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Help Please! First post.
#11
RE: Help Please! First post.
Ok -going through settings now. I have EPR set to on and 1. Should I raise that to a 2 maybe? Also - there is a setting for Sleep Quality which can be set to "usage" or to "on". It's currently set to "usage". And a setting called Smart Start which is currently off. Any suggestions on those??

Thanks again!
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#12
RE: Help Please! First post.
EPR settings are 1-3 with the most exhale relief at 3. Since you are considering whether bilevel may be advantageous in resolving the resistance you feel during exhale, just go for 3 on that setting. Note that if you are using a fixed pressure of 8, your exhalation pressure (EPAP) will be 5.0 cm. The machine will cycle between 8 on inhale to 5 on exhale. If you observe an increase of obstructive apnea or hypopnea, you may need a higher inhale (IPAP) pressure. Best advise is to try it and see what happens. Increasing pressure is easy, and the exhale pressure relief will make it much more comfortable.

I don't know what "sleep quality" does. Smartstart allows your machine to detect your breathing, and will automatically start the machine when you put your mask on without the need to touch the power button. It will also shut off the machine in seconds if you remove the mask causing an unrestricted leak. I have Smartstart set to ON as I like the convenience. If you tend to remove the mask or have large leaks, you might want to leave it off.
Sleeprider
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#13
RE: Help Please! First post.
Harlon, make a note of the machine model so we know what we have to work with. It should be near the Resmed S9, and will say Autoset, Escape, Escape Auto, or Elite.

I wanted to clarify that the purpose of setting EPR to 3 is so you can describe to your doctor whether you find the pressure difference easier to tolerate than just fixed pressure. That sense of comfort or tolerance is one of the major criteria authorizing bilevel. Without good data, or a sleep study, it will be very hard to pursue the "medically necessary" justification. Don't be discouraged, I got mine this way, you just have to be persistent and have a better understanding of what a bilevel machine does.
Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#14
RE: Help Please! First post.
Mine is the Autoset model.

And thanks, Sleeprider for all the info.

One question - do I have to do anything to record the data? Or does it automatically save it anytime it's on?

Thanks again!
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#15
RE: Help Please! First post.
It automatically saves it anytime it's on but it does require an SD card. If you check the back of the machine, it may already have one installed. You'll see a slot... if there's a card in it, just push on the card (it's spring-loaded) and release and it will pop out. You'll already have some data there. You should have a load of summary data on the card, as well as a week's worth of detailed data that you can import in to SleepyHead.

ETA... just read your earlier post and see that you have the card already but it wasn't installed. Yup, just put the card in the slot and it will begin recording as soon as you next use your machine.
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#16
RE: Help Please! First post.
(05-04-2016, 03:17 PM)Harlon Wrote: Mine is the Autoset model.

And thanks, Sleeprider for all the info.

One question - do I have to do anything to record the data? Or does it automatically save it anytime it's on?

Thanks again!

Harlon, my pleasure! Your machine is capable of regulating pressure according to your needs that it has sensors to detect. You may want to consider using a pressure range instead of a constant pressure. The machine will automatically increase pressure when it detects airway obstruction (snoring, flow limitations and volume reductions). It would be very simple to put the machine in AUTO mode and use a minimum pressure close to your CPAP pressure, and allow the maximum pressure to go up if the machine detects the need. This can work with EPR to be both comfortable and effective. I would suggest starting with a minimum pressure of 7.5 and setting a maximum pressure of 11.0. The machine will only go as high as necessary.

Using the machine in Auto mode with a pressure range will allow us, and your doctor to see how you respond at different pressures and will work like a sleep study to "titrate" your needs. Hope this helps. I think we can get you pretty comfortable with what you have, and once you've got the data, point you in the right direction.

Sleeprider
Apnea Board Moderator
www.ApneaBoard.com

____________________________________________
Download OSCAR Software
Soft Cervical Collar
Optimizing Therapy
Organize your OSCAR Charts
Attaching Files
Mask Primer
How To Deal With Equipment Supplier


INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#17
RE: Help Please! First post.
(05-04-2016, 12:43 PM)Harlon Wrote: Also - there is a setting for Sleep Quality which can be set to "usage" or to "on". It's currently set to "usage". And a setting called Smart Start which is currently off. Any suggestions on those??

Thanks again!
When Sleep Quality set to "ON", the machine report efficacy data (AHI, pressure, leak, ...) on the screen sleep report. Usage and the machine only shows hours using the machine on the "sleep Report". Sleep report screen has two types of sleep report, one short and one detailed ... see the clinical manual and the S9 setup video posted by "Sleeprider"
SmartStart allows the machine to turn on when you breathe through the mask and turn off when you remove the mask but doesn't work using full face masks on the earlier S9 models
S9 store up to 365 days of summary data and write this data on the SD card whenever the card inserted
AutoSet and Elite ... SD card stores 30 days of detailed data and 7 days of flow data but will need the card to be inside the machine for that, otherwise detailed and flow data get lost and not retrievable


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#18
RE: Help Please! First post.
(05-04-2016, 11:50 AM)FrankNichols Wrote: Except for this being my new machine and it's an Airsense 10 Autoset, your symptoms sound almost exactly like mine, down to the big clusters in the morning that run up to 50 to 75 AHI during the cluster.

As my doc explained it to me... my centrals tend to coincide more with REM sleep. I'm getting more centrals in the AM because with each complete sleep cycle you go through, the REM phase gets longer so... you experience more REM in the AM.

Good luck! BTW... do you happen to be a professional photographer by any chance?
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#19
RE: Help Please! First post.
(05-04-2016, 03:39 PM)Sleeprider Wrote: I would suggest starting with a minimum pressure of 7.5 and setting a maximum pressure of 11.0. The machine will only go as high as necessary.

Before setting to 7.5... check your prescription for the pressure. If the prescription is for a lower pressure, no point in setting it higher since one of the things you mention is having difficulty breathing against the pressure. To that end as well... The S9 has a feature that ramps up the pressure and you can set a timer on it... I think up to 40 minutes. This will start the machine off at a pressure of 4 and gradually ramp it up. The idea is that by the time it reaches full pressure, you're fast asleep and as such, the pressure from the machine doesn't disrupt the process of falling asleep (this will be especially true if your EPR is set to 3). After a while you'll probably get used to it and can turn the ramp off.

Alternatively... you can try it with the minimum at 7.5. If that's too high, your 95% pressure will probably show 7.5 every night in the summary. If you see that, you can back off on the pressure a bit (again, the machine will increase it if needed when set to auto).

Alternatively alternatively... if you didn't do a titration study and don't know what this number is, you can set the machine to a wider range like 4 to 15 cm and just let the machine do the work. This is what my doc did for me, I think mostly because he wasn't too fond of the sleep lab that my insurance supported (pretty sure they have a monkey writing the lab reports there, they aren't very thorough, he's had to call them to ask them for the raw polysomnography data because the reports were so incomplete), and also because he knew I was a data weenie and would bring in my laptop with a ton of data at the next appointment if something was wrong (and he was right about that).
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#20
RE: Help Please! First post.
When you set 'Sleep Quality' to the 'ON' position you get the detailed screen.

There are 4 buttons/knobs on the unit, 2 round and 2 stacked vertical.
When you get up in the morning push the top button of the 2 that are stacked vertical, this will give you your night's stats. Apneas per hour (AHI) and the time machine was used.
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