I'm being indecisive

raylo wrote:

DreamStalker wrote:Given that you have a relatively low pressure titration of 8 cm, why is it you want the APAP? Are you getting good results with your current CPAP at the current 8 cm setting? Do you have a wide variation between AHI and positional sleeping? Do you want to double check your tirated value of 8 cm?

Thanks, Dreamstalker. I have had my pressure changed by my doc twice since I started in March - I'm now at 10 cm. He and I agree that despite strict compliance (all but 6 sleeping hours in a little over two moths), I should be getting a little more out of therapy. He sent me home with Provigil, which I do not want to take.

I need a second machine due to work travel and such (my fiance and I live about an hour apart and I have two of almost everything until we figure out a better solution with housing/commutes). I figure one of them should be an auto to give some flexibility for changes (I have been slowly, but steadlily losing weight).

There was variation between side and back sleeping in the sleep study. My ahi really isn't that "bad" for being calculated by a resmed, but not squeaky clean either. I am still having a pretty good number of "bad" days though and would like to make sure that I am maximizing my therapy. I have the money in my HSA account to do it, without it stinging too much.

Also, I must admit there is a piece of me that would just like to try out the technology see the difference. But I will park it in cpap mode if that turns out best for me. I can't put a cpap into apap mode.

oky doky. Well, my experience with ResMed APAP algorithm (A10) as noted above is that it can be a bit agressive in changing pressure. For some folks, the change in pressure actually creates more arousals (awakings from REM) while others are able to sleep right through the pressure changes. For me, I tend to wake fairly easily which may explain why I remember so many of my dreams. I eventually went to Respironics APAP and found I got slightly better rest with it than the ResMed but everyone is different. Some folks deal with it by narrowing the min and max pressure range settings.

I guess you need to prioritize your selection based on what is most important to you travel ease, APAP algorithm, cost, or other. I have not tried the Sandman or Intellipap but others here have great praise for them which is why I said in terms of efficacy for your standard OSA condition any of the mahcines will likely work just fine. As far as data, I understand that the P&B Sandman software offers very nice data visualization and I believe there is a way to actually make video plots of the data in real time. If my underware ever gets in a wad because I have to much cashflow, I may break down and get the Sandman myself for the data visualization capability alone.

Anyway, just helping 'ya stay indecisive

For a strictly once in a while travel machine, you wouldn't need a second humidifier, if you got the same brand of machine. But for a duplicate setup in another location for regular use, I, like you, would be tempted to try another brand. My choice, since I have a ResMed, would be to try a Respironics. But I am not aware of anything wrong with any of the machines you mention, so I would probably go with the best deal I could find. Then again, I enjoy my indecisiveness, myself.

Anyway, just helping 'ya stay indecisive [/quote]
And doing a heck of a job of it

Wait a minute, I forgot to ask a couple of dumb questions. Is the rescan 3.7 all the software I need? Do I need to get a reslink to take full advantage of data from an Autoset II (I'll apologize in advance if this is a dumb question)?

Well, I got decisive and went with the Intellipap Auto Adjust. I ordered it from cpap.com (great service) and recieved it this past Thursday. No problems setting/hooking it up and the software was fairly easy to figure out - it is different from the Resmed software and I wish it had a couple of things, but it is certainly useful (and the dat will satisfy my doctor/insurance company). And, it is pretty quiet -I hardly noticed a difference between it and my elite II.

As for results, the first couple of nights my pressure ranged from 7-11 with averages about 8 or so. Then I had some nights with 13 and 14 as the max and at least one night with an average above 12. Maybe I really needed an auto after all. My AHI has been down a bit and more consistent with this machine.

Auto machines add another level of information to look at (a plus to me, although my wife-to-be thinks I get too much info ).

By the way, Kristin Mastin answered a few questions I had quickly and nicely. Her presence and interactions on this site representing Devilbiss were a part of the reason I chose their machine.