Question About Self Treatment

Hi everyone! New member here, and looking for a little advice. I am 44 years old and I have sleep apnea. I went for a sleep study and it was inconclusive. I couldn't fall asleep on my back so they couldn't do the study (or so they said). I have health insurance but the deductible is $5,000.00 (I'm self-employed), and if I use the insurance too much my monthly rate goes up. Anyway, instead of paying for another sleep study and endless doctor visits I bought a used (5 hours) ResMed AutoSet Respond machine with a heated humidifier and a Respironics Comfort Gel mask, and am trying to use it. I don't know if this machine sets the pressure itself or if I am supposed to set it. Can anyone answer that question for me? Also, does anyone know if there is an easy way to read the data on this machine to see if it is operating properly? Does anyone here use this particular machine? If so, how do you like it? Is it a good one compared to the other machines on the market?

I used my new machine last night and had a very good night's sleep. I have an oxygen concentrator that I connected to the APAP hose, and that seems to work well (which is something I learned about by reading this forum). I tried using this setup for a few nights last week and I kept taking the mask off in the middle of the night. Then I started reading the posts on this forum again and they helped me learn to relax and just accept the fact that I may need to use this machine for the rest of my life. I think that mindset helped me from rejecting the mask in the middle of the night.

This is a very helpful and supportive forum, and I look forward to meeting you all and being a part of this warm and caring community.

P.S. - Any other musicians here?

I have the RESMED vantage auto set and the pressure will vary according to your needs. If you are doing self treatment I would guess it's probably the safest way to go.

If you are using the machine in Auto mode, then do the following to see the data. Note that you must do it before noon, because last night's numbers are erased at noon. Make sure the clock is set properly so that the noon-to-noon recording of statistics stays on schedule.

1. Press and hold the "down" button and the rightmost button, together, for about three seconds. "Clinical menu" will appear.

2. Press the leftmost button to select the Clinical Menu.

3. Press the down button a couple times until the display says "Results".

4. Press the down button (if necessary) until the display says "Efficacy data".

5. Press leftmost button to select Efficacy data.

6. Press down button to scroll through the various stored data for last night -- AI (apnea index, apneas per hour), HI (hypopnea index, hyps per hour), AHI (combined AI + HI), pressure (I'm told this is the 95 percentile pressure, where the machine used higher pressures only 5 percent of the night).

If the machine is set "wide open"......4 - 20 cm., you're going to want to move the minimum pressure upwards so the machine will be able to respond better/faster to the pressure you need. Autos aren't necessarily "automatic"......they move up fairly slowly.
Also, make sure the mask setting is correct in that menu.

Musicians? Yeah, there are a few here. I know of one (not me) who plays the tuba and the swinette.


Den

I wouldnt be big on monitoring data. You are stuck with the machine for a very long time and the last thing you want to do it turn it into an existential experience and charting exercise where it deflects time from family and work, or has you thinking about it, or telling other people about it. As Ron Popeil says: "Set it and forget it"

Billy6 wrote:I wouldnt be big on monitoring data. You are stuck with the machine for a very long time and the last thing you want to do it turn it into an existential experience and charting exercise where it deflects time from family and work, or has you thinking about it, or telling other people about it. As Ron Popeil says: "Set it and forget it"

Or has you hanging out on a forum trying to help people with their XPAP questions and problems.
Would you like us to "forget" about those people, too?
Unfortunately, too many doctors and DMEs have that attitude, too......set it and forget it (and forget their patients.....until they need more money out of them).

If people REALLY, REALLY want to make sure their therapy IS working properly, they'll get a data-capable machine and MONITOR their therapy.

"Set it and forget it?"........That's BS!

Den

Oh, and if you have the attitude of "Set it and forget it" and don't think there may be any insurance repercussions in your life, just read these links from Rooster's post yesterday.

viewtopic/t36218/Who-Underwrites-Sleep- ... rance.html

http://www.insurance-forums.net/forum/w ... d8485.html

http://www.insurance-forums.net/forum/s ... d5641.html

The insurance companies have been trying to weed out people with many "conditions" over the years.....and now Sleep Apnea is on their "radar screen". If you have had an official diagnosis of Sleep Apnea it can be a minefield trying to get insurance. If you have no way of proving not only your compliance, but that you're getting GOOD therapy, you're screwed!

Den

Billy6 wrote:I wouldnt be big on monitoring data. You are stuck with the machine for a very long time and the last thing you want to do it turn it into an existential experience and charting exercise where it deflects time from family and work, or has you thinking about it, or telling other people about it. As Ron Popeil says: "Set it and forget it"

Sorry, Billy, wrong answer. Without monitoring, I would not have known that my EPAP was set incorrectly and that I was getting AHIs which were only marginally better than my un-PAPed original sleep study.

With monitoring, I was able to see that there was something wrong and take action to ensure that I get the best possible out of my therapy.

Billy6 wrote:I wouldnt be big on monitoring data.

Terrible advice. The only way to know if you are getting effective therapy is to monitor your progress.

MusicMan wrote:This is a very helpful and supportive forum, and I look forward to meeting you all and being a part of this warm and caring community.

P.S. - Any other musicians here?

Yep, it is a good group of folks, for sure.

And yes, there are at least a few musicians I've noticed in the short time I've been part of this forum. I'm a singer-songwriter, and my Gibson acoustic and I have pretty regular gigs. Maybe the other musicians will speak up, too.

As far as the monitor / don't monitor question is concerned, I'm monitoring. I think I understand Billy's point--don't let this or any other condition control your life--but for me, that makes it all the more important to control the condition. As others have said, monitoring the data generated by our machines is the way to do that. It also helps me understand how other factors in my life (aside from the various settings on my BiPAP) help or hinder my quest of a good night's sleep.

That's my take on it, anyway.

Thanks for introducing yourself, and good luck with your therapy!

Nath

Thanks for the great replies! I understand that not everyone agrees on everything, and that's okay by me. I appreciate all the input, which will help me make the decisions that I think are best for my health. I'm just glad to be rubbing elbows with people who can understand my predicament.

Welcome to the forum musicman! I used to play the flute looooong time ago, and am looking to start again. I don't think I remember a single note

If it hasn't been mentioned already, go to the "Our wisdom" at the top under the yellow light bulb - plenty of good reading there.

p.s. You'll find that most of us are data obsessed (geeks) so 'set it an forget it' might be good advice for someone who's got their therapy under control, but in the beginning the data is your best ally.

pps. In the future another sleep study might still not be a bad idea, especially if you're not improving. There can be many reasons for poor sleep, above and beyond OSA. So just keep that in mind, and in the meantime, enjoy your new machine!

One more plug (or more) for data monitoring......

I can't begin to count the number of times that people have found their way to the forums (some were even members from previous years) who complained that their therapy was not working after "X" number of months or even after a year or two. Most of the time it turned out to be that they were using a nasal mask and leaking their therapy air out their mouths.....other times it was pressure related. When they would complain to their doctors, they would just have their pressure increased. If these people had had data capable machines or would have bothered to get the software to download and read their cards (for those with data capable machines), they would have discovered that and would not have had to suffer for those lengthy periods of poor (or no) therapy.

Also, monitoring the data from XPAP machines has often been compared to people with diabetes monitoring their therapy. You've heard the commercials that say "Your meter is your lifeline"......it's true. It's important for diabetics to know what foods affect their glucose levels and how much insulin they may need to inject (depending on which "Type" they are and their medication levels). To tell a person with diabetes that they don't need to monitor their therapy would be equally as stupid.

By the way, for some people, there is a definite connection between Sleep Apnea and Diabetes.

Den

MusicMan wrote:. . . P.S. - Any other musicians here?

Lots: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33756

Welcome!

jeff

jnk wrote:

MusicMan wrote:. . . P.S. - Any other musicians here?

Lots: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33756

Welcome!

jeff

Thanks, Jeff! I got here after that thread was going on, and wouldn't have known about it if you hadn't mentioned it.

There really are LOTS of musicians here! (And some very nice guitars, too!)

nath