Picky, Picky

Yes I am...Just want to make sure I tell my MD exactly what machine I would like when I go on Thursday to tell her I want an apap. Need one that's quiet, the one I have now is very quiet. I have read that sometimes c-flex can be noisy??? I'm still debating if I need c-flex, since I'm not having difficulty (that I know of) exhaling on a pressure of 10 and when I go to apap, I more than likely will be exhaling on a lower pressure. Need one that will be compatible with CL2, I think they all are, right? I would like one that displays info on screen so that I don't have to get software right away. Now I know that Vantage is one of them, but can't remember which Remstar does. I have done the compare thing on here, but not finding that info. I need a humidifier, of course. Anyone have opinions on what machine would best suit me??

all new machines are good, the more you pay, the more features you get, but if you have to pay for it yourself, a basic cheap one will be good enough

humidifiers are now promoted as essential but many older users have done fine without them

Melissa,

The only auto that will show AHI data on the screen is the one made by ResMed.

link ->S8 Vantage

Guest:

True!

And at least one older user has done better with a humidifier.

What say Wader? Long time no see!

NyNurse33 wrote:Yes I am...Just want to make sure I tell my MD exactly what machine I would like when I go on Thursday to tell her I want an apap. Need one that's quiet, the one I have now is very quiet. I have read that sometimes c-flex can be noisy??? I'm still debating if I need c-flex, since I'm not having difficulty (that I know of) exhaling on a pressure of 10 and when I go to apap, I more than likely will be exhaling on a lower pressure. Need one that will be compatible with CL2, I think they all are, right? I would like one that displays info on screen so that I don't have to get software right away. Now I know that Vantage is one of them, but can't remember which Remstar does. I have done the compare thing on here, but not finding that info. I need a humidifier, of course. Anyone have opinions on what machine would best suit me??

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): humidifier, C-FLEX, APAP

Melissa,

Good luck on your choice.

Some feedback....

C-flex never seemed noisy to me.

The S8 Vantage is much quieter than its predecessor (The S7 Spirit Autoset)
The Remstar Autos have always been delightfully quiet for me.
(both the above appear to be on a par regarding low noise output).

The S8 Vantage is 2 machines in one. It is a Bilevel (with max 3cms separation between ipap & epap) and it can function as an autopap (its primary purpose). The Bilevel mode is called EPR. I believe 3 cms gap is very adequate in a Bilevel (my ahi consistently goes up if I increase the gap on my Bilevels, to a number greater than 3).
The down side for some re the S8 Vantage is that it doesn't have the equivalent of C-flex when in Auto mode.

One feature people really like in the S8 is its listing of AHI *and* AI and HI numbers on the screen the next morning (remains there until noon that day).

The Remstar Auto has cflex and a lot of users report it has helped them greatly esp on higher pressures, when starting cpap therapy. Remstar Auto has long been a popular and good choice and is well supported here.

Good luck

DSM

It is a Bilevel (with max 3cms separation between ipap & epap) and it can function as an autopap (its primary purpose). The Bilevel mode is called EPR. I believe 3 cms gap is very adequate in a Bilevel (my ahi consistently goes up if I increase the gap on my Bilevels, to a number greater than 3).

Wow, DSM, that flew over my head. The only vocabulary I know is EPR, but ipap and epap...guess I have more homework to do. But thanks a ton for your input, I respect all of you here and your opinions highly.

Melissa,

My humble apologies.

ipap is the inhale pressure on a bilevel, epap is the exhale pressure. The idea is that when you breath in, the Bilevel runs at the high pressure & when you are breathing out (usually right up to the last bit of breath) it runs at the low pressure which is a great relief.

Cflex seeks to achieve similar but on exhale it does a very short dip in pressure to help you begin breathing out, but then quickly reverts to the inhale pressure.

In my opinion Bilevel is a better relief mechanism. But some may not agree with my POV on this.

Certainly many people using Cflex find it a great way to start therapy, some of us were able to lower the Cflex setting after a few months. There are side effects for some of us. Mine were aerophagia & mouth pops. I was usually able to reduce these effects by keeping my Cflex setting low. For me these side effects were (IMHO) related to me being on 15cms. I would imagine they would have reduced if I had experimented at lower pressures (too late for me now - I am hooked on my Bilevel).

Cheers

DSM

Hello Melissa,

Just wanted to mention if you want a Bilevel machine one of these words needs to be mentioned in the script: "BiPAP", "BiLevel", "VPAP"

IPAP and EPAP in and out numbers also have to be listed.

Auto does not need to be listed.

If you are looking at a RemStar M Auto, CPAP.Com has a good price for it with the humidifier and the reader and software.

rock and roll wrote:What say Wader? Long time no see!

Hi R&R!,

What is it like being a Jet-Setter? or should I say Ship-Setter?

I'll let you know. Better yet, why not join us?

wading thru the muck! wrote:Melissa,

The only auto that will show AHI data on the screen is the one made by ResMed.

link ->S8 Vantage

Actually, there are two autos now that show AHI data on the machine's LCD screen. The Vantage that Wader mentioned and the new "M" series Respironics REMstar Auto with C-flex.

The Vantage breaks the AHI down and can show it as an overnight, weekly, or monthly average.

The REMstar M Auto shows the AHI without breaking it down, as a weekly or monthly average.

I think both brands also show a pressure (95th and 90th percentile pressure, respectively) and average leak rate via the LCD window.

Since I prefer using software to see full overnight details, not just averages, I chose the machine that uses Encore Pro software (Respironics). I like to see a graph of all the pressures an autopap used for me during the night, and see when any events (apneas/hypopneas/limited flows) sneaked through. I want to see the whole leak graph, not just the average in a machine window. If a person is sure they're never going to get software, then yes, the data shown in the LCD window is better than nothing and certainly can be helpful. I'm just kinda nosy about wanting to see details about what a machine treating me had to do hour by hour by hour throughout the night.

Like you, Melissa, I can breathe out fine against the 9 or 10 pressures my autopaps usually use. Even at pressures that are not considered "high", and even not really "needing it", I find C-flex does make treatment even more comfortable for me.

There are features on every machine that some people actually need, and some just like whether they absolutely need them or not. I like the idea of having "more things" available "just in case", and being able to turn them off if I don't want to use them. But they're there in case I do.

Any of the major brands of autopap would probably do a fine job for you, Melissa. It just comes down to what features you think you'd like. I remember well how confusing it was back when I was trying to figure out which autopap I wanted to start with. I don't think you can really pick wrong, no matter which autopap you decide to get. Most people who choose "autopap" will get fine treatment with any of them.

Thanks DSM and Laura

The only problem I can foresee with choosing the vantage over the M series, is that I am more interested in using the apap feature than I am EPR, and with the vantage you can use both together, but with C-flex you can. Am I correct in saying this. So while I am not currently having any difficulty exhaling now, I would not get the vantage just because it has a better exhale feature. If I ended up needing help with exhaling I would think it would be beneficial to get the machine that can do it with auto. I'm not sure if I'm right or not, but trying to understand this all. I just think I need auto over exhaling assistance, b/c I am not a back sleeper, but was titrated while laying stiff as a board on my back @ the lab. I sometimes have aerophagia, I know I will get my energy back and go back to the gym to lose weight. On the M series, you can turn the c-flex off while using it in auto mode, right? I am just comfortable with the resmed machine, even though I am still a newbie, but I love my respironics mask. Any thoughts on whether or not the M series would be louder than my current escape. Mind you my current machine is so generic and does nothing special to even make a peep!! Is it true that if you use c-flex your breathes have to be quicker? I'm just making a guess here and saying that if I have no problems currently exhaling on 10 then hopefully apap would allow lower settings and I still wouldn't have a problem. I agree with RG in saying its nice to have the feature now.

RG Is this the machine you were talking about? I can't find where it says it has LCD data, not that I don't trust you. What does integrated humidifier mean?

Remstar M Series Auto C-Flex CPAP

I have the remstar auto. NOT the 'M'. I use the cflex. When I'm going to sleep I just relax my breathing and the machine seems to relax with me. I actually have to check the exhaust ports to see if it is still running! I did try without the c-flex once, I could breathe against the pressure, but the c-flex makes it feel more natural.

Brenda