How much should I bump my pressure?

Yes, the flex options are standard on the autos. It's good to have anyway in case you want to try them sometime. If you get an M Series AUto with A-Flex, you will have everything you need. It's good to have lots of options since things change over time.

Of course you should also get the software and card reader but the humidifier you have with your current machine will work. If you bought a new humidifier it would be exactly waht you already have.

I tried all the Flex settings and don't like or use any of them. But if I had purchased a machine without those options, I would constantly be wondering whether I would benefit from them (grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome).

Shop around and I think you may find the A-Flex is priced close to lesser data-capable machines. With the bundles you may save little to no money by leaving off the heated humidifier. If it is only a few dollars savings, you may want to consider taking it for the spare water tank - they do tend to leak over time and replacement tanks are expensive.

rooster wrote:I tried all the Flex settings and don't like or use any of them. But if I had purchased a machine without those options, I would constantly be wondering whether I would benefit from them (grass-is-always-greener-on-the-other-side syndrome).

Shop around and I think you may find the A-Flex is priced close to lesser data-capable machines. With the bundles you may save little to no money by leaving off the heated humidifier. If it is only a few dollars savings, you may want to consider taking it for the spare water tank - they do tend to leak over time and replacement tanks are expensive.

The machine alone is $589 and the software with card reader bundle another $199 for a total of $788 which is about $100 less than what you stated for the same bundle which included the humidifier. Not sure about tax and shipping etc.

The humidifier replacement tanks run about $25 plus shipping, so you don't want to spend $100 for a humidifier just to get a replacement tank.

The price should include shipping. I don't know about Maryland, but for shipping to NC, they do not charge sales tax. But we are supposed to report it on our tax returns and pay it every year. The taxman gets you off the web and on the web.

rooster wrote:I don't know about Maryland, but for shipping to NC, they do not charge sales tax. But we are supposed to report it on our tax returns and pay it every year. The taxman gets you off the web and on the web.

With Internet sales, vendors are only required to collect and remit sales tax if they have a physical presence (e.g. showroom, warehouse, office, etc.) in the customer's state. In New Jersey, the point is moot since durable medical equipment is exempt from sales tax.

Jason S. wrote:
Those numbers are hard to believe because my bottom-of-the-line machine was $1700 new. Are we talking new or refurbished? I was assuming it would be more that $3000 for a new, data-capable APAP. Also, can the humidifier I have on my cheap-ass machine be transferred to another machine? Are they modular or integrated?

Don't confuse the hugely marked up prices from a DME with the actual price you can get a machine. You can easily get the machine I have for about half or less of that $1700 online. You merely have to hunt for it. There is a site called ResellerRatings.com. You can check out any site you want to buy from at that site to confirm they are legitimate and how they treat their customers.

El Pap wrote:Even if your titration pressure is on the money today, it might not be at some point in the future...losing weight...affect your pressure requirements, and it's important to see this happening BEFORE you have an accident or health issue.

Hear, hear! This is my situation, almost 2 yrs consistent CPAP compliance using a non-data capable CPAP. Lost 52#s resulting in a noticeably smaller face and neck, my nasal pillow mask isn't working well now as I don't have the tissues to maintain the seal I once had so I'm mouth leaking and having leaks with my pillows too. Plus, my 5-day APAP loaner indicated my current pressure should be reduced, so Doc re-set my CPAP from 11 to 9 and the ramp from 8 to 6. I still have issues exhaling against pressure and want an APAP.

Why this is this an issue? If I'd seen increased events on the LED, I would have investigated sooner and might not be having the scary events I'm having every night, having my systolic pressure rise enough that I'm again taking drugs (good symptom of desaturations), and seen my red blood cell counts rise to above normal again in my bloodwork (yes, with oxygen desats we create more red blood cells to take advantage of every single bit of oxygen), plus I'm tired, irritable, and moody again. I could have done something BEFORE these negative health affects started!

El Pap wrote:

Jason S. wrote: I'm not sure how much a new APAP machine with software would cost, but I can envision a few scenarios:

1. like your husband, abrupt changes in pressure could disrupt my sleep rather than enable it
2. the end result of experimental pressure testing with software analysis ends up being the same as my original titration and therefore I have throw X amount of dollars down the drain.

1. If you discover that pressure variations disrupt your sleep, then set the APAP to CPAP mode. In my opinion, the extra cost of an APAP is worth it if you can afford it, but the crucial feature you need is a data capable machine to track efficacy.
2. It's not money down the drain. Even if your titration pressure is on the money today, it might not be at some point in the future. Aging, losing weight, gaining weight, hormonal changes, etc., all affect your pressure requirements, and it's important to see this happening BEFORE you have an accident or health issue.

El Pap, Excellent point, I hadn't thought about the future yet, we're just getting the present issues resolved. Thanks for explaining that.
Jason, so glad you're getting such great information about equipment costs, etc. Good luck.