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[Equipment] Newbie in trial period
#1
Newbie in trial period
Hi to all the experienced members,

Recently have been diagnosed with moderate apnea symptoms and after another night spent at the sleep clinic (to test equipment and my tolerance... or something like that) got a prescription for a CPAP machine (9cm H2O, FFM, AHI 14/hr).

My - Canadian - supplier offered to give me a ResMed S9 Elite with an Airfit F10 mask for trial for 30 days. I slept only two nights with it and I already have a lot of questions. Or maybe because I am using it only for 2 days...

Anyway, during the 1st night after almost 7 hrs of sleep the machine showed 1.2 AHI (good) and Sad mask fit (bad). Humidity level was set by default(?) at 3. I woke up with my mouth a little dry...

The second night I set the humidity to 4.5 and woke up after about 4 hours of sleep with a completely empty tank and "burnt" smell in the air flow - so I ripped of the mask and had a short sleep after that without the machine. The display showed 3.5 hr sleep and 13 AHI!

Besides having the sleep apnea I also have COPD (use puffer and other medication) and on top of that I have allergies to almost everything: on my arm only one spot was not red when they tested. I have full denture, which I remove for the night.

QUESTIONS:
1. Did anybody experience imperfect fitting because of both dentures removed and collapsing cheeks? Any advice to prevent it?

2. Was it a leak that emptied the tank during the second night? Should I just fill up the tank if it happens again? How do you prevent it?

3. Is it advisable to use the software for reading the SD card if the machine is not mine? I will not keep THIS one after the trial period; I'll get a new one.
Thanks
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#2
RE: Newbie in trial period
(04-04-2015, 09:09 PM)Alvajaro Wrote: 2. Was it a leak that emptied the tank during the second night? Should I just fill up the tank if it happens again? How do you prevent it?
Yes, most likely Large Leak used up all the water too quickly. Until you tame your Large Leak, keep humidifier set for a lower temperature. Also, refill the humidifier if you go to the bathroom during the night (take tank out of the humidifier before refilling, or you may ruin your machine, and the warrantee will not cover water damage). And refill again if it runs dry. If you have heated hose, turn down its temperature some, too.

(04-04-2015, 09:09 PM)Alvajaro Wrote: 3. Is it advisable to use the software for reading the SD card if the machine is not mine? I will not keep THIS one after the trial period; I'll get a new one.

Yes, download the data. After you are no longer using that machine you will be able to delete from your computer the days you downloaded which were not yours. Actually, before delivering it to you the supplier should have reset the machine to clear out all old patient data, but download the data anyway, whether or not the old data is also there.

Having an APAP such as the S9 or A10 AutoSet would likely lower your Leak problems because the machine would not need to stay at high pressure all the time, only when you need it. Or at least that's your story when you ask to receive an AutoSet instead of a fixed-pressure unit. Caution: do not accept an S9 "Escape" or an S9 "Escape Auto" or an AirSense 10 "CPAP" model, because these report little or no data beyond hours of use.

See member Archangle's machine recommendations:
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ngle:Links

Take care,
--- Vaughn
The Advisory Member group provides advice and suggestions to Apnea Board administrators and staff on matters concerning Apnea Board operation and administrative policies.  Membership in the Advisory Member group should not be understood as in any way implying medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#3
RE: Newbie in trial period
(04-04-2015, 09:09 PM)Alvajaro Wrote: QUESTIONS:
1. Did anybody experience imperfect fitting because of both dentures removed and collapsing cheeks? Any advice to prevent it?

2. Was it a leak that emptied the tank during the second night? Should I just fill up the tank if it happens again? How do you prevent it?

3. Is it advisable to use the software for reading the SD card if the machine is not mine? I will not keep THIS one after the trial period; I'll get a new one.
Thanks

Hi,
I know there is only a 10% chance of this applying to you, but in some provinces they are free to everyone willing to wait 2 extra weeks for an S9 Elite. I waited and took the freebee in Sask., no insurance needed.

Can't address the dental but the SD card is not altered in any way .... IF you find and click the tab on the SD card to the lock position before inserting into your PC (for some operating systems) and reinsert into your CPAP in the unlocked position.
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#4
RE: Newbie in trial period
Welcome to the forum. You received a good quality CPAP machine that will provide you with very good data, including a record of all events, the type of events, snores, leaks and other useful information. You should download and install the Sleepyhead software from the link at the top of this forum.

I suspect your mask fit was not ideal on the second night and you had significant leaks. This causes a lot of airflow while not maintaining effective pressure to prevent apnea. As a result, your humidifier reservoir dehydrated and you were not comfortable and removed the mask. The best thing to do is to refill the reservoir, try to get a good fit going and try again.

Since you are just beginning, you probably can exchange your mask as needed until you get one with the fit your need. There are many alternatives that might not be so affected by your dentures and lower facial shape change. In addition to full face models, there are nasal masks, nasal pillows (if you don't mouth breath, these are best), and there are other versions of FFM like hybrid masks and even masks made of cloth from Circadian. Your job will be to give feedback to your supplier until you get the mask you need to tolerate and enjoy effective therapy. Data will help, but if the Airfit F10 is not working for you, don't spend more than a week figuring out how miserable it makes you, exchange it.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

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#5
RE: Newbie in trial period
(04-04-2015, 10:11 PM)vsheline Wrote: Yes, download the data. After you are no longer using that machine you will be able to delete from your computer the days you downloaded which were not yours. Actually, before delivering it to you the supplier should have reset the machine to clear out all old patient data, but download the data anyway, whether or not the old data is also there.
--- Vaughn

I don't understand him having to do anything with the machine, I think all the original data is on the card, if you put the tab to lock and just d/l it into a Sleepyhead profile and put it right back in the Cpap unlocked.

... correct me if this would affect the card .... respectfully.

Sirc
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#6
RE: Newbie in trial period
(04-04-2015, 10:37 PM)Napmeister Wrote: I don't understand him having to do anything with the machine, I think all the original data is on the card, if you put the tab to lock and just d/l it into a Sleepyhead profile and put it right back in the Cpap unlocked.

I was trying to write that, if the CPAP machine had been used earlier (by a previous patient) the provider should have erased the machine's internal memory and reset the machine to factory defaults before setting up the machine for a new patient. If the provider neglected to do that and the machine now holds data for Alvajaro plus a previous patient, Alvajaro should download the data from the machine's SD card, and Alvajaro can delete from his computer all data for days earlier than when Alvajaro started using the machine.


The Advisory Member group provides advice and suggestions to Apnea Board administrators and staff on matters concerning Apnea Board operation and administrative policies.  Membership in the Advisory Member group should not be understood as in any way implying medical expertise or qualification for advising Sleep Apnea patients concerning their treatment.
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#7
RE: Newbie in trial period
First of all, thank you everyone for the support and great advice.

My third night was better: AHI 2.88 and slept almost 7 hours (which is more or less the average sleep time for me).
However, the leak is still considerable, so I'll have to consult with the people who gave me the mask.

In their defense - now that I've read a lot here in this forum, I realized the sleep clinic people didn't do a good job at all, when they called me back to "test" machines and/or masks. The machine was set to a constant pressure and they gave me all three masks (nasal mask, nasal pills, ffm) for about one [1] minute each... no adjusting or anything like that and I had to decide quickly which mask was working best for me before going to bed. Since I felt the nasal things were blowing up my head and couldn't breath out easily... I picked the FFM. So, the doctor put that into the prescription. But now I am not able to adjust it porperly due to different reasons Sad

Downloaded the latest SleepyHead software and imported the data from the card. (BTW, the previous user's data has been deleted from it.)
It says the same, as far as I can tell. Although I need to learn more about the 'interpretation' of data.
The summary:
Quote:The last time you used your ResMed Elite... was last night (on 4-Apr-15)
You had an AHI of 2.88, which is considered reasonably good
You machine was on for 6 hours, 35 minutes and 43 seconds.
Your mask is leaking way too much.. Talk to your CPAP advisor.
Your CPAP machine blasted you with a constant 9cmH2O of air

p.s. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough about the buying process: I am trying this machine for 30 days and will get a brand new as my own when/if I decide to go with this provider. About half of it will be paid by OHIP (Ontario's public health plan) and the rest by the patient... or by the private "extended health benefits" insurer, if you have one. NOt worried about tthat part, just wanted to clarify.
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#8
RE: Newbie in trial period
Hi Alvajaro,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Much success to you with your CPAP therapy.
trish6hundred
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#9
RE: Newbie in trial period
Welcome to the board! You have a good machine there.
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