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I have been successfully using my air sense 10 since OSA diagnosis, and my AHI is now under 2. I had an appointment with my clinic this week and have been told there is no need for further appointments and just to contact them if I need supplies or there is any problem with the machine.
I have used both full face and nasal masks and established which pressure settings are required for each.
I would like the flexibility of switching between masks as required. For example, I usually use the full face mask (and this is good when I have a cold etc), but I used the nasal mask when I had recent mouth surgery.
I know from experience that if I phone the clinic to ask them to change the pressure it can take ages for them to respond.
When I asked if it was possible to have control of the pressure settings, they advised that this is done centrally. Though they also said some people have found out how to do it themselves!
Has anyone had experience of having control of the pressure settings?
I understand that central control is important when titrating the pressures in the early stages of treatment, but I know what suits me and would love to have the ability to change the setting.
Alternatively would an APAP machine solve the problem?
Any advice?
Views: 177
Thanks Jonathan - I had seen the YouTube video. My question is really about the experience of people who have control of their pressure settings, for example those people who have bought their machines directly and not obtained them through an NHS respiratory clinic. Presumably they set the pressures themselves?
Ramble alert! My history is that I spent part of each week at a different location, so bought a second machine identical to my fixed pressure NHS machine and set it up to match using the clinician menu. This was a very long time ago. The NHS discharged me as self-managing, and in time I bought a DeVilbiss APAP and set my own min and max pressures, and monitored the data just fine. For example I increased the minimum pressure from 4 to 6 (max was 13) as on 4 I didn't feel I was getting enough air if I had a cold. Recently following unrelated surgery, they wanted me back under the sleep clinic, who issued me with a ResMed APAP which they control remotely. At one point I tried changing the ramp up setting, but decided to put it back to the original setting. The machine checks in with ResMed daily. I don't know whether it reports any changes I have made, or conversely whether it overrides any settings I have changed. In the early days of the new machine I had regular contact with the clinic to check the settings were working for me. (In truth, the DeVilbiss ran at a much lower pressure and ramped up occasionally, whereas the ResMed with the same parameters runs at a much higher baseline.) I am comfortable using some software called Oscar which lets me download data from both machines and gives much more detail than ResMed's MyAir. (I power off the machine, take out the SD card, operate the write-protect switch on the card, and read the data using Oscar on my laptop. I then un-write-protect the card, put it back in the machine, and power it up, and the machine is happy.) So in summary, my situation is different as the masks I switch between (Sleepweaver and DreamWear) are similar, and my NHS machine is an APAP. I wonder why you need a different air pressure with different masks, if they use the same hose diameter? One to discuss with your sleep clinic if you can get hold of them. May be suggest an APAP would be better if you require a pressure change when you switch masks. But at the end of the day, if it were me, I would take responsibility for my own health and make the changes I require. After all, that's what the sleep clinic did when they originally discharged me. Good luck!
A very helpful reply Jonathan. I found the pressure setting for the full face mask to be too high when I changed to a nasal mask, but perhaps I should have persisted?
I'll try again and I'll also discuss with the clinic whether an APAP would be better.
Many Thanks!
Jonathan said:
Ramble alert! My history is that I spent part of each week at a different location, so bought a second machine identical to my fixed pressure NHS machine and set it up to match using the clinician menu. This was a very long time ago. The NHS discharged me as self-managing, and in time I bought a DeVilbiss APAP and set my own min and max pressures, and monitored the data just fine. For example I increased the minimum pressure from 4 to 6 (max was 13) as on 4 I didn't feel I was getting enough air if I had a cold. Recently following unrelated surgery, they wanted me back under the sleep clinic, who issued me with a ResMed APAP which they control remotely. At one point I tried changing the ramp up setting, but decided to put it back to the original setting. The machine checks in with ResMed daily. I don't know whether it reports any changes I have made, or conversely whether it overrides any settings I have changed. In the early days of the new machine I had regular contact with the clinic to check the settings were working for me. (In truth, the DeVilbiss ran at a much lower pressure and ramped up occasionally, whereas the ResMed with the same parameters runs at a much higher baseline.) I am comfortable using some software called Oscar which lets me download data from both machines and gives much more detail than ResMed's MyAir. (I power off the machine, take out the SD card, operate the write-protect switch on the card, and read the data using Oscar on my laptop. I then un-write-protect the card, put it back in the machine, and power it up, and the machine is happy.) So in summary, my situation is different as the masks I switch between (Sleepweaver and DreamWear) are similar, and my NHS machine is an APAP. I wonder why you need a different air pressure with different masks, if they use the same hose diameter? One to discuss with your sleep clinic if you can get hold of them. May be suggest an APAP would be better if you require a pressure change when you switch masks. But at the end of the day, if it were me, I would take responsibility for my own health and make the changes I require. After all, that's what the sleep clinic did when they originally discharged me. Good luck!
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