Progress......PROGRESS!

[chearyshe]

Hi all! Gee, I thought Id never get used to this CPAP therapy! But actually, I'm progressing. I fall asleep much faster that in the beginning (a month ago). The mask is good, with my home made mask liner...when I wake up with a leak I just yank up the bottom straps a bit and turn to my side to mush my face on to the pillow!

My main issue is the pressure. Now it's set to 4-11 cmH2O and it seems that the hypoapneas are not getting much better, so my AHI is around 4 usually. I still don't feel rested in the morning because my sleep is fractured by wake ups 2-3 times a night. I average around 2-3 hours of sleep between arousals but I fall back to sleep easily. That's because I made an effort in the beginning not to focus on what's happening with the machine and the mask. Oh, you know...the breathe in/breathe out thing and is the cpap REALLY working (I don't feel a thing)

Now my quest will be for a card reader. Must I get the ResMed reader or will some other card reader be good enough to read the data. My computer is an old one, just waddling along (like me)!

So in concluding...there's a light at the end of the tunnel and that means that this forum has helped me immensely. Thanks for being here for us Newbies!

Geula in Israel

[Chikorita]

Yay! Congratulations. I hope to post like this one day too. And I agree, this forum is so helpful.

[sol]

Now my quest will be for a card reader. Must I get the ResMed reader or will some other card reader be good enough to read the data.
Geula in Israel

Most people get the S8 card reader from Israel and you should have no problem . You might be able to find cheaper
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ResMed-ResScan- ... 0645456664

Are you using the mask fit feature? Try fit the mask at the maximum pressure
it might be alright at the minimum pressure 4 but as soon as it ramp to therapy pressure it would leak if not fitted correctly.

[chearyshe]

As of right now, I using an S9 AutoSet and if I get the okay from the "Powers Above" I'll get my very own S9! It's a long long story and not worth going into! Lots of bureaucracy meetings and...anyway, if not, then I'll get the S8 Autoset!

I use autoset, so how do I get to Mask Fit at max pressure? 3 second press on Start button when treatment is on? Silly question for a person who wants to be in charge of her therapy but the system here doesn't allow me to change anything like pressure or anything. All major changes need the Pulmonogists approval! I guess that they think that yokels (not like me) will mess up the works!
The major idea here is that there's really no need for the poor old cpap user to have up=to-date info on the sleep data!
I disagree with that and if I'm going to try and get a decent night's sleep, I'll need to know what's going on during the night. End of Rant!

Cheary Geula!!

[joe26]

Ma nishma

How is the weather in Israel ?

Good luck with your Cpap therapy please don't miss a day whit out it

Joe

[chearyshe]

Tov Meod, toda!

The weather is bloody HOT...in the high 90's, low 100's.
Not to worry! I'm not giving up on this cpap treatment. I really need a humidifier, but that will come later. Long story!

Cheary Geula!!

[chunkyfrog]

The S9's use an SD card, so the reader will either be any cheapo SD reader you can buy retail;
or your computer may have the slot already.

[Sir NoddinOff]

I remember some of your earlier posts, so I'm really glad to hear things are looking up. Keep up the good work!

For the setup menus, you may find this link helpful
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual

[Cindy Lou Who]

I use autoset, so how do I get to Mask Fit at max pressure? 3 second press on Start button when treatment is on? Silly question for a person who wants to be in charge of her therapy but the system here doesn't allow me to change anything like pressure or anything!

Chearyshe, You can check your mask fit by putting on your head gear and letting the machine turn on. In the screen make sure the house symbol in the upper left corner is lit with a blue background (this is the 'home page'). On this screen you will see down the right side three words. Next to "Set up" there is a silver bar on the lower right outside the screen with check marks on it. Press this and it will take you to different 'page' titled "Settings". There you will see "Mask fit". Using the raised silver button on the right scroll down to "mask fit" and depress the raised button to activate. The S9 will increase pressure to your top cm. setting and run there for 2 or 3 minutes...not sure of the time. At the end of that set time it will ramp back to your bottom cm setting.
Temperature today in Iowa, USA is 100 and very humid.
Best wishes to you and congrats on your great progress!!!
Cindy

[chearyshe]

Thanks for the help, Cindy. Acually, I figured it out before reading your post. I guess there's something in it for reading instructions in the manual! Boy, am I glad that I use an autoset with EPR. The pressure of 11 nearly blew my eyes out!

Cheary Geula!!

[jweeks]

The pressure of 11 nearly blew my eyes out!

Hi,

It might feel that way, but I don't think it has ever really happened to anyone.

I'd be interested in knowing what your 95% pressure level is. I suspect that the lower pressure of 4 is simply too low for you to get good treatment. 4 is too little for most people to even breathe with. The real issue is that when you have a hypo or OA event, the machine would take too long to ramp up, so it will miss the chance to treat the event. You ideally want the lower number to be within 2 cm of pressure of your 95% number. That is a rule of thumb, and it might or might not be best for your specific case, so you might want to ask your doctor or respiratory tech about it.

-john-