Please help with machine selection

[acabgd]

Hello to all,

I am in a delicate situation as I'm living in Serbia and the selection of CPAP machines here is extremely limited. I have been diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea due to increased tonsils size. AFAIK, I have no Cheyne-Stokes Respiration syndrome, my troubles are not brain-related, or any other specific problem, simply my airways become blocked and my breathing stops.

Now, my doctor has offered me the ResMed Autoset CS2 machine as the only option, and with a hefty pricetag at that.

Browsing through websites I've noticed that both ResMed and other producers have other newer products (if I'm not mistaken the Autoset CS2 dates back to 2008 or 2009).

What would be the machine you would suggest instead of my only choise, the ResMed Autoset CS2?

Thanks,
Alex

[Tom @ Intus]

Hi Alex,

Welcome to the forums!

You may find our CPAP Help & Advice section useful, it should help explain exactly what CPAP is and what to look for when choosing a machine.

Generally speaking, they all do the same job, it's just about finding the features that appeal to you. Is travelling an issue? Would you benefit from exhalation relief? Humidification? Things like that are all important when deciding which machine to go for.

That link should answer most of your questions, but do let us know if there is anything we didn't cover that you'd like to know about.

[acabgd]

After reading many accounts on this and other sites, I'm wondering if my problems are the same. I rarely go to bed before 1 or 2AM, I rarely or almost never wake up during the night, I usually don't fall asleep while driving, watching TV or reading during the day. If left to sleep on weekends by wifey and kids I go on for 10 hours without waking up at all...

Yet, my wife says I stop breathing during the night, she wakes me up to turn around. And I do wake up sometimes (a few times per month) with a sort of a short breath in the morning. My face colour also seems to be pale and colours up only later during the day.

Yet, I'm surprised by the lack of all the other symptoms. Any explanation?

[Tom @ Intus]

You may well be an asymptomatic sufferer - meaning you have the condition but it is not causing you to feel tired as a result. This can happen in a minority of cases, but is not unheard of by any means.

OSA is still important to get treated, even if you are not feeling tiredness. Usually that is the trigger for people to get treatment. However, tired or not, there are still the long-term health issues associated with OSA, including increased risk of heart problems, strokes, and even cancer according to recent studies.

If your partner has witnessed apnoeas, as it appears, then it would be advisable to do a sleep study. If that confirms that you do have OSA, then treatment would be advisable, even if you are not tired, for the sake of your long-term health.