New user, question on bipap plus

danbennett2u · Post by **danbennett2u** » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:42 pm

Hi,
I was recently diagnosed with severe OSA, and i am pretty much a newbie on all of this. I was setup with a Respironics BIPAP Plus and a comfortselect mask. I am not sure I like the mask, my nose bridge is really narrow I guess and am on a Small size and still get leaks around my eyes occasionally. If i make it really tight it dosent, but I dont like the irritation caused by this. I am still trying to adjust this to fit better and want to know how I can tell if I am making things better or worse. I noticed that the encore sw does not work with my machine since it has no smart card, and the provider I got the unit from locked my controls, so all I can do is turn it on, off, and ramp. the display only shows hours usage, and I would like to know if there is a way to check any kind of sleep data off of this machine? Also any suggestions on dealing with the mask would be appreciated. Thanks, Dan

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:06 am

my experience that mask you got is really terrible, DME makes lots of money off them is the reason you got it (they get them for free and sell it to you).

I would try a Resmed brand UltraMirage2 nasal mask. Size will be the same as what you got if it fits correctly.

The Resmed mask has a better sealing cushion so it takes less strap pressure to stop leaks. It is also very quiet.

You don't need a prescription to purchase a mask, so your best bet and cheapest place to buy it is on-line from cpap.com. Then call and complain to your local DME about that mask, get them to buy you the more expensive mask covered by insurance, I would suggest having a Full Face mask as a backup, they are great to have when you have a cold etc. Again I suggest the Resmed UltraMirage FF. Activa is another good mask but it is bulky, seals great but bulky.

if your covered by insurance, they will buy you a mask according to medicare standards, think that is a new mask every 6 months and a new cushion every 3 months. I just buy mine outright, on-line they are cheaper than my deductible.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:05 am

danbennett2u wrote:I noticed that the encore sw does not work with my machine since it has no smart card, and the provider I got the unit from locked my controls, so all I can do is turn it on, off, and ramp. the display only shows hours usage, and I would like to know if there is a way to check any kind of sleep data off of this machine?

You can buy a smart card for $30.00 and get the software for free from the Respironics website.

They flat out lied to you if they told you the controls on your machine are locked. It is not possible to lock the controls.

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:19 pm

Dan,
If your machine has no smart card, it will be a waste of money of you to buy a card reader.

Should you go to this site http://bipappro.respironics.com you'll see that Respironics are (I quote) "Taking BiPAP Technology to a New Level ".
The newer machines are called PRO 2 - and they have both software, and additional exhalation relief called "bi-flex".

I think "guest" was being rather hasty in his/her recommendations.

See if you can get the newer model, mentioned on the Respironics Bipap site. Certainly insist on it if all you have at present is a trial machine.

O.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:25 pm

Yup, As Ozij says, The BiPap Plus machine doesn't have a smart card.

Actually the BiPap Plus is an older model - is the machine a 'loaner' ?
The BiPap Pro and Pro 2 do have a smartcard.

This web site has one of the few listings of all old & current RemStar & BiPap models.
see http://www.respiratory-supply.com/respi ... hines.html

The pictures aren't clear but the description for the BiPap Plus clearly omits the mention of the smartcard whereas the BiPap Pro & Pro2 do list smartcards.

As an aside ...
Until today I had not realised that the respironics BiPap range were not part of the Remstar family. I had been calling them Remstar BiPaps - seems that is incorrect. I made this mistake because the BiPap Pro 2 with BiFlex that I have is the same appearance as my Remstar AUTO with CFlex.

The Remstars have their own homepage http://remstar.respironics.com/

Cheers

DSM

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:14 pm

BiPap Pro & Pro2 do list smartcards

Something people who are interested in getting data from their machines need to be aware of:

Just because the BiPAP Pro (and in the case of straight CPAP, the REMstar Pro) have a Smart Card, it doesn't mean you can see anything worth downloading from their Smart Card.

The ONLY thing the Smart Card records from machines with just "Pro" in the name (no "2" tacked on) is compliance data. Compliance means "hours of use." No juicy detailed info at all.

The Pro 2 (both BiPAP and CPAP) machines record much more information onto the Smart Card for downloading - AHI, leaks, etc.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 10:13 pm

RG

There is a Respironics BiPap Pro model that does record data (But I don't know if it is more than just compliance - they say 'The Encore® SmartCard™ stores information on system use, therapy and quality of life.' but I don't know exactly what they really mean by that). It also has BiFlex.
See http://www.csscpap.com/bipprobilsys.html

Respironics have confused the issue just a tad with their names.

I have not actually seen a 'BiPap Pro' model that has the same housing as the RemStar family. Just the 'BiPap Plus' and The 'BiPap Pro 2'.

Cheers

DSM

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:03 pm

Encore SmartCard records the date, time, ramp usage, duration of each use, and FOSQ answers.

The above is from further down in dsm's link.

Suggested rule of thumb:

"Plus" doen't record.

"Pro" records stuff the professional DME might care about

"Pro 2" records stuff both the professional DMA and the patient care about... (two people)

Plus probably meant "plus c- or bi- flex"
Pro is better since it records yay!
Pro 2 is the better pro (they couldn't really call it "Pro Plus" - that would be really confusing... I'm sure they wanted to )

O.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:30 pm

My first Respironics BiPAP Pro with BiFlex had an Encore Smartcard that basically only recorded usage (compliance) and quality of life type data, not too interesting or valuable to me.

I turned that one in for the newer, more helpful Respironics BiPAP Pro 2 with BiFlex, which has a more sophisticated Encore Smartcard which records compliance data plus the apnea index, hypopnea index, snore index, AHI, mask leaks, etc. data. I would assume the Auto BiPAP Pro 2 with BiFlex with the Encore Smartcard would record the preceding data and all of the relevant pressure data as well, but I have no experience with that machine. Anyway, I believe it is the BiPAP Pro 2 with BiFlex, not an earlier version, that I think you would probably want--perhaps the auto version if that is appropriate for your needs.

Ann

New user, question on bipap plus

New user, question on bipap plus

Re: New user, question on bipap plus