Resmed S9 Menu Doesn't Give Autoset Option

So, I've searched everywhere for an answer to my problem but as I couldn't find it I'm posting a new thread; hope that's OK.

My history with CPAP machines can be summed up as follows:
Got an older used CPAP-only machine when my apnea started to get really bad a few years ago. Used it for a few months, worked great at first and then got increasingly uncomfortable with a sensation of too much pressure being pumped into my nose when I was breathing out, even at the lowest setting. I thought a BiPAP or APAP machine would probably be better, but didn't have the money to buy one, so I went back to my mouthguard solution that my dentist had fitted (Silent Nite), which worked OK.

Fast forward a few years, and another 15 pounds, and the mouthguard isn't working well and I'm starting to suffer more seriously from the apnea. Fortunately, someone gave me a Resmed S9 in perfect working order!

So last night I cranked it up, looked online for how to get into the clinician menus, and adjusted the ramp to 45 minutes and the pressure to 6.0. Then I went over to the menu settings to set it in APAP mode.

Go to Settings, then the first choice is Mode, which says "CPAP." I know it should say "Autoset," so I attempt to change it. It doesn't change. There IS no Autoset option there, despite the online manual I found saying there should be. It's just CPAP, and when I twist the dial to rotate through the options there is no other options, it just remains. I can change anything else, Max Pressure, Min Pressure, Start Pressure, EPR, etc, but under "Mode" it doesn't give me any other options, no matter how I twist the dial.

Has anyone else ever encountered this problem? I tried to sleep with it on CPAP mode but it just gives me that high-pressure feeling of trying to breathe out against pressure, no matter what I do. I end up opening my mouth (I'm using nasal pillows, which worked great for me on my previous machine) to release the pressure, then breathing in again with my mouth closed.

Is there a solution? Could it be related to the fact that I was trying it without the humidifier attached? Or is there something else I'm missing? Please help!

What is the mode;l name on the front of the machine above the power button? If it doesn't say AUTOSET, it is a fixed pressure machine.

Are you sure you have an AutoSet model.

What model name does it say above the power button? AutoSet, Elite, Escape?

NotMyName wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 9:23 am

Go to Settings, then the first choice is Mode, which says "CPAP." I know it should say "Autoset," so I attempt to change it. It doesn't change. There IS no Autoset option there

When you highlight "Mode", do you press the big button to show your options?

Since you say the Min and Max pressures can be set, it sounds like your machine is an AutoSet. Check the model name.

Oh, thought of another question.

LSAT wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 9:45 am

Go to Settings, then the first choice is Mode, which says "CPAP."

Are you sure you are in the clinician's menu and not just the user menu?

Youtube video showing how to set APAP on S9:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixeQpfX_WWU

NotMyName wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 9:23 am

Go to Settings, then the first choice is Mode, which says "CPAP." I know it should say "Autoset," ... is there something else I'm missing? Please help!

There are 13 or 14 different base models in the wide ranging S9 lineup.

If it's not an Autoset model, then you won't get the Autoset option.

OK, I think I've sadly realized the problem. I thought that all the S9s were APAP machines, but it appears that is not the case. My thanks to everyone for their help!

LSAT wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 9:45 am

What is the mode;l name on the front of the machine above the power button? If it doesn't say AUTOSET, it is a fixed pressure machine.

Nope, it's apparently not the autoset option.

Dog Slobber wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 9:49 am

Are you sure you have an AutoSet model.

What model name does it say above the power button? AutoSet, Elite, Escape?

It says "Elite."

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 10:04 am

NotMyName wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 9:23 am

Go to Settings, then the first choice is Mode, which says "CPAP." I know it should say "Autoset," so I attempt to change it. It doesn't change. There IS no Autoset option there

When you highlight "Mode", do you press the big button to show your options?

Since you say the Min and Max pressures can be set, it sounds like your machine is an AutoSet. Check the model name.

I looked at it more carefully and while I have the option to edit the Max Ramp and Start Pressure, I do not in fact have the option of setting the Min and Max pressures. Apologies, I was at work and looked at an online manual instead of my machine (everything looks basically the same but obviously the precise settings to control are subject to the actual type of machine).

As a followup question, would an APAP or BiPAP machine really make a big difference to solve the problem I am talking about?

I have a really hard time sleeping with the constant pressure. It just builds up, making me feel like everything is overpressured, especially when I'm trying to breathe out. I end up breathing out of my mouth most of the time, breaking the seal and making a big noise which prevents me from going to sleep. Then I breathe in with the pressure, and after a couple of breaths I breath out through my mouth again.

I don't know how everyone else copes with this so easily. It seems to be basically no big deal for most people but I can't for the life of me see how anyone can sleep when it feels like someone is trying to blow me up like a balloon while I'm trying to breathe out against it.

So does the APAP or BiPAP feature really improve this problem, in practice? Or is it just a minor improvement?

People who use APAP mode swear by it. I’ve tried it several times on different machines but have more luck with fixed pressure. If you have never actually taken an apnea test you probably will do better on APAP

NotMyName wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 7:09 pm

It says "Elite."

The Elite is not an auto machine, thus, no 'autoset' mode.

NotMyName wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 7:12 pm

As a followup question, would an APAP or BiPAP machine really make a big difference to solve the problem I am talking about?

I have a really hard time sleeping with the constant pressure. It just builds up, making me feel like everything is overpressured,

A single pressure machine doesn't 'build up', it stays at the same pressure all night, after ramp ends.

The downside of a single pressure machine is that the one pressure it has must be high enough to prevent all your events, whereas an auto machine can be set high enough to prevent *most* of the events, and let the auto function handle any exceptions, like rolling onto your back, or going into REM, which often needs more pressure.

NotMyName wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 7:12 pm

I don't know how everyone else copes with this so easily. It seems to be basically no big deal for most people but I can't for the life of me see how anyone can sleep when it feels like someone is trying to blow me up like a balloon while I'm trying to breathe out against it.

Because the amount of pressure a cpap produces is *TINY*, even at max. (20cmH2O), it's a fraction of what's needed to blow up a balloon.

Stick a straw into a tall glass of water, (at least 8 inches). now, try to blow out through that straw, if you're able to make bubbles in the water, you've just exhaled against over 20cm of pressure.

Could you describe the build up some more? Is air building up in your mouth? Do you have a feeling of exertion in your chest when you breath out? Do you feel like the machine is fighting you when you start to breath out?

Also, is your nose clear, or do you have congestion?

Elite, should be called what it is, E-Lite, Light, means they left out the useful parts that informed people how to better treat Sleep Apnea. Jim

DME's like to sell them, after they are Brick and Mortar Stores, and sell higher profit Bricks!

Goofproof wrote: ↑

Mon May 11, 2020 7:53 pm

Elite, should be called what it is, E-Lite, Light, means they left out the useful parts that informed people how to better treat Sleep Apnea.

You're wrong, the Elite is a full data machine, it's just not an AUTO machine. It is NOT a brick.