S9 Autoset CPAP Machine User Quick Reviews

I'm getting an S9 autoset within the month, whether I buy it or get my insurance to buy it. I am just wondering, of the people who own the S9, how do you like it? Do you see a difference from your past machine(s)?

Also comments from anyone who owns a different machine, and has had success with it and recommends I check it out before making my final decision.

I have used a CPAP for 6-7 years, since age 16, but just as of yesterday have I known about APAP. Which is the technology that I think sounds best, and the one I'm lacking on my current machine. I believe if I go from my current machine which is a Resmed S8 escape to this new machine, it will be a slightly to greatly better rest. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Any input on upgrade models and expectations would be great thanks.

Your body has gone through significant changes between the ages of 16 and 22. It seems unreasonable to me that your doctor has not sent you for a sleep study every year or two.

With an APAP, the machine can both show you what is going on (via data) and adjust pressure for your changing needs. It will probably be a very smart move for you.

I, for one, will be amazed if the pressure you were titrated at when you were 16 is still the best pressure for you today.

jdm2857 wrote:Your body has gone through significant changes between the ages of 16 and 22. It seems unreasonable to me that your doctor has not sent you for a sleep study every year or two.

With an APAP, the machine can both show you what is going on (via data) and adjust pressure for your changing needs. It will probably be a very smart move for you.

I, for one, will be amazed if the pressure you were titrated at when you were 16 is still the best pressure for you today.

I asked for a sleep study test re-evaluation 2-3 years ago and they ended up sending a technician out to my house. He made me use a "special" cpap machine that read exactly what pressure I needed and, they said, was the same as having a sleep study.

The end result was me actually going down a few numbers is pressure. I assume I am having average nights of rest from the slightly new settings seeing how I have normal amounts of energy during the day. But it obviously be great to have more from this new machine.

That "special" CPAP was probably an APAP. They used it's data to determine the new pressure for you.

But soon you will be able to do that for yourself. And your machine will be able to adjust itself all night, every night to accommodate you varying needs.

Boston Guy wrote:

jdm2857 wrote:Your body has gone through significant changes between the ages of 16 and 22. It seems unreasonable to me that your doctor has not sent you for a sleep study every year or two.

With an APAP, the machine can both show you what is going on (via data) and adjust pressure for your changing needs. It will probably be a very smart move for you.

I, for one, will be amazed if the pressure you were titrated at when you were 16 is still the best pressure for you today.

I asked for a sleep study test re-evaluation 2-3 years ago and they ended up sending a technician out to my house. He made me use a "special" cpap machine that read exactly what pressure I needed and, they said, was the same as having a sleep study.

The end result was me actually going down a few numbers is pressure. I assume I am having average nights of rest from the slightly new settings seeing how I have normal amounts of energy during the day. But it obviously be great to have more from this new machine.

A sleep study is totally useless if it does not include an EEG to tell you what stages of sleep and how much quality sleep you are getting; the APAP with data is just going to show you numbers on pressures, flow and apnea/hypopnea events and by itself is totally useless and, in fact, I would suggest that it is quackery medicine under those circumstances.

Use the data from your APAP and interpret it to rid yourself of OSA events and hypopnea events but in terms of SLEEP you need to have EEG, EKG, BP, SO2 and more before you have the full prcture. If that guy shows up again, shoot him. He is trying to kill you.

A sleep study is totally useless if it does not include an EEG to tell you what stages of sleep and how much quality sleep you are getting; the APAP with data is just going to show you numbers on pressures, flow and apnea/hypopnea events and by itself is totally useless and, in fact, I would suggest that it is quackery medicine under those circumstances.

Use the data from your APAP and interpret it to rid yourself of OSA events and hypopnea events but in terms of SLEEP you need to have EEG, EKG, BP, SO2 and more before you have the full prcture. If that guy shows up again, shoot him. He is trying to kill you.


===================

Disagree. Even in the absence of an EEG sufficient data is obtained to cinch an OSA diagnosis suitable for all insurance companies.

What is the value of an EKG in the diagnosis of OSA ? ZILCH.

There are other incorrect statements in your post.

I have only been on apap for a few months, but have used three different machines.

I, like you, was also titrated at home with an auto machine, I was given a machine for a week, but I only slept on my back because I
could not figure out how to sleep on my side yet, so I dont know how accurate that titration really was..

Guess it doesnt matter now, because I asked the doctor for an apap instead of a cpap.

I had a pr system one A flex auto for a month, and traded it in for the s9.
My average on that machine was 3.5 AHI.
The first night on my s9 it went down to 1.5.

I think you will like your s9 VERY much.

The S9 AutoSet is a great machine and is fully data-capable unlike your current Escape machine. It sounds like you want to take more control of your therapy and getting a fully data-capable auto machine is the way to do it... since APAP machines can also run in CPAP mode, you have the choice with the AutoSet. Some just use auto to find their ideal pressure using the data--others like me use auto mode all the time and find that works well. You'll want to get the software--see the many threads about that here.

I tend to jabber on without giving thought to the perception of my jabbering.
What I intended to say was that a sleep study will not tell you the whole story of what type and amount of 'good sleep' you are getting without such things as an EEG. EKG, BP, SO2 levels, etc., are also valuable information in a total diagnosis and point to the possible repercussions of NOT treating OSA and its relatives.

In my case? Mild OSA but heavy duty issues with lack of quality sleep L4 and REM, heavy duty problems with shallow breathing (hypopnea events) and the resultant low blood oxygen levels which cause skyrocketing blood pressure as the body attempts to get oxygen to all the vital organs and tissues, which in the domino effect results in high risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, medication efficacy and therefore interaction, and so on.

SO.... I hope that this second post somehow clarifies my intent. I should not perhaps have said that the data from the S9 or a home study is useless without this data, but should have said it is quite INCOMPLETE without this data.

And having said that, I would not use any other machine (blower) but one that is of high quality and giving me the data I need to improve on the base symptoms level all the things that lead one towards better health and better sleep and so on. My new S9 Auto does exactly that, but is incomplete in its data for diagnosis as I say. I can also say that I played with the pressure being presented by one single cm H2O the other night (changed it to 9.8 - 15 instead of 10.8 - 15) and I had the worst night I have had in months. Changed it back and presto... zero Apea events again and perhaps one or maybe two hypopnea events during the night. More solid sleep but now I am again playing catchup and slowly feeling better each day. The data part of the package enabled me to ultimately adjust things to the best that I could get them.... based on the data that the machine puts out.

HOWEVER, it still does not tell me what kind of sleep nor the length of it that I am getting, nor my SO2 ( I bought an oximeter) nor my BP (I bought a BP machine) and so on. A good quality sleep study will provide ALL the information one needs. I am also opposed to these 'split sleep studies' where they wake you up in the middle of the night to put the hose on you, guessing at a pressure that might help and pronouncing you cured of all evils by 6 a.m. How can they do that when it took me weeks of 'tweaking' to get things just right, to the extent that a change of one cm. pressure makes a difference?

Sorry, THAT is what I intended to say and I hope this post clarifies.

torontoCPAPguy wrote:

Boston Guy wrote:

jdm2857 wrote:Your body has gone through significant changes between the ages of 16 and 22. It seems unreasonable to me that your doctor has not sent you for a sleep study every year or two.

With an APAP, the machine can both show you what is going on (via data) and adjust pressure for your changing needs. It will probably be a very smart move for you.

I, for one, will be amazed if the pressure you were titrated at when you were 16 is still the best pressure for you today.

I asked for a sleep study test re-evaluation 2-3 years ago and they ended up sending a technician out to my house. He made me use a "special" cpap machine that read exactly what pressure I needed and, they said, was the same as having a sleep study.

The end result was me actually going down a few numbers is pressure. I assume I am having average nights of rest from the slightly new settings seeing how I have normal amounts of energy during the day. But it obviously be great to have more from this new machine.

A sleep study is totally useless if it does not include an EEG to tell you what stages of sleep and how much quality sleep you are getting; the APAP with data is just going to show you numbers on pressures, flow and apnea/hypopnea events and by itself is totally useless and, in fact, I would suggest that it is quackery medicine under those circumstances.

Use the data from your APAP and interpret it to rid yourself of OSA events and hypopnea events but in terms of SLEEP you need to have EEG, EKG, BP, SO2 and more before you have the full prcture. If that guy shows up again, shoot him. He is trying to kill you.

But I mean even if I have all those tests done, all they can do is add or lessen the pressure of air. If I just naturally have low blood O2, or other things associated with osa, then there's nothing I can do about it.

BostonGuy, the S9 is an excellent, state-of-the-art machine. Several of our forum members who have switched to it report better sleep and better numbers. The S9 isn't problem-free (read the threads about the humidifier issues) but appears to be working well for many people. That said, there are several other machines that will give you improved therapy over what you currently have, and the possibility of APAP (as opposed to straight CPAP) is available on these machines. The Resmed S8 Autoset II is sort of like the less attractive big sister of the S9, but would probably work well in your situation. The key features are full data capability & APAP capability.

Since I don't care for sleep studies, I wouldn't have another one at this time, even though your pressure needs have probably changed since your first one. Your posts don't indicate any strange new symptoms that should be addressed; these would be indicators that a new study was needed, as there might be additional factors to consider. But for now, an auto machine will probably do the trick. Set it with the lowest number at your current pressure and the highest about 3 above that (example: 8 to 11), check your data for several days, and adjust as needed. You can do this yourself without your doctor's interference.

Just so you know, you don't "naturally" have low blood O2 levels; if they're low, there's a problem. Luckily, this can probably be managed with good CPAP therapy. Let us know how things go.

brazospearl wrote:BostonGuy, the S9 is an excellent, state-of-the-art machine. Several of our forum members who have switched to it report better sleep and better numbers. The S9 isn't problem-free (read the threads about the humidifier issues) but appears to be working well for many people. That said, there are several other machines that will give you improved therapy over what you currently have, and the possibility of APAP (as opposed to straight CPAP) is available on these machines. The Resmed S8 Autoset II is sort of like the less attractive big sister of the S9, but would probably work well in your situation. The key features are full data capability & APAP capability.

Since I don't care for sleep studies, I wouldn't have another one at this time, even though your pressure needs have probably changed since your first one. Your posts don't indicate any strange new symptoms that should be addressed; these would be indicators that a new study was needed, as there might be additional factors to consider. But for now, an auto machine will probably do the trick. Set it with the lowest number at your current pressure and the highest about 3 above that (example: 8 to 11), check your data for several days, and adjust as needed. You can do this yourself without your doctor's interference.

Just so you know, you don't "naturally" have low blood O2 levels; if they're low, there's a problem. Luckily, this can probably be managed with good CPAP therapy. Let us know how things go.

Thank You for an amazingly well written answer to my question.

I used the S8 AutoSet II for 5 months, before upgrading to the S9 AutoSet in March. The main advantages that I've found are:

- rainout is no longer a problem for me. The H5i humidifier can be used with the Climate Line Hose, on Auto or Manual mode, or with a Slimline or regular hose (but this has less options). There have been problems reported with some humidifiers, but it is under warranty for 1 year. I haven't had any problems so far.

- the software gives more information with the S9, most notably, Central Apneas, plus Flow, Flow Limitations, Snore, which are not available with the S8.

- the S9 uses a generic SD card reader, and the Resmed card can be replaced with a generic 1 gig SD card. TheS 8 has a propritory Resmed card and requires a Resmed card reader which is no longer for sale in the US. (though some have reported seeing it on international sites)

- I don't understand the technical differences between the S9 and the S8, but for me, it "breathes" better, and EPR is gentler and matches my breathing rate better.

If the above are not deal breakers for you, the S8 AutoSet is a sturdy, reliable machine.

.

KatieW wrote:I used the S8 AutoSet II for 5 months, before upgrading to the S9 AutoSet in March. The main advantages that I've found are:

- rainout is no longer a problem for me. The H5i humidifier can be used with the Climate Line Hose, on Auto or Manual mode, or with a Slimline or regular hose (but this has less options). There have been problems reported with some humidifiers, but it is under warranty for 1 year. I haven't had any problems so far.

- the software gives more information with the S9, most notably, Central Apneas, plus Flow, Flow Limitations, Snore, which are not available with the S8.

- the S9 uses a generic SD card reader, and the Resmed card can be replaced with a generic 1 gig SD card. TheS 8 has a propritory Resmed card and requires a Resmed card reader which is no longer for sale in the US. (though some have reported seeing it on international sites)

- I don't understand the technical differences between the S9 and the S8, but for me, it "breathes" better, and EPR is gentler and matches my breathing rate better.

If the above are not deal breakers for you, the S8 AutoSet is a sturdy, reliable machine.

I have been hearing how the s8's are built solid, should I take this to mean the s9's are less solid?