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Hi All - newly diagnosed with apnea and new to the forum, I have a few questions I’m hoping someone wouldn’t mind helping me with...first, I’m going to buy my own machine because the insurance route would be more expensive and I will probably be purchasing a resmed v auto AirCurve 10, so I just wanted an opinion on if it is a good machine (all my research points to yes)...next, since im not using insurance, I’ll be on my own setting it up so I’m hoping this won’t be too difficult to do using my sleep test results?... And lastly, since the machine only come with power supply and humidifier, Im wondering if there’s a certain type of mask and tubing I shoul get and where good prices might be? Any insight is greatly appreciated as I’m new to the world of sleep apnea. Thanks!
Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
Your Sleep Study(s) will help us to guide you down the right street for you.
And I'll add it is possible that you would require a machine that is much more expensive than the ResMed VAuto (Which is a very versatile machine).
The AutoSet machine mentioned above would be our machine of choice for over 90% of users.
Masks are a very personal thing. Try masks from the least intrusive (ans smallest) nasal Pillows which sit on your nares or nasal openings (not in them) to a nasal mask which rests around your nose, and finally a full face mask which sits around both your mouth and nose.
Read the Mask Primer (see my signature). The bottom of the Mask Primer contains sizing guides for many masks. Masks must be tried on, preferably lying down and under pressure.
I would add a heated hose, that prevents rainout but I just feel that it is that much more comfortable.
Fred
Gideon - Project Manager and Lead Tester for OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
If you are buying your own machine and you have non complex sleep apnea I would highly recommend the ResMed AirSense 10 AutoSet, and for a first try mask, the ResMed AirFit P10. The mask comes as a Fit Pack with three different sized inserts, so if you are going the do it yourself route, it improve the odds one of the three sizes will fit.
That said, you may not have run of the mill apnea, and may need a more expensive specialized machine like the one your mention. If you share the results of your sleep study, contributors can help you. The key numbers is the total number of events per hour, or AHI, and what the breakdown of the type is; like obstructive and central. If the % that are central apnea events (CA's) is significant you may need a more specialized machine.
Thanks for the great info! Fortunately (I believe) the clinic deemed my apnea mild with 21 obstructive apneas over the night and only 1 central...my prescription notes my AHI as 4%... screen shot below. It doesn’t all make sense to me but I look forward to figuring it all out, and again thanks for the help.
(04-04-2018, 06:06 PM)Pfarm Wrote: Thanks for the great info! Fortunately (I believe) the clinic deemed my apnea mild with 21 obstructive apneas over the night and only 1 central...my prescription notes my AHI as 4%... screen shot below. It doesn’t all make sense to me but I look forward to figuring it all out, and again thanks for the help.
That looks like a low level of apnea and certainly does not need a real fancy machine or even an auto machine. Your image did not come through. Try using the Attachments section lower down when you are making a post. It is a two step process. First use the Choose File button to select the JPEG file from your computer, and then when it is listed, then click the Add Attachment button on the same line. It should then show up in your post. Finger Crossed!
Thanks again for all the advice! Hopefully my results show this time. Also, it looks like the aircurve 10 I was planning on might not happen so I'm wondering if, based on my test results, anyone could give me some good machine options and possibly some places to look with reasonable prices? From the little bit of research I've done on used machines, I think I'd be ok with one that was taken care of and comes from a smoke free home.
You have a lot of Hypopnea's in your sleep study. It looks like a VAUTO would have been the preferred choice after all. I know the AirSense 10 can basically be setup like a VAUTO in the sense it can give you 3cm of pressure support. It's not ideal but it may be good enough to take care of your needs. You don't want to get a Dreamstation Auto Cpap because they use flex which doesn't give you the true effect of a Bipap. If you did by a DreamStation you want to make sure it's an Auto BiPAP.
Place's to look are the Suppliers list at the top of the list. Supplier #2 sells slightly used machines. Also Amazon has machines at times. Another place is Craig's list which you want to be a little more careful about.
Membership in the Advisory Members group does not imply medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
With the current generation of machines my suggestions would be
1:/2: ResMed Airsense 10 AutoSet for Her / ResMed Airsense 10 AutoSet (an extra algorithm in the for her) The Autoset acts most like the VAuto BiPAP but is limited to 3 cmw EPR (Pressure Support/PS)
3: Phillips Respironics DreamStation Auto (model DSx500 (on machines bottom))
The Autoset responds faster to events than the Dreamstation.
Also KNOW the true run hours on the machine, NOT the therapy fours which can be reset. Figure roughly 3600 hours per year (10 * 365 is approx 3600) / 12 is approx 300 hrs per month) Should be close enough, adjust as you wish. The machine should last 5+ years.
Lots of useful info in the links in my signature.
Fred
Gideon - Project Manager and Lead Tester for OSCAR - Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter
