Cpap Basic M-Series Respironics

[assisbr]

I´ve been diagnostic as having severe obstructive apnea (7.0 cm H2O) (age 38)

I am about to purchase a cpap machine. I´d like to know if Cpap Basic M-Series Respironics fits well to me. I know there better machines (c-flex, smart card, auto) but all these are really necessary for 7.0 cm H2O pressure?

Thanks,

Sandor

[ElleCee]

Hi Sandor,
First of all, welcome to the group. You will find most, if not all, your questions answered here.

Is that the setting your technician says you need?

I know that is around the starting point for most newly diagnosed patients but from there it will need checking and adjusting to suit your personal needs.
I am no expert on any of the machines so will just presune that the one you are asking about can be adjust up and down depending on need.
Do I also presume that you are not in the UK?

Regards
Lorraine

[assisbr]

Thanks Lorraine.

I am from Brazil, but I could not find forums about CPAP over here.

Here these machines get expensive due to import taxes. Some examples:
CPA - Basic: $600
CPAP - C-flex (reduce the pressure at the beginning of exhalation): $950
CPAP - C-flex and smart card (make reports about the treatment) $1,250

The basic machine can have the pressure adjusted. But to know the right pressure I would have to wait until the next polysomnography (after 12 months, according to my health insurance contract). So I should keep the 7.0 cm H2O pressure during this time. Is that a long period to wait for? One alternative is purchase a machine with "smart card" to make reports about the treatment.

The other question is about breathing back against CPAP pressure. Is that a problem for 7.0 cm H2O pressure or should I purchase a machine with C-Flex technology (C-Flex is a pressure relief feature that makes breathing back against CPAP pressure easier to do by reducing the pressure at the beginning of exhalation)?

Thanks in advance.

Sandro

[James @ Intus]

Hi Sandro,

The pressure you need has little to do with which machine you need. The extra features you find in more expensive machines make things more comfortable no matter whether you are at 7 or 17.

CPAP tends to be for life and may well become key in enjoying a healthy life from here on. You may want to get the best machine and mask you can afford.

Having said that, a lot of people do great with the most basic of machines. They are just very light on reporting etc. so it's hard to quantify how well you are doing in terms of statistics.

[tallishbloke]

Hi Sandro

Hi there

FIrst I would question the very first things you mentioned at the start. You mentioned having been diagnosed vith severe sleep apnoea and needing a pressure of 7cm.... I would suggest that this pressure may be too low for somenoe with severe OSA (although severity doesnt always correlate with increased pressure requirement). How was this figure arrived at??
You wont know till you try whether or not a basic machine will be suitable for you. In my experience, people have a tendency to get along bdetter with auto-titrating CPAP units, also known as APAP. On these minimum and maximum possible pressures are set and the machine is left to run between these 2 settings and the unit will adjust its pressure automatically as changes in your airways will dictate. But these machines will obviously be more costly.
12 months is ridiculously long to wait to see if it is working well or not.

Good luck

TB

[James @ Intus]

FIrst I would question the very first things you mentioned at the start. You mentioned having been diagnosed vith severe sleep apnoea and needing a pressure of 7cm.... I would suggest that this pressure may be too low for somenoe with severe OSA (although severity doesnt always correlate with increased pressure requirement).

Some sleep clinics, despite all the evidence against it, still use some formula involving people's neck circumference and their AHI to guess a pressure. Others start at 10 without any reason other than that's about the average across the boards. Those types of clinics don't do a titration test. Those who do, arrive at a much better informed number which should work out much better and more comfortably.

When people do a sleep study with us and need CPAP, we haven't done a titration either. So they can only get an Auto-CPAP. We then read out its data some time later and you'd be amazed how little severity and pressure correlate. Everybody's physiology is different and reacts different.

If somebody's throat muscles and tissue are so flexible and prone to collapse, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to also conclude that with a little CPAP pressure, they can be pushed back in the right direction. So severe AHI, low pressure. Similarly, some people are mild and still need 12-15 to be sorted out.

I doubt there's any strong correlation. Maybe in a mega study, the averages make sense, but nobody is average. Everybody is unique!

[ElleCee]

I personally would choose a machine that worked with your breathing. The exhale facility to me is one of the most important. I panic if I can;t breathe out as this is what happens when I have an asthma attack (rarely thank goodness).
My machine is listed below my signature and I am more than happy with it.
Personally I would chose the cpap-c flex.
BUT that is just my opinion.
Lorraine