CPAP Without a Doctor

So I'm going to assume the first response is something along "bad idea/not recommended". But read on and add to this any way you can. So, thanks to my not so great health plan, a sleep study is an out of pocket of "at least" $2000. Well...let's just assume that I don't have $2000+ floating around. Lets just assume that my wife has said I snore, stop breathing and wake up all night....and I felt like no matter how much I sleep I never get enough rest, I'm always tired and I've gained 50 lbs just from having no motivation all the time. I am overweight 5'10"/230lbs) I've pretty much narrowed it down to I have some form of sleep apnea. Turns out, a co-worker does too, and his insurance got him a REMstar M Series (Auto..I think...not looking at it at the moment) w/ humidifier/smart card (that's probably useless to me) and a nasal mask that he doesn't use anymore.....so he gave it to me. I figured out online how to get into the setup..I can change the high and low, the ramp, switch between apap and cpap and set the C-Flex etc etc. I've read up on all of that and feel pretty comfortable using the machine. I don't know how to figure out my O2 levels or my AHI....but can I do this, safely...without a doctor? I tried it out the last few nights, started at 6...I'm now at 10 working up .5 each night just seeing the changes. I've already noticed a difference, my wife says I slept better, I feel more rested. I just really don't know what to look for as far as the RIGHT pressure....6/7 actually felt like it made it HARD to breath comfortably.....by 9/10 it felt more natural......the higher pressure sure feels funny if you start to breathe out of your mouth. But, bottom line is.....I have a CPAP machine...but have no interest in giving up $2000 for someone to watch me sleep. Is there a way.....

First you need to let us know exactly which machine you have. Remove the water and look at the bottom of the blower unit. You will find a number preceded by either DS or REM and three digits (150, 450, 560) etc. tell us what you find and we can go from there.

Im not home at the moment, but this is exactly it. So I'll assume DS100HS. I asked my wife to look where you said but she said there is a sticker over it from the place he got it from.

http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/DS100HS-Re ... 7Aodp1IAsQ

Yes, it can be done if you have plain jane vanilla obstructive sleep apnea and no other complicating factors.

If you have the M Series Auto...for sure the Auto machine...it does collect enough data to get an idea what is going on but you need a special card reader called an Infineer DT3500 (nothing else will work) to get the data to your computer and the software that is available to see how the therapy is working.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mako-Technologi ... 3cd731e858
Software is available..Windows only...send me a private message for more information on the software.

O2 levels are not available on any cpap machine...you need an overnight recording pulse oximeter to get that data.
http://www.pulseoxstore.com/Downloadable-Pulse-Ox.html

There is a little data on the M series Auto....7and 30 day AHI and average total leak
Here's the quick setup manual so you can figure out how to get to that data.
http://www.apneaboard.com/manuals51/REM ... 0Guide.pdf
additional information here
http://www.apneaboard.com/adjust-cpap-p ... tup-manual

You need to watch your AHI...you want it less than 5.0. Some people can get it done with less pressure and some people need a lot more. It depends on how much pressure is needed to hold the airway open and keep it from collapsing. The idea is to prevent the collapse and not blow it open after the fact.

So check your AHI on the machine and see what it shows.
Then we go from there. If you want to do it yourself it takes patience and education on your part so you understand things.
Since you are already noticing improvements maybe you will be lucky and just have plain vanilla OSA that is easily managed.

AHI and other terms used in relation to machines and sleep apnea
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/s ... r_Glossary

At the additional information link I posted above...go down to near the bottom of the page and request the full provider/clinical manual be sent to you via email for your machine because it has additional information that you need to understand.
Start reading...the CPAP Wiki at the top of the forum page here is a good place to start.

Your machine...tell me all the words you see on both the machine and the humidifier.
The model number if it is Auto M series may be 500 or 510 but tell me all the words you see anyway.
Some M Series Autos had CFlex and some later had AFlex.
If it is a fixed pressure only machine the model number might be 400
All the M series machines had "M Series" as part of the name.. If it has the word "Auto" anywhere then you have the Auto machine which will have cpap and auto mode available in the setup menu.
Other words you might see "Pro with CFlex"..."Plus with CFlex (let's hope you don't have this one)"

Edit: If it is DS100...that's the most Basic of machines and there is no useful data on it to help evaluate your therapy.

Do you have $400 to spend on a machine that would serve you much better?

BCush83 wrote:Im not home at the moment, but this is exactly it. So I'll assume DS100HS. I asked my wife to look where you said but she said there is a sticker over it from the place he got it from.

http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/DS100HS-Re ... 7Aodp1IAsQ

You do NOT want this machine. The DS100HS is an obsolete BRICK. A "brick" is a machine that provides no useful efficacy data. The machine is "obsolete" because this machine model was discontinued back in 2009 or 2010.j

If you are going to self treat, you absolutely must have a machine that records full efficacy data. And preferably you need a machine that records the data in a form that allows you to get at the data and analyze it.

A used PR System One Series 50 or Series 60 PRO or AUTO would be a much better choice.

Forum member STLMark has a PR System One 60 Series Auto model 560 (great machine) with humidifier and accessories for $400.
Brand new.
You would need a RX from a doctor to buy online..either new or used from an online seller like cpap.com or secondwindcpap.com.
Secondwind has some low hour used machines but not much lower in price than Mark's for $400.

If you don't see the word "Pro" or "Auto" on your machine anywhere...you don't have any data available on your machine and I would strongly urge that you do not try to self treat without data.

I'll follow up later tonight when I get back home and can look at it. It did have the autopap or cpap option...and an option for a-flex or c-flex and 1, 2, 3 for options.....and I believe I did see a few screens with AHI, Leak..etc. For $30 I can grab the card reader. Shoot me a message about the software side. I assume you are talking about the Encore/Pro/2? I believe, I have it on auto and A-flex with a min of 6 and a max of 11 at the moment. I think the night before I had it on CPAP with a steady 10 and Cflex on 3....I really cant notice a difference between the modes, but I'm also at lower pressures. I can say breathing feels more "labored" under 6 though. Side note...it did come with the factory users manual...some spare filters....spare stick in your nose jobbers....seems pretty complete. I haven't figured out how to clear the AHI/leak stuff to reset it...I know the other guy said he onoly used it like 2 or 3 times but I want to start fresh so I gotta figure that out when I get home.

BCush,
Not all apneas are obstructive and cpap, at higher pressure can actually induce central (non-obstructive) apneas. So if you find that you aren't feeling better or feeling even worse on cpap, you should have a sleep study done.

There are now a gaggle of companies that specialize in home sleep studies. Fax them an RX and they will mail you the device and instructions. Cost is in the hundreds rather then thousands of dollars and accuracy is pretty good and certainly better then nothing.
CN

BCush83 wrote:It did have the autopap or cpap option...and an option for a-flex or c-flex and 1, 2, 3 for options.....and I believe I did see a few screens with AHI, Leak..etc. For $30 I can grab the card reader. Shoot me a message about the software side. I assume you are talking about the Encore/Pro/2? I believe, I have it on auto and A-flex with a min of 6 and a max of 11 at the moment.

If you had the AFlex option then you definitely have the Auto machine so you have full data available.
My first machine was the M series Auto CPAP with AFlex...AFlex is only available on the auto machine.

The new PR System One machines offer more data than the M series machine does...it offers Clear Airway events (centrals) and RERAs.
The M series didn't flag those items separately. Centrals got lumped into the OA and hyponea basket and RERAs weren't even thought of back then.

Here's an example of what you can get with the Encore software .....I will send you a PM about your choices and which I think you would have the least trouble with.

This thread has some nice images of what your reports would show. Also a good example of why we want the minimum pressure to be set optimally.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39869&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

BCush83 wrote:I haven't figured out how to clear the AHI/leak stuff to reset it...I know the other guy said he onoly used it like 2 or 3 times but I want to start fresh so I gotta figure that out when I get home.

When you get the DT3500 card reader and the Encore software you can use it to erase the prior user's data from the smart card.

For the data that shows up on the LCD screen....
Here's how to reset the therapy data to 0 to erase the prior users data.
M Series...How to reset therapy data to zero..

How to reset the therapy data shown on the M series LCD screen to zero.

==========Resetting LCD Display Data=========================
To reset LCD Therapy data (does NOT erase any data from SmartCard):

1. Hold down the (<-) (->) buttons while plugging in the power on the back,
wait for 2 beeps or 5 seconds, release buttons.
2. Press the (->) key and navigate to Therapy screen.
3. Press and HOLD down the (-) minus key for 5 seconds, therapy data will reset to Zero.
4. Press the (->) key to scroll back to main menu, press (+) key to enter Setup or
On/Off button to exit.

Yours is another case which demonstrates the need for a good public health care law. Whether Obama Care lives up to that, is hard to say.

Using xPAP is one of the best ways to prevent heart attacks, while increasing the quality of life for individuals. Which helps individuals to continue to be workers, and taxpayers.

I wasn't going to bring up political or healthcare views on this thread, but I partly agree with you. Personally, I think it starts with the medical suppliers charging utterly insane prices to doctors and patients alike, jacking up the prices doctors have to charge for services to stay in business. Healthcare is for-profit, when profits should be minimized and regulated and equally funded via everyone capable of working. I believe everyone who wants healthcare should be open to get it, granted they work to invest into it when possible, but not be forced into it. In reality, our entire government, medical system, welfare system.....all need a major overhaul from people with real common sense and people sense. Sadly as long as our government is run by the big corporations who pay them into office and pull the strings; the pharmaceutical, oil, banks, media giants....etc. Who put their profits and personal agenda in front of the people. I'm afraid our government has become more powerful than the people and now we're just along for the ride. I been watching the news and my government...and I'm not very optimistic for my, or my kids future right now. But I digress.....

So the machine is the Auto/A-PAP. Mask is the Mirage Swift II. I just cleared everything to 0 and put it on Auto, A/PAP-3. Min 10 Max 14 Ramp from 8. Going to stay there for a week and see what it says. I'll e-bay up the card reader and start looking for the software too. If this helps me, It'll be bittersweet knowing so many others could be helped if we where not taking it in the rear for this stuff. I can see this unit being a few hundred bucks....but the $2300 his insurance charged for it is a crime.

I look at it this way: if you are out in the woods, and get hurt or sick, you want first aid.
You need to stay alive until you can get "real" medical care.
If you are marooned somewhere, you may have a lot longer to wait.
Survival depends on YOU.
Being "marooned" doesn't always happen on an island.

So I reset the unit last night; 90% is at 13, Leak 37.4, AHI 0.7. I have it set on AutoPAP with A-Flex on 3, Min 10 Max 15.

0.7 is pretty good! Did you sleep well?