(08-29-2014, 07:04 AM)MastiffMom Wrote: New doc ordered auto bilevel machine. Hubby is failed cpap user that cannot handle exhale pressure and his lungs got badly overinflated with S9 autoset. Trying to decide which machine is best for him ResMed or Respironics. His sleep study was on a Respironics and he felt a couple of quick puffs of air before he was finished exhaling. It seems the machine was testing to see if he was ready for inhale pressure. Does that make sense?
I was a failed CPAP user myself, with exhalation problems, etc., etc., etc. My full sympathies go to him. Been there, done that.
Last year, I got a PRS1 Auto BiPAP 760 at home for 3 weeks - and I failed no more! Among other things, the 760 established that the initial sleep lab titration was too high (but I could have told them that after a week...) But it took a complete failure to adapt to CPAP to get it fixed.
I'm currently sleeping pretty happily with a PRS1 660 BiPAP. This xPAP does not do auto-adjustment of pressure like the 760, but the numbers indicate I didn't appear to need that level of adjustment, minute to minute, hour to hour or day to day.
My personal experience is that the more capable Respironics machines are plenty "good enough". I really have no complaints other than it won't clean itself and the mask and hose automatically.
Other folks who have the similar, more capable ResMed machines like them at least as well. They're both of the highest quality.
It may come down to personal preferences and comfort between the two families of machines - if your husband could trial each of them for a week each, you and your physician would have some real evidence of which might work best for him. Getting things working is the key right now. It's possible he'd have no strong preference between the two types, though there are differences certainly.
I'd second vsheline's advice about limiting the max IPAP - either of the machine types can move around within the range of what they're told to do, and they need to have that range set correctly.
Good luck, keep us posted on how things are going!