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New to Apnea? Helpful tips to ensure success

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New to Apnea - helpful tips to ensure success

Understanding_sleep_apnea

a description of what apnea is from a couple of well written forum articles.

New to CPAP – The Process

Defining the process from denial thru getting your machine, a what to expect article.

Do you have your records

Do you have your records? HIPAA may be a pain in the . . . but it does give you the rights ( hipaa-privacy-rule-patients-rights ) to your medical information. This includes your Sleep study/studies, titration records and prescription(s). Having these may prevent you from having to repeat a Sleep or Titration Study.

Prescription - CPAP - APAP - BIPAP

Sample Prescriptions, recommended xPAP machines.

CPAP_Machine_Choices - read this before you accept a new machine

Do you want a brick? Didn't think so.
I know it's been mentioned several times in other threads, but I think the Wiki article written by one of our Advisory Members (Archangle) on Machine Choices should be read by everyone here. Don't let a Durable Medical Equipment $upplier (DME) bamboozle you. Never accept or settle for what we nickname a dumb "brick" CPAP machine (one that is not fully data-capable).
Be an informed patient and read this excellent article, here:
Archangle:Machine_Choices
If you get a good, data-capable CPAP machine - you and your doctor will be greatly empowered to monitor the effectiveness of your treatment on an ongoing basis. You can also use free software for your personal computer to monitor and chart your progress - as long as you have a data-capable machine.
Here's our Private Files & Links area, where you can learn how to obtain some of these free PC software packages:
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Private-Files-and-Links
(you'll need to be logged into your Apnea Board Forum account to access the above link. Register HERE for a free forum account if you haven't already)

Setup Manuals - Change your own xPAP Pressure

The nitty gritty of manipulating YOUR machine. For forum members only, and a couple of steps, but you can change ANY setting on your machine.

Optimizing therapy

The basic steps to adjusting your therapy

Using SleepyHead

Using SleepyHead - Data is the key to getting good feedback, and SleepyHead is among the best software to see how you and your machine got along last night.

Mask Primer

pretty much everything about selecting, fitting, and using your mask, including leaks

Help pages

The Help button at top of page, where you will find many "how to" articles is another excellent resource.

Posting in Forum

For suggestions to tune/tweak your settings the best thing is to make a forum query. ( http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Forum ) Read the below suggestions.
We would like to invite you to join our forum if you haven't already. Click the "Create an Account Link" in the upper right corner of the main page.
Then Please select an Avatar and Complete your Profile Your profile allows us to know what equipment and basic settings you have and to tailor advice specifically to you and your setup.


  • Start a new thread. Add all your inquires to this new thread because this will retain your history for us in the responses to your queries.
  • If you don’t have all this info don’t worry about it. As a general rule the more info we have, the better the advice you will get.
  • Using multiple posts is acceptable.
  • What type of Apnea do you have? (Obstructive, Central, Complex, Hyponea, RLS) Have you posted your sleep studies? (They have this information) If not post your Sleep Studies. It is especially important to know if you have Central or Complex Apnea.
  • Include your daily charts. They include a lot of data that is used as the basis of advice delivered
  • How do you feel? This relates to all things comfort and intangible things (my nose hurts)
  • What do you want to know more about? What's giving you the greatest difficulty?
  • Don't use the "Reply with quote" button button until you have familiarized yourself with its use. That's why we have threads, the info is in the above posts (history).



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