Need help with CPAP for camper

Empty Nest, Soon wrote:

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
This is technical so please allow it...

Sleep disorder "experts" are not all alike. Some remind me of paint-by-the-numbers robots that work purely by rote and cast intelligence aside. Lower mask pressure for exhalation is critical for some people including me. The idiots that I had to deal with did not understand the capabilities of machines. My first unit was a CPAP and the results were a disaster. The second machine was a Bi-PAP. Me not they had to adjust the settings for optimum performance. One setting in particular senses the presence of breath intake. It is adjustable. I reset it to it's most sensitive setting and whammo my AHI dumped from 15 down to 1. The sleep study doctor threw a fit. I called him a quack in front of a dozen waiting patients and walked out. CSA? A person could say so. When hospitalized and drifting off to sleep came yelling "BREATHE! BREATHE! From the nurse's station. My sleep study doctor was a graduate of the university of Islamabad.

THANK YOU for the head's up on the limitations on the upscale unit.

Some of the “pros” are no better than clerks following rote procedures that someone taught them, instead of professionals applying some judgment.

I went to the brick-and-mortar medical equipment place trusting that they would know what to do. They basically handed me a machine and a mask (no bother fitting the mask to me) and sent us on our way. As we were leaving, I told my wife, “I feel like I just got the bum’s rush.” Sure enough, it was a disaster. I decided to take charge myself.

Some research on sleep apnea forums told me that the RemStar Auto was promising for my condition. I dickered with my insurance company to see how soon I could return the ResMed rental machine I got and if I could order a different machine on-line (far cheaper than the crappy machine at the brick-and-mortar dealer) and have them pay the prescribed percentage of the lower on-line cost (70% IIRC) of the better machine. After getting clearance from them, I ordered the RemStar Auto and it was great for me. After that model was discontinued, I bought one of the last ones available in-stock at any on-line dealer out of my own pocket as a backup. I liked it that well. Having the Encore Pro software is awesome. I can track all the parameters of my therapy and make adjustments as needed. My AHI has gone from 30-something per hour to, most recently, 1.9 per hour and at lower, more comfortable pressures. My 90% pressure is lower than the “pros” titrated me at. I probably added 20 years to my life.

It is great to be able to control my own therapy.

Wayne