Upgrading to a new machine - HELP

Hello all,

It's long overdue in an upgrade (currently using Resmed S7 Lightweight ... ). My last (and only) sleep study was done 9 years ago and i was diagnosed w/ mild to moderate OSA (AHI 21/hr sleep). Since then I've put on 25lbs (200 to 225).

Questions:

1. How often are you supposed to have a sleep study updated? How do you know when to adjust the settings?
2. How often do people typically replace their machines on this site?
3. What machine do you recommend (I see the S9 Elite is a popular choice)?


Any other input you'd like to share would be very much appreciated. Figured I'd do some research before contacting my local in-network RME.

I would highly recommend the S9 Autoset. If I had checked here first I would have got one. A good reason for the auto PAP is it can adjust the pressure levels to what you need and if you want you can then set it in CPAP mode. Two machines in one.

Then the real big thing is getting a data capable machine. The S9 Autoset is that.

An S9 Autoset is cheaper than a sleep study. Two birds with one stone. Probably best to talk to the insurance company since they would be the ones who stand to save $$.

I was in a similar situation about a month ago except that I'd been using a Resmed S6 lightweight for ~10 years. An antique by today's standards, no pressure read outs or any of the other smart features available these days. It was quiet though. Shortly after I got the machine I found out how get into the clinician mode and adjust the pressure. [OK I found out by watching the clinician do it to raise the pressure 2 cm (billed a $100 for that 10 years ago)] Unfortunately with no readout I had to adjust the pressure blindly. As is typical most of pressure changes were due to my weight fluctuations. I too have had only one sleep study. Despite BCBS insurance the whole thing still cost a fair chunk a money back then. Insurance wasn't going to give me another machine with out seeing the doctor and possibly another sleep study. Anyway I couldn't wait so after lurking around here off and on for a couple of years I finally pulled the trigger on an Intellipap Autoadjust. Did not want to go through another winter of cold dry air. These last 2 years the room temperature air has been painful to live with.

The new machine has helped but is not as great an improvement as I hoped for. Still playing around with it trying to optimize the settings. I've pretty much had to disable the low pressure side of the auto adjust feature. I have it set for 8.5 and some nights my 90 and 95% readings are 8.5 (maybe 9 on the 95%). For me it seems that if I set it lower then it will go lower if you go a while with no apnea events. The AHI numbers then go up and I don't feel as well in the morning. My current AHI are in the 2.0 or 2.5 region. I've only been using it for 3 weeks now. Other things I've noticed with this machine is that with the humidifier attached I find the unit to be much noisier then without. Even noisier then my old S6. Not noisy enough to keep me up. No humidifier attached then it's extremely quiet. Also not a fan of the Smartflex pressure relief. I must have my pressure set at the hairy edge because when I turn on the Smartflex even with just 1 cm relief my airway will eventually collapse on exhalation. (probably need to raise my pressure some). The pressure transitions were also very noticeable.

I'll probably go to the doctor soon to get a new unit through the insurance. I thinking/hoping it will be an S9 Autoset. I'll then move this unit to my parents apartment to have on hand for all the time I spend there helping them out. Although I'm satisfied (not ecstatic) with the Devilbiss Intellipap I think the Resmed S9 is likely the leader of the pack. It will cost you though. Of course keep in mind I haven't tried an S9 yet. If moneys an issue then I'd look elsewhere. Plenty of good machines out there.

I've had my Intellipap auto for a little over a year now and I love it. My AHI runs about 1.5 on average with a number of nights below 1.0. I have worked with a number of new users over the last several months, and for most, it is an easy adjustment. 3 weeks is not enough time to make a sound judgment about it if you are still having issues. More tweaking of the settings is in order, and that 2.5 AHI, while good, could still come down some more. You mentioned noise, yet I find my IP with the humidifier to be incredibly quiet. Maybe I just lucked out on a super quiet one and an easy adjustment to it, but I think with some adjustments and persistence, you can get to a spot and be very happy with it.

Make sure your humidifier tank is FULLY inserted. I have a few times not fully pushed it in and then it noisy and leaks air. Since I raised my min pressure to 12cm from 10cm I have had several nights with >1 AHI lowest was .07 . When I had it set at 10cm I would spend most the night right at 10cm but my AHI average was about 3cm, so in my case I don't think the Intellipap was reacting fast enough. Still have not had a 0 AHI night, but have gotten a lot closer.

Thanks for all the input. Insurance is going to cover most of the cost so S9 Autoset would not be out of the question money wise .... I mainly want to get what will work best.

Thanks again!

What is the major difference between the ResMed CPAP S9 and the S8 Escape? I currently have an older model and am interested in upgrading.

ChrisCar wrote:What is the major difference between the ResMed CPAP S9 and the S8 Escape? I currently have an older model and am interested in upgrading.

If you mean S9 Escape and S8 Escape not a whole lot other than looks. Now if you're talking about the S9 Elite or S9 Autoset they are both data capable machines. You really want the data capable machine. I have a S8 Autoset that is data capable but you need a "special" data card reader. The S9 Elite & Autoset uses a regular SD card like goes in a camera.

Is the data easy to track and understand in the S9 AutoSet? Those who use this setup - what data does it record and what data do you regularly follow? Is this something you track daily, weekly, monthly>?

Thanks.