CPAP newbie, trying to avoid DMEs entirely. Need advice on what I'm doing.

[harrisrobin]

Hi all, 

I'm glad to have found this community. I am now starting my CPAP journey (was in denial for a few years). 

Let me begin by saying that 4 years ago, I went to a sleep clinic in Montreal and performed a sleep study. The results (link in signature) which I do not mind sharing say that I had an AHI of 37.1 but I do recall that night being a particularly bad night as I was not used to the uncomfortable mask given to me by the clinic.

Anyway, now it seems that my snoring has gotten way worse to the point where my partner can't sleep in the same room as me anymore. I would like to finally resolve this issue but I want to avoid DMEs entirely, they seem shady and are inflated prices from what I see. For example, my nearest DME is offering the DreamStation for around $1700 while I can find it for $699 online at places like cheapcpapsupplies (link in signature). or 795$ on amazon (link in signature). 

My plan is to purchase this machine and a starting mask, I was thinking the Resmed Air Touch N20 (link in signature). This brings up a question. Are all masks compatible with all machines? Is there as standard in tube sizes etc? Will this mask work with my DreamStation? 

Once I get my machine, I plan to follow the advise in the beginners guide and set my machine on auto within the recommended settings and monitoring it from there and adjusting as I look at the data to achieve a lower AHI. 


Before I go ahead and dish out almost $1,000 to start this whole process, I wanted to verify with the community to make sure that there are no red flags in how I am going about this since I am not going to be speaking to a doctor. 


Does what I am doing make sense?

Thank you! 


P.S:

Due to this being my first post, I had to include all the links in my signature instead.

P.S2: Looks like I can't update my signature here :/

More than happy to DM links to anyone who's curious.

[harrisrobin]

Since I cannot paste links and now I can't even edit my original post, I've included a screenshot in the attachments for the equipment Im going to buy in this reply. (why so many restrictions?)

[jaswilliams]

Harrisrobin,

We are very restrictive with links and promotion here as we have to maintain an educational status to be able to off the Resmed manuals without legal recourse by the Cpap suppliers. Most online suppliers will need a prescription on file to supply you with a CPAP machine so you may need one to continue in your quest. Take a look at Supplier #2 they have some great deals on low hour and open box machines, I would suggest for best efficacy you look at purchasing a Resmed Autoset for Her, rather than the cheaper Dreamstation

[harrisrobin]

Harrisrobin,

We are very restrictive with links and promotion here as we have to maintain an educational status to be able to off the Resmed manuals without legal recourse by the Cpap suppliers. Most online suppliers will need a prescription on file to supply you with a CPAP machine so you may need one to continue in your quest. Take a look at Supplier #2 they have some great deals on low hour and open box machines, I would suggest for best efficacy you look at purchasing a Resmed Autoset for Her, rather than the cheaper Dreamstation

Thank you for your reply! 

Out of curiosity, why are you suggesting the ResMed autoset? I went with the DreamStation because it seems to have full compatibility with Oscar (its in the recommended list) and lots of people seemed to have positive reviews on this forum. 

And gotcha for links. Thanks !

[staceyburke]

The dream station is not programmed like the ResMed. The ResMed is much faster in responding to events and gives better therapy. I had a DS and the ResMed made a world of difference.

As far as where to get it Supplier #2 has slightly used (less than 2000 hours and most a lot
Less). Mine had about 3 weeks of use.

If you had that many events I would look at the ResMed s10 aircurve VAUTO I BELIEVE 800 US. Only problem is we don’t know what type of events you have. If you have centrals you might need a machine made to control them.

[upsman]

My plan is to purchase this machine and a starting mask, I was thinking the Resmed Air Touch N20 (link in signature). This brings up a question. Are all masks compatible with all machines? Is there as standard in tube sizes etc? Will this mask work with my DreamStation? 

The ResMed AirSense AutoSet is fully compatible with Oscar as well. I highly recommend this machine over the Dreamstation. It's a little more aggressive in treating your apnea and has the option of APAP, similar to BiPap therapy. 

All masks will work with any machine. If you're looking at a nasal mask, I would suggest the N30i which is a newer nasal hybrid mask. I use it and it's the most comfortable one I've tried. The hose attaches to the top of the headgear and seems to offer a better placement if you tend to move around a lot while sleeping.

[harrisrobin]

The dream station is not programmed like the ResMed. The ResMed is much faster in responding to events and gives better therapy. I had a DS and the ResMed made a world of difference.

As far as where to get it Supplier #2 has slightly used (less than 2000 hours and most a lot
Less). Mine had about 3 weeks of use.

If you had that many events I would look at the ResMed s10 aircurve VAUTO  I BELIEVE 800 US. Only problem is we don’t know what type of events you have. If you have centrals you might need a machine made to control them.

My plan is to purchase this machine and a starting mask, I was thinking the Resmed Air Touch N20 (link in signature). This brings up a question. Are all masks compatible with all machines? Is there as standard in tube sizes etc? Will this mask work with my DreamStation? 

The ResMed AirSense AutoSet is fully compatible with Oscar as well. I highly recommend this machine over the Dreamstation. It's a little more aggressive in treating your apnea and has the option of APAP, similar to BiPap therapy. 

All masks will work with any machine. If you're looking at a nasal mask, I would suggest the N30i which is a newer nasal hybrid mask. I use it and it's the most comfortable one I've tried. The hose attaches to the top of the headgear and seems to offer a better placement if you tend to move around a lot while sleeping.

Thank you for the explanation. I will go with the ResMed then! This is helpful, greatly appreciate it. Going to make my order today, I'll check out Supplier #2.

Thanks!

[Cpapian]

Ontario prices are cheaper than Montreal prices because our Provincial Government negotiated prices in accordance with them supporting  75% of the  machine cost.

The hardest part is getting a mask you like and fit.  I'm pretty sure you have Shoppers Drug Mart in Montreal.  They also have a Shopper's Home Healthcare name changed to Wellness.  Anyways they sell APAP machines and masks, so if you have them, you can just walk in and look at the masks.  They might let you try them on, but be sure they are sanitized first.  They will probably give you some advice on size, etc.

[SarcasticDave94]

I too would vote for the ResMed AutoSet if you're needing a CPAP device. Choosing ResMed vs Respironics makes a tremendous difference in PAP therapy. There's quite a few differences in the therapy details like EPR vs Flex and faster pressure increases to combat the apnea in the ResMed that the Respironics is not able to match. I admit some even here on Apnea Board choose Respironics CPAP machines in part due to that slower response, so the Respironics is not a bad machine, it's just that for most the ResMed will provide better therapy results and higher comfort.

[Cpapian]

I just looked at the online supplier you mentioned.   They are in the US I believe and the price will probably also be USD.  So add 30% (roughly) for exchange. 

Or you could use a Canadian supplier.  On our supplier list, suppliers 32, 34 and 35 are Canadian sites.  Supplier 32, I have been dealing with for a couple of years.  They are Canadian Canadian, based out of Richmond Hill with is just north of Toronto.   The other two, I believe are American with a Canadian website.

The machine you chose was a CPAP  and you should get an APAP.  CPAP is one speed(pressure).  For the whole night you select one pressure.  An APAP you give it a range of speeds(pressures)  like 6 to 12 or whatever.  Then as you progress through your various sleep stages, the machine will adapt to your requirements.   Often,  REM sleep can have more apneas than light sleep.   So the APAP is more flexible.  Since you aren't having a sleep study you don't know if this is the case for you.  So it is better to be safe than sorry. 

Also, Resmed does have one model that isn't data capable.   Before you buy, maybe check back here before finalizing. 

Good luck