(07-08-2018, 07:46 PM)Walla Walla Wrote: I'd guess to use the Ultra which is a nasal mask.
Thank you, I'll try that!
(07-08-2018, 08:07 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: The old S8 with H4i humidifier was a good machine, but for your new one, try to get the Airscurve 10 Vauto. There is much more flexibility with the Vauto, similar to using fixed CPAP vs Auto CPAP. Of course both provide full data that will let you fine-tune therapy. With any bilevel machine you have three main parameters; exhale (EPAP), inhale (IPAP) and pressure support (PS). With fixed VPAP-S you only have IPAP and EPAP. If your profile is accurate, you are currently at 18/12 which yields a pressure support of 6.0. Regardless of mask setting, how's it going?
My doctor went on vacation the next day after I had my appointment to find out my results. He is planning to prescribe a standard BiLevel machine with the pressure setting of 18-12. My setting two years ago was 11-5, so the difference in two years surprised me.
He asked me to call my insurance and local DME's while he was gone and send him a message the day before he returned to work as to which DME he can fax the prescriptions to. That gave me a wonderful opportunity to better educate myself before sending that message. I just sent it a few minutes ago as he returns tomorrow.
Thanks to this forum I was able to read a bunch of wonderful threads regarding dealing with a DME. I learned that I can choose the machine, not the one the DME forces on me. That both the Standard BiLevel and the Auto BiLevel use the exact same insurance code so when my insurance approves the code E0470 they have approved either machine! Plus, both cost the exact same, at least on
Supplier #1 so I'm not asking my insurance company to pay more or the DME to loose money for the Auto. I've also read the thread about how much better an Auto would be compared to a standard machine. Lots of great reasons on that thread too!
Most recently I read the thread called "Your Cpap Buying Experience." That was just as much help as the others! I saved the location of that thread and will reread it before driving to my local DME when ever I get that far in this process.
So when I sent the message to my doctor, I asked him if he will prescribe a ResMed AirCurve 10 VAuto with the Heated Climate Line humidifier and hose. If he still writes the prescription for a generic BiPap, I am still going to ask the DME for the ResMed Auto based on the information I learned on this board!
As far as how it's going, I've only used mom's machine twice for one hour each time so far. My ribs are sore, I have some asthma type reaction, a very dry mouth and it made me feel tired. Very similar to before. Two years ago the two different DME experiences were horrible and I had a different doctor which also contributed to the bad experience. Both refused to help me work through the issues. I was just supposed to figure it out.
This time, I'm going to start learning how to use Sleepy Head and ask questions to those of you more experienced so I can change my pressure if needed. I'm trying to figure out if I have mom's machine set correctly for the mask and hose length to see of that helps. I'm going to try adjusting the humidifier setting to see if that helps with the dry mouth. I'm going to not stress about not using it all night yet as I try to figure out why I'm sore and having an asthma type reaction. I know from posts that part of this is common for some people just starting out. I'll try to use it at least 1-4 hours a day or more as I try to work through these issues. I'm more determined this time to try to get this to work. I know I need it.
My mom's machine does have a data card inserted but I haven't taken it out and looked at it yet. I only have 2 hours of use. Most of it while I was awake. Everything else on the card would be my mom's data. If I can get in more sleeping time, maybe SleepyHead will be of help. I'm hopeful that at some point I'll have found the right mask and settings so that I will actually wake up feeling like I got a decent night's sleep and not be tired.