More on Resmart

[stanleydean]

Hello everyone,

Every time I log on my appreciation for this forum ratchets up another notch. I've been posting about Resmart machine and it dawned on me today that it was my dissatisfaction with the machine and mask dealt me from a new supplier that sent me to the internet and resulting with my finding The Apnea Board. Thanks Resmart!

Now, after learning what information is accessible from my machine via icodeconnect and comparing that to information posted by users of other machines it is obvious that what's available to me is considerably less helpful. However, it is more helpful than what I had before. Before joining the forum I didn't have a clue.

For now I plan to continue with this current machine. My AHI numbers are high but when I increased pressure from 9 to 10 I saw improvement and today I bumped it to 10.5. My insurance is made available by my former employer to retirees as a group and we enjoy the benefit of being in a large group. Practically all of us are over 65 and on Medicare and my policy is a Medicare replacement. From year to year it is reviewed by the former employer and at times the DME suppliers change. By November or December we will know of any changes in suppliers and by then I should know a lot more about my results with Resmart. By then I can decide if I need to request a new in-clinic evaluation that may open the door for a new improved machine. I realize this post is a little wordy, thanks for wading through it. I hope it is helpful to someone and also, I will appreciate input, comments and suggestions.

[DariaVader]

good luck, and good on you for finding apnea board! knowledge is power!

[Sleeprider]

The important thing is you're benefiting from the use of CPAP and understand the reasons an upgrade might make a difference for you. Don't overlook the possibility of purchasing a new open box, or gently used unit from Supplier #2 listed at the top. I purchased both a PRS1 60 series auto and auto-BiPAP on Craigslist. So good deals are out there, and may be less expensive than even using your insurance. The Resmart would be a great backup device, and I think it's a good idea for all of us to have a backup.

When you say your AHI numbers are high, what does that mean? If they are high enough that efficacy is questionable, then a change in machine to acquire an auto or bilevel might be justified.

[stanleydean]

My backup, the old ResMed is now being used by my sister-in-law with good results. A do not dare to chance upsetting that apple cart so will check out your suggestions on a used machine. Thank you for this input and for your encouragement.

[stanleydean]

"When you can measure what you are speaking about , and express it in numbers, you know something about it" Lord Kelvin

Since I cracked the nut and am able to pull up somewhat of a report from my Resmart CPAP and to change the settings I bumped up the pressure from 9 to 10 for a few days and then up to 10.5. The AHI numbers are staying between 6 and 7 so I'm thinking another bump up to 11 might help. The mask leakage has not increased.

The original setting of 9 goes back to the 2002 sleep study. At that time my untreated AHI was 36.9 (characterized as severely elevated by the reviewing physician) and 3.5 with the pressure of 9. Since that pressure is no longer doing the job i'm thinking the change may be age (82) related. I was overweight then and still am but my weight has not increased significantly since the study. I am working on bringing it down.

Looking ahead I may need eventually to go to a better machine as was suggested earlier in this thread. Meanwhile I will post results here. Thanks everyone for your input.