05-17-2020, 09:57 PM
Philips DreamStation Overpressurization
Howdy Y'all!
I've lurked around here before, and today I'm tired and frustrated enough to start an account.
I started using CPAP therapy in 2012...My father passed away in 2011, and I am rather confident that his untreated apnea was a big factor in his health issues. All the usual 'big guy' stuff - Irish/German heritage (but didn't drink!), overweight, high blood pressure, heart attacks, bypass surgery etc. So I went and got a sleep study done and I was told what I knew for a long time - my breathing stopped when I was sleeping. If I didn't know about apnea, I never would have guessed it....I worked hard in the energy industry, was able to work for 12-18 hours without an issue for years. Only real indicator that I had was my bunkmates offshore telling me that I would stop breathing was when I sleeping. Anyhow, I got an S9 by ResMed and it worked well for years. Took me some time to find a mask that I liked, but I settled with the Mirage Liberty by ResMed, and never looked back. I was prescribed at the time a pressure of about 10-12, if I remember correctly.
About a year ago, my machine started running really loud, and I could tell that the pressure just wasn't there anymore....my beloved machine was dying. I went to my family doctor (previously, a company Dr. sent me to his neurologist - found out later that the dude was a national leader in apnea study) and he fixed me up with an at-home sleep study. That sucked, but whatever it took to get a new machine, I was in.
I ended up getting prescribed a Philips DreamStation Auto CPAP. It was strange at first, but within a couple of weeks I'd fallen in love with the machine - it was quiet, and whatever it did while I was sleeping, I was waking up feeling GREAT. I was told that it was set form 4-20 by the medical supplier, and I asked if that was common, as it seemed to be a very wide range, and the provider stated that it was a normal range.
A few months (maybe 6 months) ago, I started waking up in the middle of the night with my mask being blown off of my face from the pressure of the machine. This was completely new. And it was then that I discovered this forum. It appeared that others had had similar frustrations with their DreamStation APAPs.
Note - I work offshore in the oilfield, so my internet is slow slow slow, and there are a lot of things that I just cannot do out here.
That said, I was able to figure out that I could see the pressure that I was being fed from my machine when it was waking me up. Typically, until recently, it would wake me up from pressure pushing my mask off my face at around 14-16. Last night when I woke up, it was at 19.
My remedy for this has been to turn off the machine and restart. But last night, after being on shift for over 12 hours, I was awakend 3 times. And I'm officially frustrated.
In my musings around the board, I have seen a ton of apps and resources to figure out what is going on with a machine, but with my lazy net and the minimal time that I can devote to this, I have not been able to formulate a plan for how to troubleshoot or fix this issue.
What are the apps that I would need to troubleshoot this? Or do I just need to go into the provider mode (thanks for the information BTW!!!) found in this like to lower the high setting to 14-15?
Looking for bit of an APAP mentor here....
Thanks!!
I've lurked around here before, and today I'm tired and frustrated enough to start an account.
I started using CPAP therapy in 2012...My father passed away in 2011, and I am rather confident that his untreated apnea was a big factor in his health issues. All the usual 'big guy' stuff - Irish/German heritage (but didn't drink!), overweight, high blood pressure, heart attacks, bypass surgery etc. So I went and got a sleep study done and I was told what I knew for a long time - my breathing stopped when I was sleeping. If I didn't know about apnea, I never would have guessed it....I worked hard in the energy industry, was able to work for 12-18 hours without an issue for years. Only real indicator that I had was my bunkmates offshore telling me that I would stop breathing was when I sleeping. Anyhow, I got an S9 by ResMed and it worked well for years. Took me some time to find a mask that I liked, but I settled with the Mirage Liberty by ResMed, and never looked back. I was prescribed at the time a pressure of about 10-12, if I remember correctly.
About a year ago, my machine started running really loud, and I could tell that the pressure just wasn't there anymore....my beloved machine was dying. I went to my family doctor (previously, a company Dr. sent me to his neurologist - found out later that the dude was a national leader in apnea study) and he fixed me up with an at-home sleep study. That sucked, but whatever it took to get a new machine, I was in.
I ended up getting prescribed a Philips DreamStation Auto CPAP. It was strange at first, but within a couple of weeks I'd fallen in love with the machine - it was quiet, and whatever it did while I was sleeping, I was waking up feeling GREAT. I was told that it was set form 4-20 by the medical supplier, and I asked if that was common, as it seemed to be a very wide range, and the provider stated that it was a normal range.
A few months (maybe 6 months) ago, I started waking up in the middle of the night with my mask being blown off of my face from the pressure of the machine. This was completely new. And it was then that I discovered this forum. It appeared that others had had similar frustrations with their DreamStation APAPs.
Note - I work offshore in the oilfield, so my internet is slow slow slow, and there are a lot of things that I just cannot do out here.
That said, I was able to figure out that I could see the pressure that I was being fed from my machine when it was waking me up. Typically, until recently, it would wake me up from pressure pushing my mask off my face at around 14-16. Last night when I woke up, it was at 19.
My remedy for this has been to turn off the machine and restart. But last night, after being on shift for over 12 hours, I was awakend 3 times. And I'm officially frustrated.
In my musings around the board, I have seen a ton of apps and resources to figure out what is going on with a machine, but with my lazy net and the minimal time that I can devote to this, I have not been able to formulate a plan for how to troubleshoot or fix this issue.
What are the apps that I would need to troubleshoot this? Or do I just need to go into the provider mode (thanks for the information BTW!!!) found in this like to lower the high setting to 14-15?
Looking for bit of an APAP mentor here....
Thanks!!
