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Which BiPap to get
#1
Which BiPap to get
It looks like my wife needs to get a BiPap which will come through Humana Medicare.  I am not up on BiPap's.  What should she get?  Don't know how flexible these guys are.  If they don't have the one she should get do they exchange them later to what you want?

Also, not sure if Sleepyhead works for bipap. if so what is used?

I might add she has not had a sleep study but will be getting one. She is in the hospital now and is using a bipap apparently because of too much CO2 in her blood. She was switched from a breathing tube to a bipap. She is leaving the hospital as soon as today and must use a bipap even before they can have the sleep test.
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#2
RE: Which BiPap to get
That's interesting. By too much CO2 in the blood are they talking about lower SPO2 (oxygen) levels?

Both Philips Respironics and Resmed make great BiPAP machines. Their latest ones are the Dreamstation and the Aircurve 10 VPAP respectively.

Whichever one is chosen make sure it is an Auto model.

However, before you do anything else, maybe you could supply us with more details of your wife's condition so that the aficionados here can advise you which path to go down.
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#3
RE: Which BiPap to get
There are several models of BiPAP.
Which to get depends on what is being treated.

In general we prefer=ResMed devices because they respond faster. There are other reasons and the PR machines are also good. Thenew. PR BiPAP have some issues with SleepyHead.

The 2 commonly recommended machines are the ResMed AirCurve VAuto and ASV.

Note that these treat different conditions.
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#4
RE: Which BiPap to get
Actually the PR DreamStation AUTO BIPAP works fine with SleepyHead. I suspect that the settings they will issue will be for a large pressure support with fixed settings. This allows the lungs to exhale CO2 more easily. Right now that's probably the Doctors focus and not sleep apnea. Auto BIPAP and VAUTO both can be set for fixed pressure.
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#5
RE: Which BiPap to get
Since your wife is treating an excess CO2 problem rather than apnea, she will most likely be prescribed fixed pressures on her machine. Oxygenation in bilevel ventilation is managed with Positive End-Expiratory Pressure (PEEP), while total ventilation and CO2 reduction is managed through pressure support (PS=IPAP-EPAP ). In your wife's case, she can probably tolerate relatively low EPAP pressure, but will have higher than average PS.

For the long term, I would recommend an auto bilevel such as the Resmed Aircurve 10 VAuto, or Dreamstation BiPAP Auto. Like CPAP, the auto machines are capable of being setup in fixed bilevel mode or auto. The fixed alternative to that will be the Aircurve 10 VPAP-S, or Dreamstation BiPAP Pro-S. Any of these machines can be used with Sleepyhead, and all produce data. In the auto category, the Resmed tends to be more responsive to obstructive events, and uses a fixed pressure support, while the Respironics can use both variable pressure and variable PS. I would not consider either to be a deal breaker in this case, and I'm sure that the setup will most likely be in fixed pressures anyway.
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#6
RE: Which BiPap to get
I'm in agreement with others on this. In your case a slight preference to the ResMed brand over Philips Respironics. But your case specifically, either will work to perfection. If it were a situation where your wife's case were more apnea oriented, I myself would emphasize ResMed a bit more as being preferred.

Best wishes going forward,

Dave B
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
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#7
RE: Which BiPap to get
I have the dreamstation and aircurve bipap. I use the aircurve almost exclusively because I seem to get better results.
If you are going to have a fixed pressure (epap/ipap) then the aircurve is a no brainer. The benefit of the dreamstation is that the PS range can widen as your IPAP goes up. I dont really like how my aircurve starts out at 4/8 and in the middle of the night i am at 9/13. the 9 epap is too high. Dreamstation you can tweak it better to have a higher PS at higher pressure
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#8
RE: Which BiPap to get
Quote:She is leaving the hospital as soon as today and must use a bipap even before they can have the sleep test.

In this case I assume the hospital / doctor will make arrangements for a machine in the interim?

Based on the little information we have so far I thinks it's far too early to be guessing what type of machine will be required. We don't know what her sleep disordered breatrhing status is, nor any real details of her non-sleep bereathing. I would urge caution and advise you to have detailed discussions with her doctors, as well as knwoing the results of the sleep test. Once all this information is to hand, then we can perhaps give you some well-reasoned advice.
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#9
RE: Which BiPap to get
(10-07-2017, 02:05 AM)Lanco Wrote: It looks like my wife needs to get a BiPap which will come through Humana Medicare.  I am not up on BiPap's.  What should she get?  Don't know how flexible these guys are.  If they don't have the one she should get do they exchange them later to what you want?

Also, not sure if Sleepyhead works for bipap.  if so what is used?

I might add she has not had a sleep study but will be getting one.  She is in the hospital now and is using a bipap apparently because of too much CO2 in her blood.  She was switched from a breathing tube to a bipap.  She is leaving the hospital as soon as today and must use a bipap even before they can have the sleep test.


If the hospital is sending your wife home soon and they want her on a Bipap ASAP, are they going to supply her with a machine to use until she has her sleep study?  Ask her doctor if that is a possibility until she has her study.

It is one thing for us to give our preference with one brand over another, but what does her Doctor want her to use?  This is where the discussion should start.  This could change after a Sleep Study.
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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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#10
RE: Which BiPap to get
They have given my wife a Respironics Trilogy 100 Ventilator for her condition which was too much CO2 retention.  Don't know if she has sleep apnea but the thing beeps saying she is having apneas but yet she keeps breathing.  If that were true I thought the thing would increase pressure and correct it, unless she is having central apneas.  I don't get it.  

I did ask if the machine was new and was told it was a rental and had "probably about 48 hours"  on it.  I ordered the Trilogy 200 manual with hopes I can check the hours myself.

I still have to get it in my head how this works through a DME or whatever they're called.  I guess it's rent to own.  I can say the $$ looks really high.   I will need to look at it closer but for example she's using a REsmed AirFit 20 I think is the number, a FFM, it seems they show the price as being several hundred dollars.

Will check back as I understand more of our details.

Thanks.
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