Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by gayler on January 12, 2012 at 6:02pm

Permalink Reply by gayler on January 12, 2012 at 6:10pm

Well, I got my cpap machine. I've used it for four nights.I'm starting to get used to it. I kept it on all night last night.I keep the temp and humidity on it's highest setting. Mine has a ramp feature that starts out on a setting of five. I don't know if thats cfm or what ever, and goes up to a setting of seven. I change the ramp speed from a time of ten minutes to a setting of fifteen minutes. Mine does have a card that records everything.

Permalink Reply by PaulaO on January 12, 2012 at 6:38pm

Yes, the 5 is the pressure and if it goes to 7, that is your prescribed pressure. Which machine do you have? There's a software, free, called SleepyHead. With it, you can read the data your machine is recording.

Permalink Reply by gayler on January 12, 2012 at 9:26pm

Mine is a Phillips Respironics REMstar Pro C-flex+ Auto IQ. What do you have?

Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on January 13, 2012 at 6:13am

I started CPAP therapy in october and this is basically the machine I recieved, the system one.. My O2sat dropped to 80% overnight. I think 75% is severe. That is enough to cause headaches and severe stress. I was diagnosed with "severe" sleep apnea. Mostly I think they look at you AHI, I was 33/hr.

The ramp setting isn't the pressure, it is the time of the ramp which is linear. The machine has a smartramp function which starts a ramp and then tries to detect an event (apnea) and if it detects one increases the pressure to restart breathing and then restarts the ramp after the apnea is gone. The ramp function is supposed to help people that are bothered by the whole CPAP thing and have trouble falling asleep. I don't have trouble, I just fall asleep. So I actually just turned it off.

I have not used the sleephead software, instead, I use a freeware software system called Onkor which is simply an on-line application. It works specifically with the Respironics System one and serves as an alternate to the Phillips Encore software. With the software, you can look at you nightly sleep patterns, your AHI and actually see where your events are occuring.

I am still trying to get my sleeping on target and have another sleep study scheduled for later this month. I may actually need to change machines and get a BiPap.

Permalink Reply by PaulaO on January 13, 2012 at 3:45am

Not anything that nice! I have the Resmed S9 Escape. It records nothing but compliance. Which is stupid since it doesn't tell the difference between it being on and me actually wearing it and it on.

Permalink Reply by gayler on January 13, 2012 at 5:11am

Sorry to hear that. I wasn't given a choice. The medical supply store told me insuance required one that records, and this is what they sell. I guees I must have gotten a good one. The only changes I have made are I changed the ramp time from ten minutes to fifteen and the flex setting from two to three which is suppose to let me exhale a little easyer.

Permalink Reply by gayler on February 25, 2012 at 12:37pm

Well I just had a checkup after using the CPAP for a while. The Doc explained my sleep study I had done. Durring my study my AHI was at 88. She said this was pretty servere.She also said that the entire study I never reached REM even once! My O2 once droped to 66%

Permalink Reply by Ox Drover on February 25, 2012 at 1:04pm

Glad you got your machine gayler...how are you feeling now i n the day time since you have started to use it?

Permalink Reply by gayler on February 25, 2012 at 2:43pm

I'm feeling better. Not as dramatic as I had hoped for, but maybe I'm just lazy! My mood has improved quite a bit tho, I'm not near as grouchy. Thanks!

Permalink Reply by PaulaO on February 25, 2012 at 5:33pm

Keep at it. It can take several nights, even weeks, for your body and mind to not just adjust to the machine, but to remember how to function during sleep!

Permalink Reply by Ox Drover on February 25, 2012 at 9:57pm

Paula is right, it takes time to adjust but it will make you think better as well as feel better....many people just give up, but work with your sleep doctor or practitioner and your equipment company to get the mask size and adjustment you need to have it fit RIGHT and the right TYPE, you may have to try several sizes or types but it is WORTH IT to keep on til you get it right!

So many people quit before they get through that adjustment period, but I promise you once you get through that it will be so much better that you literally can't go to sleep without it on your face.

I cannot go to sleep without my mask on, I am so conditioned to using it it is just part of "sleeping" and I feel "naked" without it.

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