3 Days with first CPAP machine and I'm lost!

After extremely frustrating experiences with two DME companies, I turned to cpap.com in the hope of finally choosing equipment and getting started. I paid for expedited shipping but the equipment has been here since Monday and I've yet to get it assembled to the point where I can begin therapy.

Equipment: Philips Respironics PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine
Philips Respironics PR SYstem One 60 Series Heated Tube Humidifier with Heated Tube
ResMed Mirage Quattro Full Face CPAP Mask with Headgear

The mask is the same mask used during my sleep test and was prescribed by a sleep physician
He also prescribed a CPAP machine at a setting of 11 CM/H2O

The cpap.com individual who took my order assured me that I would have no trouble setting up the equipment and getting started and specifically stated that there would be one manual for both the machine and the humidifier, which isn't the case. There is a manual for each.

After three days I finally managed to clean the water container and insert it into the humidifier and have connected the power lines. Now there seem to be a thousand settings/menus that need to be figured out.

Is there not a video that walks a new user through the entire set-up process from start to finish? Or will the sales person at cpap.com do this? I'm afraid I've burned bridges with two local DME companies after extremely frustrating experiences with both of them. While cpap.com may be fine for the experienced user, I fear that it might not have been a wise choice for someone trying to set up the machine for the first time. Each night that I can't initiate therapy is more frustrating than the night before.

Any suggestions will be gratefully accepted!

Frustratednewuser

Wish I could help. I know the feeling of being lost and jsut not knowing anything or even where to start. Hopefully someone with this machine can help out. Have you tried looking at the manufacturer's website or maybe calling them for help? Maybe calling your doctor since they prescribed the machine to you? I would think that they would know something about setting it up and how to get through the menues. Good luck to you.

Most of the settings can stay at default (and they just control what the user is allowed to do except for a few), BUT, before progressing, we need to know your goals.

I am curious why you chose to "go it yourself" (ie, without a DME) if you were concerned about this? I'm not being critical with this question ... I want to know what your motivations are.

Anyway, are you looking for straight CPAP treatment at the prescribed pressure?

Your machine probably already has 11cm of pressure inputted from cpap.com.

There are also videos you can watch for the machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfTPmWL8Wyc

https://www.youtube.com/user/PhilipsRespironics

cpap.com does indeed set the machine as specified in the prescription.

Here's a good place to learn the settings on your machine -- scroll down, it'll be the bottom video:

http://www.cpaplibrary.com/machines.html

Thanks so very much for these leads. I'll check them all out this evening!

The reason I didn't go with a DME (and now question my decision) is that the first company absolutely couldn't be bothered to even contact me for nearly a week after the Rx was sent to them, and after checking them out I found an incredible array of fradulent billing practices, a recent settlement with an attorney general, etc. The second company spent a week going back and forth with my doctor's office insisting that they couldn't move forward until they had the "face to face" meeting date between my doctor and me, as required for Medicare -- this despite the fact that my doctor's nurse insisted that I wasn't eligible for Medicare and that was irrelevant. I wasted over two weeks with two companies that showed virtually no concern for the patient and at that point was so determined to start therapy that I found cpap.com on the internet.

I figured that the auto CPAP machine would ultimately give me more flexibility, but I'd be thrilled to simply start therapy using it as a straight cpap machine at the setting that was hopefully put in my cpap.com.

kaiasgram wrote:Here's a good place to learn the settings on your machine -- scroll down, it'll be the bottom video:

http://www.cpaplibrary.com/machines.html

I don't know how I missed this video when I did a google search for videos of the machine, but this is exactly what I've been looking for. Thanks so very much!

You're welcome.

Welcome to the forum.

I sent you a private message...it's in your private message box...look upper left right next to the user control panel.

It might be interesting to some of you to know why I'm so anxious to get started on CPAP therapy. In 2010 I was (mis)diagnosed with polycythemia vera, one of the myeloproliferative neoplasms. In simple English, it's a cancer of the bone marrow, in which red blood cells proliferate too rapidly, causing the total blood volume to be too great. The blood becomes very viscous and if left untreated, it will eventually lead to a clotting episode (heart attack, stroke or the like). Treatment in the early stages consists of periodic therapeutic phlebotomies, where a unit of blood is removed from the body. The goal of this is to reduce the overall blood volume, leading to lower viscocity. Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels become elevated and at certain levels the next therapeutic phlebotomy is done to try to bring these back into the lower end of normal range, which has been found to be safest in terms of preventing clotting episodes. At some point, most PV patients will need to go on cytoreductive therapy and PV will eventually progress to myelofibrosis in many if not most cases. There are various tests that are done to confirm a diagnosis of polycythemia, and these were not done by either my primary care physician or my local hematologist. I took it upon myself to go to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona in February to have a thorough workup done by their expert in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Based upon the results of a bone marrow biopsy and a number of complex blood tests, the finding was that I do not have PV and never had it. It was suggested that I have a sleep test for sleep apnea and this led to a diagnosis of sleep apnea, progressing to severe during REM stage sleep. It's interesting to note that although the diseases are completely different, both are characterized by oxygen deprivation, and oxygen deprivation can lead to an increase in hematocrit and hemoglobin, as well as red blood cell count. And both have fatigue as a common denominator. After ten phlebotomies since being diagnosed in 2010, I'm anxious to get started on CPAP therapy in the hope that my blood counts will naturally fall back within the normal range and that my low level of energy will be at least partially restored. I'm sure that that's far more than most of you ever wanted to know about a condition that mimics sleep apnea in many ways,

I'm happy for you that your prognosis is much better than PV. I dont have the same machine but share your enthusiasm in getting some mileage with CPAP to (hopefully) resolve some ongoing issues. Good luck!

Welcome. I hope your journey to better health begins now.

Holy moly -- thank goodness you got yourself to Mayo. Let us know how it's going as you get cpap therapy underway. Glad you're here!

I also have been battling polycythemia (not vera) and after a lot of money, genetic tests, bone marrow biopsy etc my blood doctor had given up trying to find the cause. Luckily, sort of, I have hemochromatosis (my body poisons itself with iron instead of removing the excess) so have had more phlebotomies in the last few years than most people have in multiple lifetimes, meaning I did not need more for the polycythemia. I took on a second family doctor who trains other doctors and she immediately suspected OSA as the reason for the polycythemia. One sleep study later and I am one week into my first ever CPAP machine. It will take some time to know if it was the cause of the polycythemia but it will be one less illness to worry about if it was. By the way with having polycythemia and hemochromatosis my blood is so thick it clots as they try to do blood draws for tests etc.