New CPAPer - Preping For First DME Interaction

Wear hip waders it let's them know you expect the bull$hit to get pretty deep during the visit and your ready for it. On a more serious note, you have a great start by becoming educated prior to your visit to the DME office. If you are uncomfortable with what is being placed in front of you, don't sign anything and leave come here and get advice. You can always go back the next day when you have more information.

I have never seen the cm term used by Respironics when referring to any of their exhale relief options as far as amount of reduction.

This is from the manual I have...it doesn't say cm..it says 3 gives the greatest relief but it doesn't say how much it drops.
Now if you guys have a different manual that says cm as a measurement then I will happily alter what I say.



Even at the Respironics website they don't mention cm drop anywhere...
http://aflex.respironics.com/
They say that the amount of reduction is based on flow rate with the greater reduction being available at a setting of 3 but they don't say you get 3 cm reduction...and the images of the reduction sure don't look like 3 cm to me.

So are you really seeing 3 CM as a reduction??? As in the term CM? Even my 760 new machine model and that manual never says CM anywhere when talking about amount of reduction available using Flex.

If someone has different documentation in your manual that actually says in print...cm...show me please.
I can't find it in 5 different manuals that I have.
So Robysue and I say...please show us as we have never been able to find a specific cm drop with any Respironics exhale relief...and I have been using some sort of Respironics machine for nearly 5 years now.

Bama Rambler...is your manual different? Does it actually use the term cm in amount of reduction somewhere in your manual when referring to exhale relief? I have a model 760 machine and that 760 manual which I assume to be current for the 60 series machine and it doesn't mention cm anywhere that I can find.

Postby Bama Rambler on Wed Apr 02, 2014 2:55 pm

The manual for my machine states that the max reduction for C-Flex+ is 3 cmH2O same as the S9 EPR.

Pugsy wrote:I have never seen the cm term used by Respironics when referring to any of their exhale relief options as far as amount of reduction.

This is from the manual I have...it doesn't say cm..it says 3 gives the greatest relief but it doesn't say how much it drops.

You were partially right of course. In the clinicians manual it states that the max pressure relief is 2 cm not 3. Sorry I was mistaken.
It's not shown on the graph but it's in the wording beside the graph for A-Flex/C-Flex+.

I found this in the clinical manual for the 560 machine...it wasn't there in the first clinical manual that was released. I guess this was added later.
It says "up to 2 cm" reduction available. That reduction is still going to be flow based though. Amount of reduction that is actually given (and we have no way to measure it and it won't show up on the graphs) is going to be less for a person who breathes rather shallowly when compared to a person who breathes deeper and more forcefully.

So while it can be UP TO a 2 cm reduction ...it isn't an automatic given that the reduction is exactly 2 cm.
It still does NOT work like ResMed's EPR anyway...the timing of the reduction (whatever the amount of reduction might be depending on flow) is not the same as ResMed does its EPR reduction which is indeed a 1 cm per setting choice.

Since any exhale relief is mainly comfort...I would still tell people to worry about comfort first and not worry about which setting is used. If Flex doesn't feel good...don't use it. It's supposed to help the transition to exhale and if it doesn't help someone and they like things better turned off...then turn it off. It's an option available though if a person has some difficulty exhaling and they should try all settings to see if one is better than the other and don't worry about how much the reduction is. Should the reduction allow events to slip past the defenses that is easily fixed but in most situations it won't be low enough of a reduction to negatively impact therapy.

OK Folks,
I just received my letter regarding my sleep study titration results. There were no details regarding the study, just the statement that my "titration study on 3/27/2014 showed that a CPAP setting of 10 cm of water best treated your obstructive sleep apnea".

They called me this morning and reiterated the letter and informed me my prescription has been forwarded to my DME provider and they would be contacting me. I asked them for more details regarding the results of my test and they are going to mail them to me. They did read some of the doctors opinion that stated, among other things, "4-10 ceflex of 3"...???

They did also state I had some central apnea's during sleep transition but it did not result in oxygen depletion.

My prescription stated:
CPAP with humidifier
AHI 34
Pressure 10
Releif 3

Very anxious to get my machine. I realize now, daily, the effects of poor sleep and I want to nip this in the bud.

Glad to see you back with some real results.

We got a little side tracked for a few posts, but most importantly, DO NOT let the DME saddle you with a brick.

Make sure you get a full efficacy data machine. I'd make sure they know that up front, if you haven't already.

Bama Rambler wrote:Glad to see you back with some real results.

We got a little side tracked for a few posts, but most importantly, DO NOT let the DME saddle you with a brick.

Make sure you get a full efficacy data machine. I'd make sure they know that up front, if you haven't already.

I certainly will. Thank you!