Some Newbie Questions

Having just gotten my CPAP machine, a Resmed Elite II, on trial and having discovered that the supplied mask is a POS, I am wondering what my options are. I do not want, nor can afford to buy the upgrade mask from the DME. But the current mask, a Resmed Meridian, is unusable; the tabs constantly need readjusting and if I take it off to use the facilities, I can't get it back on and adjusted. Is there any reason that I couldn't go to let's say CPAP.com and order an Activa? What settings would I need to change?

Second, as fate would have it, my sleep doctor's office is closed for holidays, and I am unclear about the data processing question. The DME person said I could for an obscene amount get a card that fitted the machine. They then could extract the history data and for another obscene amount forward that to my doctor. Isn't there an easier way to monitor my compliance and progress?

welcome noob.
As is often said, go under our wisdom (the yellow light) at the top for tons of info that will help you in your journey.
of course do not be afraidn to post up questions here, there is lots of good people and experience to be derived from this site!
Now, for the machine, and I am with you on this one myself. My dme did not even offer me a card reader or software. When I asked about it they had no clue what I was talking about. Thats why I shop here
On your device, if you press the down button and the right one (down arrow and right arrow) and hold them in for a few seconds you will go into the clinical menu. press the down arrow again (maybe its twice, I forget) and you will get the a screen that says efficiacy data. in there you can see your leak rate, ahi rate, ai and hi rates.. What I am doing right now, is I record them into an excel spreadsheet every day. They only show the averages from across the night, not an hour by hour breakdown like you would get from software, but at least it gives you something to work with. With a good sampling of your data, you (with the help of people in here) can sometimes help you fine tune your settings (you are not suppost to, but who knows you better then you?).
As for the mask type, I am still pretty new to this cpap myself (<50 days still). I started with a nasal mask that was toture to my face (hurt to the point I could not wear it) and have since been put on nasal pillows and headgear. Thru other members in here, I have also added a chin strap to my nightly routine, which has also helped me improve on my leak rates.
a lot of people in here talk about cpap auction.com... may be able to save some $ there. If your dme gave you the mask, they usually have an exchange policy if it is not working... mine took back the nasal mask and gave me the pillows (optilife) after about a week.
hope some of this information helps, and again, welcome!

First of all welcome. Sit back and spend some time reading and you will be ready for your next visit to either the DME or your Dr.

What is the mask exchange policy of your DME? Many have a 30 day return for a different mask. Did they offer you a choice of masks or did they just say 'here you go'. Since I assume that your insurance is paying for some of this, I would first try to work with the DME before I jump to purchasing online, and I have nothing against online. It might be worth a call to your insurance company to see if you have other DME options available to you if this DME is not going to work with you. It is your therapy, you are the customer. Some DME's don't see it that way though. And by the way, there is no rule that you have to get your mask, supplies, and machine from the same DME.

Good luck and keep posting your questions.

If you use a ResMed mask and set your machine properly, your machine will subtract the desinged-in leak rate of your mask from the total leak and display only the excess leak due to poor fit or mouth breathing (with a nasal mask).

If you pm me (look in the margin at the left of this post) with your email address, I can send you instructions for your machine.