Newbie

Snore_nomore wrote:
My random thoughts:
I'm hoping a cpap will be manageable, but wonder if I'm committed enough to look like Darth Vader for the rest of my life. Should I rent to see if I sleep better or feel any difference during the day, should I have surgery to remove my flapping palette, uvula and enormous tonsils, ............

you sound like me, if I read that post and I didn't know it was you, I would think it is me, if you need further proof look for posts I've written recently before this one!!

1. Uvula , the love of my life, apple of my eye, morbid tormentor of my throat. I write poetry about how much I adore the ripping flapping noisy horrible prehistoric dangly thing that serves only to jar me into wakefulness, rob me of all sleep and make me the worse kind of person to know or worse still be in a relationship with - I have to say I hate that thing but I have no intention of getting rid of it. I've read up on getting rid of it, of course I have, I've asked questions - positive experiences of people who have....because I hate it and I want to know is it possible to rid myself of the foul rasping earthquake of misery in the back of my throat , but by all counts it sounds a bad move. Counterproductive, achieves the opposite of intended surgery. have read 20 testimonies of uvuvla no more gone bad, and hardly any of "wow, I'm so glad that foul thing is not there anymore" so it's one of those I expect to get support on it, but I find the opposite.

2. Tonsils - I did that one. Perhaps I shouldn't have as I'm now adjusting well to the machine and can't help but wonder, would this machine have helped me WITH tonsils. ? What's done is done, and what was done was incredibly painful, 4 weeks off work, fitful 2 hour sleeps propped up nearly vertical, morphine, the full deal. Privately I reconcile myself - this CPAP machine works better because I went through that, it has to do, because otherwise what kind of nutter would hospitalise himself for a month......I think that because I have to think that, because I did the surgery. However, the adjusted view would be - this surgery may make no difference to my CPAP experience, had I found CPAP first, or it may be making a difference. In In terms of risk however, I have to accept that I took a gamble I need not have taken. I am lucky I got through it. But it was extremely unpleasant. immediately after it my uvula was the size of a small cucumber, and I remember wondering why the doctor didn't get rid of it. Answer: because he's far less confident in the outcome of that operation.

3. CPAP

tried it before and after tonsil job. Before I failed abysmally. Now i'm winning - and yes I'll give this forum a shout here because people on here really helped me teach myself a little about the subject, and learning to sleep with it. I've never felt so alive for many a year and I'm absolutely amazed at the difference.
the darth vader look is not sexy. But neither is a partner who is constantly angry , frustrated, annoyed and exhausted. I feel sure over time my girlfriend will prefer Darth Vader to the angriest man in the western world!!
all I can say really - thought I'd say it though as reading the comments on the uvula , it's like I said that too

good luck on your journey

Andy

Snore_nomore wrote:PR System One REMStar 60 Series Auto CPAP Machine or should I go with a S9 AutoSet™ CPAP Machine? The remstar is on sale and a few hundred cheaper

In all honesty...it's a toss up. Minor pros and cons with either but none are deal breakers. I have used both brands. With the addition of the 60 Series heated hose the prior major advantage of the S9 with the Climateline is no longer a factor.
Save some dollars and get the PR S1 60 seris Auto CPAP model 560. It's a great machine. You can't go wrong with either one.

Snore_nomore wrote:mask - Quattro™ FX for Her Full Face Mask with Headgear - need to figure out how to size, think I can use the template for the Quattro?

Use the Quattro template...it will get you close. Let me know what size you come up with and if I have one you can have it.
Someone just sent me a couple Quattro FX masks and they look brand new. Sure not used much at all. I don't remember what sizes.
So if you want it and I have it..it's yours for free. If you can help with postage that would be appreciated. Sending out this stuff gets pricey but it is not critical that I get help with postage if money is tight.

Actually probably a week will give you an idea whether a mask will work or not...or at least give you an idea if you think it might work and is worth investing more time in it. I have tried some masks that I knew immediately it wouldn't work but part of that comes with experience because I have learned what is a priority for me.

Snore_nomore wrote:Possibly a hose lit tube holder system?, Do I need to order mask pads?

You can try a homemade hose lift/routing system to see if you even like it before investing money. It may or may not be something you like or need. They annoy me more than they help me.
Mask pads...liners? Wait till you figure out which mask you are going to want as primary mask.

Snore_nomore wrote:I'm assuming these auto machines will calibrate an appropriate pressure setting or the included manual will tell me how to set? I will be doing this on my own,

Yes and no. The provider manual will explain how to set the machine. The machine doesn't really do everything all by itself. We have to sometimes help it with an adjustment to the minimum pressure.
The default settings are 4 minimum and 20 maximum. That 4 cm default works great if you only need 8 or 9 cm pressure...not so great if you need 12 or higher. It simply takes too long for the machine to get from 4 cm to 12 or more. The increases are in small stages and take a few minutes. If it takes too long the apnea event comes and goes before the machine can get there.
Besides..often that 4 cm pressure feels suffocating because not much air is moving.
Not a big deal or difficult to see on the reports if you need more minimum pressure though. Normally just takes a few nights to get the pressures dialed in. We can help with that aspect of things. Mainly it's just using a bit of common sense anyway.

Snore_nomore wrote:Someone on here will show me how to get the software to read my machine results

Yep. We can help with the software. SleepyHead works well with both the S9 and the PR S1. Examples and a brief tutorial here.
viewtopic/t88983/Pugsys-PointersSleepyH ... nding.html
Plus we can get you the official software for whatever brand you end up with.

This site has videos explaining some of the features of the machines..either one. You might find it helpful in your decision.
http://www.cpaplibrary.com/machines.html
They also have some mask fitting videos that might help you.

Snore, you may already have spotted this in your research, but just in case -- if you have a Mac the only software that will work with it is SleepyHead. Other software apps don't have a Mac version.

Thank you for the informative replies.

Andy - I think I'm off the thinking about surgery kick, (once they cut you, your never the same) but wanting this option is part of my denial process

Pugsy - I'll fit the Quattro cut out template this weekend.

If it only takes a week to know if a mask works, I should probably order another different one at the same time. Now which one???? The nasal pillows look much less intrusive than the full face masks, but I'm pretty sure I'm a mouth breather, drool and all. Will my sleep test results say anything about mouth breathing?

Thanks for the offer of free Masks Pugsy, but save them for someone less fortunate than I.

Kaiasgram - I have windows 8, ipad, iphone, but no mac but thanks for the heads up.

Here are my initial sleep study results. No graph page, because I received a poor copy making it unreadable, but still a lot of info below.

Word of warning about Sleep Management Solutions (SMS)--They are the company my health insurance is making me deal with and they are next to useless for advice. This forum is a godsend. I wish I had checked here a few weeks ago when my Swift FX nasal pillow started leaking air badly in just one nostril. After a couple of days I called SMS and told them about the leaking problem. I waited 2 weeks for a replacement mask to arrive. Today on this forum I discovered that the problem was simply the inner part of the right nasal pillow was inverted (pointing toward the tube, not my nose). I could have tried squeezing it to get it corrected and been sleeping for those 2 weeks!

If you have any issues at all I'd look for answers here first instead of calling SMS' so-called "respiratory therapists". They never even told me to check for the inversion problem.

Thanks, for the info FinallyGettingSleep

I just got my machine last night. Didn't sleep real well, kept waking up, hit ramp down at 1 am, then ditched the mask at 1:30 am to get some sleep, put it back on at 5:30 am until 6:30 am

I have a sore nose bridge today, and my face still feels like I have the mask on. I will try adjusting the mask better for tonight and read more on this site.

The mask has a plastic smell, I hope it goes away soon. I ended up with a medium size, but the small he tried to fit didn't smell but appeared to push too low on my nose and high on chin.

So much for being the patient that gets the best night's sleep on day one.


fyi - I selected equipment in my profile, but I'm a newb and don't really know what Resmed mask I have. Will correct profile when I get home tonight.

Forgot to mention, I did go with SMS via my insurance. It will cost me a bit more in the end if I can tolerate and keep the machine.

I waited until 2014, to make sure that all the costs went into one years deductible.

If I purchased machine elsewhere, there are a whole other set of deductibles used.

Here are my initial sleep study results. No graph page, because I received a poor copy making it unreadable, but still a lot of info below.