I was bricked! [can Autoset be set to CPAP?]

[SwampYankee]

In September I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea.  I took a take home test and the medical supplier sold me a ResMed Airsense 10.  From September-December, I was sick with repeated colds and respiratory infections and could not really get the machine to work with all the hacking and coughing. It was so nasty they gave me a chest xray and a CT scan. I forgot about the machine and then got sick again in Feburary.  Perhaps a compromised immune system from the total lack of sleep?

I tried using it  again in March but could only get two hours into it when I would start choking and had to pull the machine off gasping.  Then I discovered EPR!  My first night with it set to EPR of 2 and I slept 7 hours.  I'm still working out the kinks and playing with pressures (I was prescribed 12 but have difficulty over 10 with all the leaking- just managed 11 last night).  But AHI are under 2 per hour most of the time.  Once it was a low as 0.7!

Now that I have it working, I don’t crash at 2 pm every day and it’s amazing how much energy I have.  My children have also noticed how much more pleasant I have been lately.

But I am an assistant scoutmaster and we camp every month.  Following the last 15 days of successful therapy, I can’t even imagine going a night without my machine.  So I bailed on the last campout.  I would like to get a portable but I’m not impressed by the reviews.  Since I was bricked by the supplier, I was thinking of buying an Airsense Autoset for home use and using the brick, with a backup battery, for travel.  Frankly, I can’t imagine having my primary equipment break or fail as a result of travel so I figure that would be the one to take.

So my question is this, can I adjust the Autoset so that it stays at a consistent pressure?  What I am doing now is working so I’m not sure I want or need to mess with automatic pressures.  Maybe I will but I want to ensure I can continue using a static setting.

Thanks in Advance!

[Sleeprider]

The autoset has a CPAP mode and two auto modes. It is a CPAP capable of either fixed or automatic pressure adjustment and has full data.

For battery power, there are lighter, smaller Li-Ion units that provide 24 Volt DC power and include Resmed DC adapters. It makes a lot more sense than a heavy car battery and the 24 volt adapter is needed for Resmed anyway. They aren't cheap, with the BixPower being $279, and Medistrom for $329 and Freedom for $359 on Amazon. The Medistrom seems like the best of the bunch and supplies multiple nights of use provided you turn of the humidifier and heated hose.

[Walla Walla]

There's a fixed CPAP setting on the AirSense Autoset. That's the one you want to buy so you can change over to auto when your ready. welcome to the Board by the way.

[SwampYankee]

Thanks for the replies, the Autoset should do the trick! I also saw the backup batteries on Amazon, no way I'd want to mess with a car battery when those are available. It looks like Amazon has a good price on them, can i just buy it? Do I need to send someone a doctor's prescription?

[Crimson Nape]

Only the CPAP machine and complete masks require a prescription in the U.S. All other accessories and mask parts do not.

[Sleep2Snore]

Hi SwampYankee, Welcome to the Apneaboard.

I think you have the right idea with the machines.
Now that you are up and running and got some energy, there will be no stopping you.
By the way, 2 is not bad and if you get the Autoset you will be able to read the data to see what else is going on or not as the case may be.

[Mosquitobait]

If you buy from a supplier on Amazon, you do not need a prescription. You just have to know what you are getting. Ask questions if in doubt. I don't know if they follow-through for warranty repairs, for instance. That's not really a problem given that one of the Resmed warranty repair companies are in our suppliers list.

[DaveY]

If you buy from a supplier on Amazon, you do not need a prescription. You just have to know what you are getting. Ask questions if in doubt. I don't know if they follow-through for warranty repairs, for instance.  That's not really a problem given that one of the Resmed warranty repair companies are in our suppliers list.

Not always. I was requested to provide a prescription by an Amazon Canada supplier for the Autoset. I didn't have one and had to cancel the order.

Dave