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Software's "honesty" qustioned - fvcroft - 09-14-2015
Good day
So this past Friday night I went for my overnight sleep study where I was hooked up to a machine to adjust the pressure and so forth, I forget what that's called.
Anyways as the tech is hooking me up to the Frankenstein wires we start gabbing. He is asking me how I like the machine, how I'm sleeping, have I played with the settings (humidity control, ramp up etc)
I get to the part where I say I've downloaded both resmed and sleepyhead software and am in the process of learning how to utilize and translate the data. I say that the software of both are showing so far I'm doing very well and am well on my way to my goal of "perfect nights sleep".
This is where it got odd... The tech says, and I quote, ... " Well remember, the software is fun to play with but it is, after all, built to encourage you to use the machine and 'feel good' about that". This caught me by surprise.. I said how do you mean? He said "let's just say you should trust how you feel before you trust what you read".
That sounded to me like he was saying the software is engineered to give " better than true" information.
Is this guy off his rocker or could there be some truth to that statement?
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - pholynyk - 09-14-2015
Purely my opinion, but I think that the ResScan software was built to be used by medical professionals to allow them to optimize their patient's treatment. I doubt that ResMed ever intended for end-users to have it. SleepyHead was designed and built by JediMark and some others, all end-users, to assist end-users to understand and optimize their own treatment. The level of detail presented is hardly 'feel-good' encouragement.
RedMed's myAir program, to which I signed up, on the other hand, is totally 'feel-good'. I have several (virtual) gold stars for such things as using my machine for more than six hours on 21 out of 30 days. Today I lost points for napping in the afternoon, and forgetting to plug in my cell phone before I got into bed. They can't tell why I had 5 mask on/off events, they are all bad...
It may be that your tech guy hasn't really looked at ResScan or SleepyHead, and simply wants you to come to him for advice. Or he may honestly believe that only a full-blown sleep test can give useful information. I think he's wrong on both counts. Our data is not as complete as that provided by the PSG test, otoh, it is more immediate and easier for us to interpret (with some education). It does allow us to make immediate, incremental improvements in our therapy at no cost and little risk.
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - fvcroft - 09-14-2015
Yes, I really did find it odd that he make such a statement. If we were talking just about resmed software I could *almost* buy what he was saying cause they would have a vested interest in making you think their equipment was making our lives far better. But sleepyhead as I understandit is not cconnected with any machine manufacturer so it stands to gain nothing by behaving in such a way.
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - SaldusMiegas - 09-14-2015
I concur completely with pholynyk's assessment.
And I use all three tools as well.
Saldus Miegas
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - OpalRose - 09-14-2015
The bottom line is that most (not all) sleep technicians and doctors would rather you "not" use ResScan, Sleepyhead, Encore, or any other software that would give you useful data.
I believe they feel they may lose control over the patient, but the opposite is true. If a Doctor or Technician would take an interest in the software available to help their patients understand their own therapy, then you might enjoy going in for that doctor appointment. But instead, most just want to know how you "feel" and are put off if you have data to discuss with them.
My Sleep Doctor (Pulmonologist) just asked how I felt, didn't want an SD card,
looked briefly at a Sleepyhead report I printed out for him and questioned where I got this information.
Then he said "it is very rare that I see a patient with an AHI lower than 6 or 7".
Since my AHI averaged under 1 for the last 6 months, he must have felt that the software was inaccurate. Needless to say, I don't look forward to another appointment.
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - surferdude2 - 09-14-2015
I'm more inclined to trust the software than the doctor.
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - SaldusMiegas - 09-14-2015
fvcroft,
I think we all answered your question but maybe didn't address the conversation you described.
Software... MyAir, already addressed.
"Trust how you feel before you trust what you read"... The tech might have been responding to the way you mention software and attaining the perfect night's sleep.
By that I mean s/he could be saying if MyAir says you are doing great and you still feel awful then trust how you feel more than what you read, and get help.
To that I would swing the pendulum the other way and add once you have all the detailed metrics from RS/SH software, realize this data just helps you make better decisions. Don't think you failed if you feel better but have not yet attained some magic number (AHI=0 comes to mind). In that sense trust how you feel and use what you read for continuous improvement but not a pass/fail criteria.
I think your sleep tech was trying to be helpful and was probably not being cynical about the business s/he is in.
Anyways, nuff said, you get the idea.
Saldus Miegas
(09-14-2015, 05:50 AM)fvcroft Wrote: Good day
So this past Friday night I went for my overnight sleep study where I was hooked up to a machine to adjust the pressure and so forth, I forget what that's called.
Anyways as the tech is hooking me up to the Frankenstein wires we start gabbing. He is asking me how I like the machine, how I'm sleeping, have I played with the settings (humidity control, ramp up etc)
I get to the part where I say I've downloaded both resmed and sleepyhead software and am in the process of learning how to utilize and translate the data. I say that the software of both are showing so far I'm doing very well and am well on my way to my goal of "perfect nights sleep".
This is where it got odd... The tech says, and I quote, ... " Well remember, the software is fun to play with but it is, after all, built to encourage you to use the machine and 'feel good' about that". This caught me by surprise.. I said how do you mean? He said "let's just say you should trust how you feel before you trust what you read".
That sounded to me like he was saying the software is engineered to give " better than true" information.
Is this guy off his rocker or could there be some truth to that statement?
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - SleepyWabbit - 09-14-2015
When I mention Sleepy Head, none of the sleep techs and DME personnel even know what I'm talking about. They are surprised I have done the research as most of their patients don't. As far as they are concerned, most patients are content with a brick and going off how they feel.
That said, I agree with the above comments, if you have perfect numbers but still feel miserable, then something is still wrong somewhere.
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - zonk - 09-14-2015
(09-14-2015, 05:50 AM)fvcroft Wrote: He said "let's just say you should trust how you feel before you trust what you read"He took the words out of my book
Don't underestimate "how you feel", trust your instinct gut feeling
Yes, data is important too, don't recommend anyone should walk around with a brick
RE: Software's "honesty" qustioned - fvcroft - 09-14-2015
Ok..I sorta suspected all this that's been said, I just had to put that question out there me being new to therapy and all. Truth is the only time I actually look into my data is if Iwake up feeling somewhat "cheated" of sleep. I check to see what may have caused it. I Don't rely on the software to tell me if I slept well. Otherwise the only reason I open up the software is to learn what all the data means and how to read it.
Thank you all for the feedback, as usual I was not disappointed
