Need to purchase APAP--ASAP

Wulfman wrote:

WillSucceed wrote:Wulfman wrote:

In the end, you'd be getting a REMstar Auto anyway. Why waste all those months and money? Wink

Hey Wulfman! I wish I had your gift for prescience -I'd buy a lottery ticket with the right number on it and be set for the rest of my life.

Let me know when your next lottery is coming up and I'll PM you the numbers.

I believe his mindset was already inclined toward a REMstar auto.

I have nothing against the other manufacturers, but I believe (from my observations on this forum over the last two years) that I've seen more people switch TO Respironics machines than have gone the other way. Yeah, this forum is heavy on the Respironics machines.....and "Autos" in particular. I believe a lot of this had to do with the Encore Pro and MyEncore combination of software availablity and it's ease of understanding. Not every manufacturer has all of the options of the other manufacturers, so a person has to try to find the most options they can in whatever machine they're going to spend their money on. I just happen to feel that the REMstar Auto has more options.

If EVERY CPAP/XPAP/Bi-PAP user walked into their DME supplier and demanded to trial every brand of machine before they decided on what they wanted to buy, I can't imagine what would become of this therapy. It's bad enough NOW.......

Den

schaefage wrote:Hey Everyone,

I'm looking to purchase an APAP machine asap. I'm looking for a remstar auto preferably. PLease private message me if you have one for sale or know of one for sale. I will pay for overnight shipping too.

I would be eternally grateful.

Kent

Kent,

If you're still with us (and who could blame you if you're not) I'm guessing your post was simply a request for anyone selling a used Remstar Auto to contact you privately. Perhaps you've already found one and that's the end of that.

If not and you're interested in a new machine, I'd suggest you consider buying online through https://www.cpap.com. You can contact http://www.billmyinsurance.com to see if your insurance covers online purchases. Even if it doesn't, I'd weigh the difference between buying out of pocket for the machine of your choice through cpap.com vs. going through your insurance and being given the machine of your DME's choice. Also, if your DME is not knowledgable and helpful, buying online eliminates them from the equation.

I see from your previous posts you've been using a Remstar Plus with C-Flex for the past 3 months and are now interested in getting a Remstar Auto and the event monitoring software. I also read you're having another PSG on February 26th. Make sure to get a copy of the prescription your doc writes for the machine. (You are legally entitled to it.) That way, you can use it (if you so desire) for purchasing online.

Just as a point of interest (and if you feel like doing it) tell your doctor/DME/insurance company you'd like to trial the Respironics Remstar Auto and the Resmed Vantage and the Puritan Bennett 420e to see which auto works best for you; which would require using each machine and its accompanying software for a few weeks. Please let us know their response.

Thanks and good luck.

Ahhhhhhhhh. The calming affect of Neversleeps. She brings the thread back to where it was intended.

Kent, don't mind us, we are always like this. One big happy (or not) family. And still the best forum around (IMO).

Good Luck.

*Sigh.*

Kent, I apologize. Far too many threads have been derailed lately by the posturing of regular chatters. Overall, this is an overwhelmingly positive resource, but, just as in any other location, you'll find a few nuts in with the good apples.

As I told you in chat, I personally prefer the RemStar Auto. Yes, different Autos have different algorithms, and they treat people differently. Some people respond to one algorithm and not another.

But the fact remains that this is the "real world," and in the real world very, very few places will allow you to try out different brands of auto machines. I have seen very few people on the boards say they were allowed to do this. In fact, only one that I can remember off the top of my head in the two years I've been here (again, this doesn't mean there weren't more, but does mean there were few, because if many people posted that they were allowed to do this, it would be memorable).

I would imagine that a chance to try out different brands of auto would be even tougher to find for you since you will be paying for this one out of pocket, and so won't be going through your insurance company. I would imagine the fact that the DME could not bill your insurance for one, and then switch it out for another if it didn't work for you, and let you try out different ones that way, would be yet another reason they wouldn't let you do it (that, and the fact that they don't stand to make any kind of profit off of you).

The RemStar Auto is an excellent machine. One thing it offers that others don't is the ability to use C-flex (exhalation relief) in auto mode. No other manufacturer offers that.

As someone else previously stated, solely based on what I have seen on the boards, the majority of people that post here and that end up switching from one auto to another end up switching TO the RemStar Auto. If I personally had to take a chance on an auto without being able to try out several kinds (and for most people, this is going to be the case), I would personally look for the Auto whose algorithm and features seemed to work for the most people. Again, solely based on what I've read from many, many posters to this forum, that machine appears (overwhelmingly) to be the RemStar Auto.

I wish you luck in finding one quickly so that you can find a better pressure that will stop the events you are still experiencing. As I suggested in chat (and as someone else suggested in this thread), Yahoo Auctions is a good place to keep an eye on.

Good luck, Kent. Many of us have been where you are, and are pulling for you.

--CG

Wow everyone, lots of replys!!!

I didn't think I would get so many replys with this post, but I did. It will take me some time to read through all of them in my current sleep deprived state, although I did sleep much better last night (I think) at a setting of 9 versus 8 and a cflex of 1 versus 3. Before that I had not slept for 30 hours due to sleep onset anxiety r/t the 6 am heart pounding.

But I still want an auto for the software capabilities. I'm the type of person who needs to know what is happening to my body, and this will tell me.

You know guys, please don't fight....I didn't mean to start a fight. I am just looking for the best deal on an auto that would work great for me, with software, and card reader....etc.

And if it sounded like I was desperate on the first post, that is true...ie. lack of sleep, going to the ER yesterday (they said everything was perfect), Heart pounding once or twice per week at 6 am, and just general craziness...by the way I am not crazy, until all of this started...lol.

Decription of last night: But last night I was better I think...I took my mask off once, but I don't remember doing it. I woke up and put the mask back on, and slept for another 4 hours. When I woke up I felt like I had been "planted" in the bed like I was deeeply asleep,like i was fossilized in the bed, and like 10 lb sandbags were just lifted off of my eyes....I haven't felt this kind of sleep in 7 years....makes me want to cry.....I woke up and took my BP...it was 110/75. Unless I am interpreting it wrong, and the heavy feeling I felt was the result of being obstructed all night and central apneas, but I kinda doubt it.

Yes, I am still looking for a good deal on Remstar Auto or something that works good.....and I agree with most everyone...It is a good idea for me to try many machines...that might be a necessity....but it might not be a possibility for me. I'll see what happens, but right now my reasoning abilities are not at their all time high---perfect time to take advantage of me on a APAP deal...lol

Love all of your replys,

Kent

schaefage wrote:You know guys, please don't fight....I didn't mean to start a fight.

You didn't start a fight at all Kent. What you saw was just garbage left over from earlier discussions . . ., or maybe it's just an unresolved ongoing discussion. (Hmm . . ., methinks resolution would be good here, but how to achieve that . . . )

Hope it was all useful. Also, keep in mind that one thing which sets this forum apart from just about every other venue I'm familiar with is that the members here hash things out. Usually it's good-natured. Almost always this hashing-out ends up being for the good (at least in my opinion). Being thin-skinned doesn't pay off in this environment though.

Have a great day. Good luck with your decision.

Regards,
Bill

schaefage wrote:When I woke up I felt like I had been "planted" in the bed like I was deeeply asleep,like i was fossilized in the bed, and like 10 lb sandbags were just lifted off of my eyes....I haven't felt this kind of sleep in 7 years....makes me want to cry.....I woke up and took my BP...it was 110/75.

Wonderful, wonderful news, Kent! I hope you have many more nights just like last night!

Best of luck in your search for a good deal on an APAP (if you can't locate a used one, keep cpap.com in mind --their prices are very good and they'll match a competitor's price) and congratulations for sticking with this despite the obstacles you've encountered!!!

DreamStalker wrote:

WillSucceed wrote: No need for a pissing match (such a choice of words!) as it benefits no one .

What exactly benefits no one? … the match or the pissing? –

Did someone mention pissing contest? Reminds me of the two drunken braggarts who were pissing off a bridge because they had imbibed in so much beer. One drunk turns to his friend and boastfully says: "That river down there sure is cold!!" The other drunk, not to be outdone by his buddy, replies: "Yea, and it sure is deep too!"

Cold and deep, folks! Kinda like the Respironics/Resmed pissing contests we keep seeing on the message boards. .

neversleeps wrote: Best of luck in your search for a good deal on an APAP (if you can't locate a used one, keep cpap.com in mind --their prices are very good and they'll match a competitor's price) and congratulations for sticking with this despite the obstacles you've encountered!!!

Thanks for the encouragement never sleeps!!!

Kent:
If you are not able to trial several machines, you are stuck making a "guess." I don't know why, however, paying out of pocket would limit your choices. I'd think that waving cash in front of a supplier's nose, offering to rent a machine for a week or so would get a good response.

None-the-less, if you are only going to get one kick at the can, I'd encourage you to take a look at the specs/features of several machines, including the PB 420e. While it does not have any exhalation relief method, the 420e does allow the user to make adjustment to 2 different triggers that impact the way that the device works.

Some users on this forum have talked about experiencing runaway pressure on their Respironics APAP. Some have talked about it with their ResMed machines as well. The PB 420e allows the user to make a change to one of these triggers right on the control panel and the other trigger can be controlled through the Silverlining software.

I believe that the incidence of runaway pressure is fairly limited but, (and if you are one of the folk that experiences it, this is a big but,) if you need to be able to adjust the device to prevent runaway pressure, you can do it on the 420e.

SWS has posted lots of info on runaway pressure. If you do a search using SWS as the author and IFL1 in the topic, you should find some interesting info.

If you need, or want, exhalation relief in APAP mode, you are pretty much limited to Respironics. If you don't need exhalation relief, do yourself a favour and look broader than the beloved (I have it, so should you!!!) Respironics BEFORE you buy. If it looks like Respironics is the best for you then absolutely go for it; they certainly are solid machines that work really well for many, many users, right out of the box.

Schaefage, the very best of luck to you in finding the machine of your choice-- whatever that machine may happen to be!

My same best wishes to anyone with sleep apnea searching for any brand of machine they desire as well. Try one, try all, but please try with a smile as well as a critical eye! .

Personally, I would love to trial other machines. I'm certainly not in love with Respironics.

However, I just don't see how telling newbies that they need to trial all the different machines is going to meet with much success, not any more than telling somebody looking for a new washer and dryer combination that they owe it to themselves to trial all the major brands which they are considering. Sure, they just might find an outlet willing to oblige them, but the challenges to taking this approach are formidable.

The problem is compounded for apnea sufferers because they are often dog-tired in the beginning, not thinking straight, distraught, and totally overwhelmed.

Figuring out which machine is best is a common problem of course. Consumer Reports approaches this problem for washers and dryers, for instance, by giving a simple ranking preference for machines, but then also stating how they did their testing, machine prices, manufacturer reliability info for prior models, and other miscellaneous info. Readers are left to form their own conclusions. I often don't share the conclusions that Consumers Reports comes to, but I usually find their rankings informative and useful - useful enough anyway that I've remained a subscriber for many years.

It seems to me that the experiences shared here are little different. Individually, the experiences are pieces in a mosaic, but collectively they form a remarkable picture. If we refuse to share our experiences with newcomers then what benefit is being provided here? If I'd come here seeking useful practical information, but then been told to simply try all the different machines available, I'd be wondering why I'd even come here at all, and why come back.

Regards,
Bill ( . . . really wanting to rank APAP's, but not wanting FLAMEs)

Not sure how they do things in Iowa, but around where I live, people can rent washers and dryers and APAPs too. I chose to buy both of my APAPs cuz I wanted to have a backup and test differences for myself. Being as how I got so addicted to PAP treatment, I would find it very difficult to go without even for one night. Anyway, my DME offered to lease a machine to me for up to a year under insurance coverage before I decided to buy. I'm pretty sure if I paid the price I could rent for as long as I wanted but after a while you are just better off buying the darn things rather than renting. I suppose it is a matter of priorities and options ... some people have more than others and newcomers don't neccessarily have to have fewer than the more experienced PAPers.

When I first got here I actually came back because I quickly discovered how many treatment options were available to me and I wanted to learn as much as I could about each of them ... including trialing more than one APAP. As time and money permit I intend to trial the PB420e ... just like I am trialing several masks.

Not flaming you Bill as I respect your thoughts and I have learned much from you and so many others here.

Funny the turn this conversation has taken. We do tend to become identified with the products we use, especially if they are 'signficant' products. Most of us in the USA have seen this most especially in owners of pickup trucks. You know - those little window stickers which show a Calvin-clone relieving himself on the competitor's emblem.

Anyone here think I could sell something similar with ResMed and Respironics logos to attach to our xPAP machines? Any guesses which one would be the biggest seller? (Puts on helmet and runs back to his bunker to avoid any stray missles or other stray subtances, and hopes there won't be too many incomings, making sure to stay upwind just in case.)