Another Newb: A few weeks on the CPAP

Finally talked to a doctor about sleep apnea a few months back and got a referral to the local specialist in Duluth. I have known for a couple of decades that I snored and stopped breathing in my sleep but didn't have insurance to cover the office visits, much less the equipment. Now I do.

Part of the push to do it now was a friend who I shared a motel room with in March. He had gotten his CPAP machine a year or two earlier. As his doctor told him, "You're over 50 and over weight. You are a likely candidate to have sleep apnea." And so am I.

I lucked out on my visit to the sleep clinic at St. Luke's in Duluth. They are usually booked up months in advance but had just had a cancellation so I got in the next day. After about an hour of sleep, the technician came in to hook up the CPAP machine. Never did find out how often my breathing stopped (AHI?), but the doctor later said I was in the "Extreme" category.

I had not visited this site until recently, so when it came to getting a machine, the doctor's office picked a local DME and sent me there. I had no idea what options were available so I took whatever they gave me, which happened to be a ResMed S9 Elite w/ H5I humidifier.

I am still not really used to the nasal mask, but I sleep pretty well with it most nights. If I can't fall asleep for some reason I give it up after about an hour and can usually fall asleep then. I often wake up with a raspy throat, which I gather means I still breathe through my mouth at some point. And with the pressure set at 12, it is tough to maintain a seal around my nose. I usually have a mustache and beard, though I have shaved this summer for other reasons. I presume a full face mask would work better for me, but my next appt with the sleep Dr. isn't until Sept. sometime.

Since I am fairly computer literate, I would like to be able to monitor my progress, but I don't want to have to do it online. I have a limit on my Internet data transfer and would prefer not to add to that. I looked at SleepSeeker, but that appears to be online only. Is there any freeware or shareware that I could have residing on my computer?

I am sure this is pretty much the experience of others on this forum, but I wanted to write it all down somewhere before I forget it.

Wink

You can use SleepyHead software.
Check out this link.
viewtopic/t88972/Pugsys-PointersSoftwar ... hints.html
and this one for help in understanding what you see
viewtopic/t88983/Pugsys-PointersSleepyH ... nding.html

It works well with your S9 Elite. There is the ResMed software called ResScan (send me a private message if you want to try it) but I think that SleepyHead will do a really good job for you. It's a much smaller download (save on your internet usage) and a little easier to manage. You can always try ResScan later if you wish.
Either one can be used off line...so once the download is complete internet is not needed.

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you! That's what I was looking for. I had done some searches here and looked at the FAQ (which is about forum use. Could not find a CPAP FAQ), but just wasn't able to come up with the answer.

Wink