Does the S9 AutoSet have an alarm?

Pugsy wrote:

Loreena wrote:Yeah, see that's the thing. You have to decide whether you can do it or not. Thankfully, the process has worked for me. But I can see it being a problem for some people.

Thankfully I don't have to make that choice. Mask removal during sleep is very rare for me and not worth the effort IMHO.
Dozing off during the day..fairly rare unless I have had a bad night in general (short hours, ill, or stupid pets) so again not worth the effort for me.

Besides...having one more thing attached to me during the night is NOT high on my list of things I want to do.
I am the queen of "less is better". If I could tape my nasal pillows to my nose and not have anything else attached to me...that would be what I would call "heaven" since I can't do without the darn mask.
That's why I like the Tap Pap..only have to deal with the mouth guard and I have been toying with the idea of a bit of tape and no mouth guard. I eventually will get around to at least trying it since I can safely do it without blocking the vent.

Exactly.

Loreena wrote:

Pugsy wrote:I think the "alarm" on the S9 for large leak is only on the VPAP model and not available on the Autoset.
It's not the greatest of alarms either.

About the only thing I can think of is to make it more difficult for you to remove the mask during the night.
Some tape in a few strategic places over the straps maybe...hopefully the removal of the tape might wake you up enough to stop the removal of the mask.
Some people have worn mittens to bed to try to limit finger dexterity.

Pulse Ox alarm only works if your oxygen levels drop below whatever number you set for the alarm.
If you don't desat..alarm won't trigger.

Yes! It will alarm when your heart rate raises. Just try it. In fact, I usually have to wait a few minutes before taping it to the finger when I first get in bed because I have to wait for my heart rate to drop below the 73 threshold or it will beep.

Which one do you use? Does it also record data? I'm interested in trying this is as I do have a bad habit of falling asleep watching tv. I also have a tendency to take it off when I drool, and I don't always stay awake long enough to get it back on.

Catalytic wrote:I keep taking my mask off while I'm sleeping, and it's bugging the crap out of me. I WANT to be 100% compliant, but I'm thwarting myself. I have searched and searched and can't seem to find a definitive answer...does the S9 AutoSet have an alarm for this situation or not? I have gone through the clinician menu about 100 times and I am not seeing anything about it.

This thread seems to say both. (And no, I do NOT hear the machine blowing freely when I am asleep, nor has apnea ever woken me up (at least, not enough I remember it), so I would *really* like if I could turn an alarm on that would wake me up when I take the damn mask off, sigh)

The simple answer is NO.

There are a lot of stupid things that the manufacturers have omitted from their machines and for the S9 this is one of them. A clock/clock radio is another (Sans Fisher Paykel...). One has to wonder what the engineers were thinking with certain design decisions. The Respironics' auto models do have a large leak alarm, albeit not a terribly loud one.

Simply ask your DME if you can switch machines if its an issue.

I think I know what the engineers were thinking. Their customer is the DME, not the end user. It's the DME that pays the bill, and their reimbursement is set by Medicare. If they add a clock and/or a radio, their costs go up. So they either eat that cost or pass it on to the DME who eats It or sells another brand that provides more profit and doesn't have a clock or radio, neither of which are medical necessities.

So what the engineers were thinking was "I'd love to add a radio and clock to the new machine, but the finance people told me I have to cost reduce it and it isn't a requirement so out it goes."

It all comes back to money.

Catalytic wrote:I keep taking my mask off while I'm sleeping, and it's bugging the crap out of me. I WANT to be 100% compliant, but I'm thwarting myself. I have searched and searched and can't seem to find a definitive answer...does the S9 AutoSet have an alarm for this situation or not? I have gone through the clinician menu about 100 times and I am not seeing anything about it.

This thread seems to say both. (And no, I do NOT hear the machine blowing freely when I am asleep, nor has apnea ever woken me up (at least, not enough I remember it), so I would *really* like if I could turn an alarm on that would wake me up when I take the damn mask off, sigh)

This is interesting - I have this same problem - taking the mask off and sleeping for hours without the CPAP. When I bought my S9 I also was under the impression it had an alarm for this situation, but soon found I hadn't done my homework well enough before buying (or the info available is ambiguous) - as I think the alarm that I had read about is to tell you its time to replace your old mask, filter, etc with a new one. Or as Pugsy says it is only on the VPAP model and I thought it was on the Autoset. The F&P brick I had before the S9, just kept pumping the air out and this roaring would eventually wake me, whereas now the S9 just switches itself off after a few seconds of roaring and I sleep merrily on without it.

A Resmed software person was quite recently asking on this forum for feedback from users - what users would like to see added into the software when they upgrade/modify the S9. I never thought at the time but I should have mentioned the alarm, as it would be a good addition.

I found the Resmed software modification request thread I mentioned in my last post - " Request for Resmed SD Card feature"

RMD_software wrote:Hi all,

I am a software engineer working at Resmed. Seeing as I am working on SD Card area of the software. Does anyone have any SD Card related feature requests for the next generation of Resmed product?

I'll be more than happy to note it down and communicate it to people, and if it gets approved i'll go implement it.

for example I have noticed that there are some people who want all the files (data) on the SD Card kept, and never deleted, etc.


Disclaimer: I do not represent Resmed, what I say is my own opinion only. I do not guaranteed your suggestions will be implemented.

Whether this would include things like alarms? Maybe it is not too late to suggest it.

fredr500 wrote:I think I know what the engineers were thinking. Their customer is the DME, not the end user. It's the DME that pays the bill, and their reimbursement is set by Medicare. If they add a clock and/or a radio, their costs go up. So they either eat that cost or pass it on to the DME who eats It or sells another brand that provides more profit and doesn't have a clock or radio, neither of which are medical necessities.

I see no reason for a clock or radio on my machine. I don't keep it within view of the bed. It is down lower than the bed, sitting in an open drawer. I have an alarm clock on the desk next to my bed. Most people already have a clock before they get a cpap machine, so they aren't in need of a new clock. I would hate to have to pay extra or have to deal with a larger machine, just to have something I will never use.

As for a radio, I have never used a radio in a clock. Only a buzzer alarm. If it accidentally gets switched to radio, I end up oversleeping as I just incorporate the radio into my dream.

as far as i know none of the alarms is worth a dang. My previous pr550 wasnt loud enough to awaken a chimpmunk on nyquil.

Pugsy wrote:I think the "alarm" on the S9 for large leak is only on the VPAP model and not available on the Autoset.
It's not the greatest of alarms either.

About the only thing I can think of is to make it more difficult for you to remove the mask during the night.
Some tape in a few strategic places over the straps maybe...hopefully the removal of the tape might wake you up enough to stop the removal of the mask.
Some people have worn mittens to bed to try to limit finger dexterity.

Pulse Ox alarm only works if your oxygen levels drop below whatever number you set for the alarm.
If you don't desat..alarm won't trigger.

DavidCarolina wrote:as far as i know none of the alarms is worth a dang. My previous pr550 wasnt loud enough to awaken a chimpmunk on nyquil.

I am easily annoyed by noises. Twice this week, my phone has had a low battery, and it lets out a quiet 3 beep sound every so often. It is so annoying that I have to get up, dig it out of my backpack, turn on the light, and get it plugged in. I wish it would just die quietly. I'll figure it out. It is especially frustrating that it keeps dying in my last hour of sleep, which really messes me up.

I can sleep through most stuff on the tv. I do wake up to very slow speakers, lots of ums, and wrestling. I can sleep through a radio. But a kitchen timer can wake me up.

Even if the S9 had an alarm, many people not only take off their mask, they turn the machine off and store the mask. The PRS1 machines have an alarm, but the volume is too low to wake up a lot of people.

We need some sort of gadget that will set off an alarm if your turn off the CPAP machine or take the mask off. With an optional "safety" mode so you can't turn off the alarm unless you're really awake. Either you have to do some sort of complicated sequence like a "drunk test" so you won't be able to do it in your sleep, or a wireless button in another room you have to get up and push.

Some kind of pressure sensor and an iPhone app would be ideal.

archangle wrote:Even if the S9 had an alarm, many people not only take off their mask, they turn the machine off and store the mask. The PRS1 machines have an alarm, but the volume is too low to wake up a lot of people.

We need some sort of gadget that will set off an alarm if your turn off the CPAP machine or take the mask off. With an optional "safety" mode so you can't turn off the alarm unless you're really awake. Either you have to do some sort of complicated sequence like a "drunk test" so you won't be able to do it in your sleep, or a wireless button in another room you have to get up and push.

Some kind of pressure sensor and an iPhone app would be ideal.

Agreed. I do not put my mask away, but I do turn off the air and then remove the mask. Sometimes I remember intending to dry off the drool or readjust it and I fall asleep before finishing that task.

Ideally, I would like an alarm that I can set to go off any time the machine is shut off before a time I set (when I need to get up for the day), and the alarm requires me to get out of bed to turn it off. I have not been able to put my mask back on while lying down. So, I have to get up to put it back on. Once up, I WILL put it back on. So, I just need something to get me out of bed anytime my mask is not being used.

Even the occasional beeping from a dying cell phone will drive me crazy. So, it doesn't have to be much. The only thing is how to set the alarm and trigger it. I thinking snoring would be a good trigger since that only happens when I am asleep without my mask. But I haven't been able to find anything that does that job.