Resmed S8 Autoset Spirit Auto CPAP

My present Sleep Apnea needs are provided by our (NZ) National Health Service. That my sound good but there are some drawbacks - like no choice, you get what you are given. Also my pressure wasn't checked for over 3 years and when it was I had to go up from 8.5cm to 11cm which to me meant I had been on too low a pressure for some time. I have previously considered going privately but the costs here are two or three times higher than in the US of A and I'm just on a pension.
However - I have been looking at the Resmed S8 Auto CPAP machine. If I were to purchase this machine would it automatically keep the correct pressure for me? On the Australian website I was looking at in indicated that this machine required no annual servicing - just to be kept clean and to put in new filters. My question here is - if I were to buy this machine would it release me from having to see a sleep specialist each year? Could I in fact manage my own Sleep Apnea? It would be nice to be independent.
All your collective wisdom would be appreciated.
Kenv

if I were to buy this machine would it release me from having to see a sleep specialist each year? Could I in fact manage my own Sleep Apnea? It would be nice to be independent.

Kenv, I'm not a doctor, but my answer to your question would be a resounding Yes! If plain garden variety OSA is the problem, I'd always heartily recommend an autopap for people who want to take control of their own treatment.

In the unlikely event that you didn't do as well on an autopap as you do on straight cpap, you could always switch the autopap to operate in cpap mode. Yet you'd still have a machine that you could use for auto-titrating spot checks whenever you wished.

If you intend to manage your own treatment, you'd definitely want to also get the software for whatever autopap you acquire.

Good luck, Ken!

Thanks for your info Rested Gal - I must say that I am very tempted.
Ken

Does this mean the tongue sucking thingie didn't work?

I have an S8 autoset spirit, and it is set at a range of 6 - 14 although you can have it set at any range from 4 - 20. What the machine does is sense your breathing needs and adjust the pressure you receive accordingly. This means that you are not over or under treated and are therefore being given only what you need with intelligence as opposed to being given a fixed pressure come what may!

I was on CPAP for a short time and it nearly drove me mad! For example, I have discovered that I need a higher pressure when lying on one side than the other!!! So CPAP is great on one side and not enough on the other!!!!! But, when I went to APAP I cannot tell you the difference it made - it was incredible, kind of like sleeping in silk after sleeping in sackcloth!

As for seeing the doctor ... you should be able to manage your OSA with the aid of the S8 or S7 autoset spirit ... but every now and again I think keeping in touch with the doctor would be a wise thing.

Lastly, you could think about buying a secondhand machine for a lower price than a new machine? You probably wouldn't get an S8, but you may be able to set an S7 autoset spirit - which is once again and very good machine.

sir_cumference

Anonymous wrote:Does this mean the tongue sucking thingie didn't work?

The Tongue Sucking thingie did seem to work for a while. Unfortunately very shortly after getting it I contracted pretty severe Vasomotor Rhinitis which caused my nose to be blocked most of the time and you cannot breath through the mouth when using the TSD. Real bad timing!
I would not recommend the TSD without have a sleep study done whilst using it.
Ken

Hi,
Am just wondering why so many posts end with the name Ken ?

Is this a forum bug ???

Cheers DSM