Changed my machine - instant improvement (I hope)

Hi folks. Been away from the forum for a while, dealing with a few health issues.

Among them was increasing fatigue and widespread pain, diagnosed a few months ago as fibromyalgia. This is on top of heart disease (heart attack in '08) and a leaky heart valve. Add in sleep apnea and I quite understand how hard this has been for my doctors to untangle.

Well, because I had been using my original CPAP machine for six years and I was starting to worry that it might let me down, especially when on holiday and far from a CPAP dealer, I decided to buy a new machine and relegate the old one to backup status. because I have to pay for the machines myself, I searched around for options that were less expensive than my old machine.

I finally settled on the DeVilbiss Sleepcube Auto, mostly due to its price combined with good reviews. I also decided to plump for the autoPAP instead of another CPAP. I went the CPAP route originally when I was loaned an auto machine but found it woke me up when it increased the pressure. This time though, I reasoned that it was my unfamiliarity with PAP in general that was the problem back then, and hoped that I would find an auto machine easier this time, with six years facehugger experience behind me.

Well, after five nights use I can report that I am cautiously optimistic. Five of the six nights have been markedly better than 'usual' and my energy levels consequently much better.

Whether this is thanks to the autoPAP mode compared with CPAP, or whether my old machine wasn't working 100%, I don't know. For sure though, I find the lower base pressure of an autoPAP machine much easier to cope with, resulting in fewer disturbances, and my sometimes awful aerophagia has disappeared completely (I am using 13.5cm pressure).

I'm not going to throw a party just yet, but I have to tell you, I really want this to be real!!!!

Hopefully your good results continue. Let us know!

Dang.

The improvement didn't last and I'm back to square one. In fact, my fatigue is downright awful at the moment.

The burst of energy lasted just two nights/days before my energy levels started to fall again. That said, I started to see higher AHI and I started to have more and longer centrals. There then ensued several weeks of experimentation, juggling every parameter. I haven't had a 'good' night's sleep in two weeks.

On top of that, the machine slowly became noisier, to the point where I believe it has a fault. The manufacturer claims the same noise level as the Resmed - 26dba - but the darn things wheezes and roars so much that it's even waking my wife when it kicks into overdrive. I spoke with the supplier and they told me to send it back, which I did today.

Steve of Cornubia wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:48 pm

In fact, my fatigue is downright awful at the moment.

It sounds like you should be looking for in-person medical help locally. I hope that you can find it. But it sure seems to be very hit-and-miss to find a good sleep doctor.

SnoringInOregon wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2019 9:40 pm

It sounds like you should be looking for in-person medical help locally. I hope that you can find it. But it sure seems to be very hit-and-miss to find a good sleep doctor.

You got that right. In fact, I would extend that criticism to ALL health professionals here in Oz, at least those that don't attract huge fees. My experience so far with the 'sleep clinics' is that just about everybody who walks in the door is diagnosed with sleep apnea, in much the same way that every test at a hearing clinic results in being told you need a hearing aid.

I do accept that I have sleep apnea. My wife knew this for years before I was diagnosed - a common story, I know.

In my opinion though, albeit solely in Oz, there doesn't seem to be much sophistication of thought beyond diagnosing apnea, selling you a device, then waving as you walk out the door.

My situation is complicated by heart disease (4 stents after a heart attack in 2008), mildly reduced heart function, a leaky heart valve, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and (surprise!) depression. These all seem to conspire against me, sharing similar/overlapping symptoms such that it's hard to figure out cause and effect. I can't help thinking that, if I could just get better sleep, many of the other issues would resolve to some degree, if not disappear.

They say that depression causes poor sleep, but conversely, poor sleep can cause depression ...

Steve of Cornubia wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:48 pm

Dang.

The improvement didn't last and I'm back to square one. In fact, my fatigue is downright awful at the moment.

The burst of energy lasted just two nights/days before my energy levels started to fall again. That said, I started to see higher AHI and I started to have more and longer centrals. There then ensued several weeks of experimentation, juggling every parameter. I haven't had a 'good' night's sleep in two weeks.

On top of that, the machine slowly became noisier, to the point where I believe it has a fault. The manufacturer claims the same noise level as the Resmed - 26dba - but the darn things wheezes and roars so much that it's even waking my wife when it kicks into overdrive. I spoke with the supplier and they told me to send it back, which I did today.

So, what are you going to do now?

If possible, I'd recommend a Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset, because it's got great data, AND it is quiet. With data, we can help.

palerider wrote: ↑

Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:17 pm

So, what are you going to do now?

If possible, I'd recommend a Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset, because it's got great data, AND it is quiet. With data, we can help.

Well, I have to give Devilbiss chance to look at it first. I'm hoping it's faulty and I can continue to use it, partly because I don't want to lose money but also because I like some features.

If, however, that's really as good as the Devilbiss Auto gets, I'll have to pay the Resmed Ransom.

Maybe, in the meantime, I'll gather a few days' data while I'm back on the S9 and share it here. I haven't wanted to bother the experts on here with what I thought was fairly ordinary data, but maybe there's SOMETHING in there that will explain why I'm not getting the sleep I need.