed data with the software and a PR System One, you have to have the PRO or the AUTO machine. With the PLUS, it is a waste of money to buy software.

[Wulfman]

I don't think you'll be able to purchase a ResMed machine (or any of their equipment) outside of the country you live in. You might want to look at CPAPAuction.com. Some of the sellers MAY ship to Canada.

With other brands like Philips/Respironics, it shouldn't be a problem.

APAPs are nice, but not "necessary" for good therapy.


Den

Hi Den,

My MD bought his resmed machine in the US, so I don't expect to have a problem if I end up needing to do that too. Not worried about shipping - it's easy enough to ship to a US address and import it myself.

The CPAP therapy has been fine, I think - but I'd rather not have the ongoing stress of wondering if my pressure needs have changed. I never knew I had any sleeping problem before, so I don't assume I'd be able to identify future issues either. I'd rather have a machine where I can monitor the data results, and not have to go back to an overnight clinic periodically for the rest of my life...

You don't "need" an Auto/APAP to monitor the data results.......there are fully data-capable CPAP machines, too. The PR System One Pro and Auto are both data-capable......as are the Elite and Autoset versions of the ResMed machines.
Even if you have a data-capable straight-pressure CPAP machine and the software, you can still tweak the pressure for optimal results.


Den

[dmax]

Your profile shows that you have the PR System One PLUS with C-Flex plus.

It that's the machine you have it will only tell you how long and how often you used your machine even with software. You will not get detailed data.

To get detailed data with the software and a PR System One, you have to have the PRO or the AUTO machine. With the PLUS, it is a waste of money to buy software.

Hi Hawthorne,

As mentioned above, I have two machines on hand right now. I have to PR in my profile because that's what I'm using daily at the moment.

[dmax]

I don't think you'll be able to purchase a ResMed machine (or any of their equipment) outside of the country you live in. You might want to look at CPAPAuction.com. Some of the sellers MAY ship to Canada.

With other brands like Philips/Respironics, it shouldn't be a problem.

APAPs are nice, but not "necessary" for good therapy.


Den

Hi Den,

My MD bought his resmed machine in the US, so I don't expect to have a problem if I end up needing to do that too. Not worried about shipping - it's easy enough to ship to a US address and import it myself.

The CPAP therapy has been fine, I think - but I'd rather not have the ongoing stress of wondering if my pressure needs have changed. I never knew I had any sleeping problem before, so I don't assume I'd be able to identify future issues either. I'd rather have a machine where I can monitor the data results, and not have to go back to an overnight clinic periodically for the rest of my life...

You don't "need" an Auto/APAP to monitor the data results.......there are fully data-capable CPAP machines, too. The PR System One Pro and Auto are both data-capable......as are the Elite and Autoset versions of the ResMed machines.
Even if you have a data-capable straight-pressure CPAP machine and the software, you can still tweak the pressure for optimal results.


Den

Hi Den,

I suppose that's true. I didn't know much about all of this just two months ago - so I guess I could learn to read the reports and tweak my own pressure manually over time.

However, the price difference between a good data-collecting CPAP and a good data-collecting APAP doesn't seem very large - so what would be the disadvantage of having a machine that is automatically adjusting the needed pressure night after night?