I’ve been on a CPAP machine for about 6 months now and I’m proud to say that my compliance rate is about 97%. I have a Resmed S9 machine and a Resmed Swift FX nasal pillow. I really like the both a lot. The S9 is whisper quiet and very easy to use. The SD card and Rescan software make it easy to track how I’m doing. The FX pillow is very comfortable. It took me about a week to get used to it.
What’s your story? What has worked or not worked for you?
One time bump.
C’mon hose-nosers! I know you’re out there.
I tried an S9 for a month and it was fine except for the difficulty cleaning the humidifier.
If there is a way to take the top off I couldn’t figure it out.
I then tried a Respironics System One. It seems to be a little quieter that the S9 and the humidifier is very simple to take apart and clean.
As far as compliance goes I have only missed two nights in six years. Once when I spent the night in the hospital while my Mother was passing away and one night after my machine died while we were traveling in UT.
One advantage of using Lincare as a DME is they have offices all over the country and since we live full time in a motor home and travel a lot that has been valuable to me. I was able to get a replacement the next day in Moab UT and get my machine sent in for repair in Grand Junction CO where we spent the next few months.
Regarding CPAP in general.
It has helped me a lot. I don’t snore at all any more which makes my wife very happy. No more daytime sleepiness and no more difficulty staying awake while driving. I also wake up feeling rested now.
I should have had a sleep study years before I did. My wife told me that I was stopping breathing for up to a minute or so a lot all night so I did fimnally go get checked out.
I have a S9 and a Quattro full face mask. I like the S9. I used to care about my stats but it’s been close to a year since I bothered to look at the SD card. As long as my wife isn’t kicking me out of bed I know it’s working.
Something new for me is this winter I went to a Climate-line hose for the first time. Before the climate-line host if I put the humidifier above a certain level I would get rain-out in the hose and I would wake up feeling like I couldn’t breath and hearing the “blub-blub-blub” of the condensed water in the tube . Also I’d use only about 1/2 to 1/2 of the water in the tank per night. With the climate-line I have the temp set to 84F I never get rain-out and I use a full tank of water per 8 hour use. In fact it’s a little annoying because if I sleep in past 9 hours I can be certain of running dry and getting hot dry air instead.
Diver, there’s probably a better way to clean the humidifier but I just put hot water and a little anti-bacterial soap in it and shake the crap out of it. Then I put clean water in, shake some more and repeat a few times until I can’t seen anymore bubbles. I freely admit that I don’t clean it nearly as often as I should. If I did, it would be more of a pain.
Anonymous Coward, you go through a full tank of water every night? :eek: What is your humidity level? I think mine is either 2.5 or 3 and I only have to add water about every third day. I get rain out if I set it any higher than that.
I’ve been on a CPAP machine for about four years now. It has made a total world of difference in my life. Started with a ResMed, now on a Fisher & Paykel 234.
I had it on 3 or 3.5 before the climate-line hose and if I went any higher I’d get rain out, but when you install the climate-line it changes the levels to Fahrenheit. I really jammed up high the first night and while it didn’t rain out my hose it did rain out my mask, as in literal drops of water falling on my face because of the condensation.
The S9 now has a new reservoir model which can open for easy cleaning. I need to descale my old style reservoir as I have hard well water and I don’t bother using distilled water any more. Instead I just throw in some vinegar once a month and let it sit over the day. Too easy!
The older humidifier tanks can not be opened, but they’ve got new ones that can be opened for cleaning, and are dishwasher safe. The old ones were to be replaced every 6 months, but the new ones are said to last longer. No idea how much longer.
My boyfriend has a ResMed H4i with the Mirage Activa LT mask.
He loves it. He has been using it for 2 years now with no problems. I love it. It’s quiet and it keeps him breathing and not snoring which means I can sleep too.
Thanks for starting this thread because it got me to look on the underside of his unit and I saw that it’s nearly a year overdue for a pressure check.
I’ve got the Phillips Respironics REMStar Auto CPAP, and the same mask you do. Typo Knig also has a Respironics machine but his is one step down from mine. We have to be careful not to mix 'em up when we travel :).
Main thing I don’t like about it - aside from the size (about the size of a shoe box, including the detachable humidifier) - is that somehow the humidifier setting keeps getting set to 1 (virtually off). Also it’s got a “bug” in the card storage - if I want it to save data to the card, I have to eject and re-insert the card. I took it with me to a sleep study in December 2010, they popped it out to get the data, and I put it back in. When I brought it back to a visit 3 months later, no new data had been recorded. And the rest of the time when I do the status function, it claims there’s no card in it. I guess this means the machine is defective, which is annoying, but I didn’t realize it until I’d had the damn thing for nearly a year.
Oh - and I’ve never had trouble with rain-out from the hose - or, maybe once (literally). If I have the humidifier set to 4, I need to add water after one long night’s sleep, or a couple of weekday nights sleep. One way I know the humidifier has gotten decreased is by the fact that the level doesn’t drop at all.
I have to say, it’s made very little difference in my life - I don’t really feel any better rested. However, Typo Knig’s has - made a difference in my life, that is. He doesn’t feel any better either but that’s a quantity-of-sleep issue. It stops his snoring, which means I sleep somewhat better.
Hilarious: I was noodling around cpap.com - and found THIS:
It’s pink.
Yep - us girly types gotta have a girly-colored CPAP machine.
Words fail me.
HAH! I saw that too and I realized that while it is surely sexist, if my mother needed a CPAP she’d definitely go for a pink one and she’d probably attach rhinestones to it.
:::snicker:::
OTOH, why not. If they offered them in colors vs. plain gray, it’d make it easier for a multi-snorer family to tell their machines apart at least.
I’m just annoyed that the masks designed for women won’t work for me. Not because I care about having a pink or purple headset, but because some of the design changes of the headgear might work better (the Go Life mask for example).
Unfortunately, I’ve got a large head, even for a man (and I’m female). So I have to go for stuff sized for men.
I’ll have to get a many camo colored one next time. S9 Camo! It’s not for women!!
I sense a business opportunity here. There are people who make good money doing custom computer cases and stand mixers, after all…
I have this CPAP machine. I tried full face macks and never got a good fit. I found this onewhich my supplies provider got me and I love it
Wow - doesn’t it feel claustrophobic? Does it bother your eyes?
No what bothered me in the past was air leaking out the top blowing into my eyes. With this one the pressure on my face is uniform and I don’t feel it. It is pretty see through so I don’t even notice I have it on when I open my eyes to look at the clock.
What I DON’T see anyone mention yet is, how much does all this cost you? Especially having to try one piece of equipment after another after another after another, especially the face mask (or nasal pillows or whatever) until you find one that works comfortably for you. Does your insurance pay you to run through all those pieces?
I belong to a HMO, wherein it seems EVERYTHING is done quick, perfunctory, assembly-line one-size-fits-all style. I got a most-of-face mask and then a nose-only mask, and they didn’t work out too comfortably for me. But I think that’s all they would have provided me, unless I shelled out money myself, which I can’t easily afford much. I gave up on the CPAP machine after several months (this was several years ago).
And here is another problem I had: I simply cannot lie comfortably on my back for more than a few minutes at a time. Never could. But having that hose and mask, it didn’t work well for me to lie in any position OTHER than on my back. And also, I am a terrible sleeper, and I toss and turn EXTENSIVELY all night long. Now I suppose having a CPAP so I could sleep like a baby was supposed to solve that, but that didn’t happen.
I would kinda-sorta like to try using a CPAP again, and see if I can have a more successful experience with it. What do I need to do to facilitate this happening?
ETA: And I don’t know anything about, let alone have any experience, with all different models made by different manufacturers. They gave me what they gave me, and that’s what I got.
My boyfriend got lucky in that his first machine and mask were a perfect combination. I don’t recall how much the first copayment was for the machine and all the initial supplies but now he pays about $8-$20 per month for supplies depending on what he replaces (filter, mask, head strap, water thingie, hose)
He nearly always sleeps on his side. Our headboard has a metal decoration in the wood and his hose slips through that so it hangs over his head. The hose/mask connection swivels so he can sleep in any position except directly on his face. He even sometimes sleeps on his stomach, as long as his face is turned to the side there’s no problem.
The mask he uses is actually the same one the doctor at the sleep study gave him. He brought it to Lincare when he first went for his machine and supplies pickup and they had the same one so they gave him that. It has never changed. I have no idea how they decide what machine to give you but he had no input in that. Lincare just gave him one set to the correct pressure and that was that. I suppose that if he had problems they would have worked through it. People’s faces and sleep habits are so different, I’m sure the supplier understands that.