Central or Obstructive? and Machine&mask

[freedomland]

hi All! I was first diagnosed with .. CENTRAL Sleep Apnea in Sept 2013.. but I had to wait for ACA to get the coverage for the machine.. since I was told I needed the Auto BiPap.. so  not the $800 or $1800 but the $3600 machines!  Yay me! (oh  this was found when I went in for a cervical 4 disc fusion.. also had a 4 disc lumbar fusion in 2/16)
So from Jan 2014  and onward..I've been using the System One BiPAP autoSV with the Bluetooth module, and ended up with the Mirage Quattro mask.. a good mask but a lot of parts.

now since I've moved.. I ended up shifting to a different doctor.. who after reading the same sleep studies (2).. says I have OBSTRUCTIVE ..but I still need the high pressure.   (oh before I snored like a moose). 
And as an added bonus.. I developed Idiopathic Hypersomnia or EDS.. which now means more medication.. which is $100 for 60 pills (modafinil) (that brought my daily med count up to (drum roll) 20 each day .. fun eh?
(I've got 10 chronic med issues including the  Apnea and the EDS.. not including the issues from the car accident (reasons for the spinal surgeries))

so when the EDS first started.. I shifted to the F&P Simplus.. yea!!  very simple mask.. only 3 parts.. but still got leaks.. and had to make it tighter.. and tighter.. etc..  I'd wake up in the AM and even with reading glasses..my vision would be blurry for awhile.

So  which would be a better mask for my high pressure without having to always make it tighter and tighter??

(sorry for the long diatribe)

Rob  (my real name..  I have a website for Freedomland)

[lashlock]

My Doctor replaced my nasal pillows with a F&P Simplus mask because of dry mouth.   With it's design, it sort of floats over the face and does not need to be tight. I have very few leaks and if I position it just right, I can sleep for 8 hours without interruption.  With my new mask, humidifier and Xylimelts, I no longer have dry mouth.  I've heard that sometimes a mask can be too tight and cause more leaks and painful mornings.  Good luck.

[Gideon]

You can try the Mirage Activa. The mask has 2 basic sections. 1 with all the headgear that you would expect and 2 the seal section which literally is held on with pressure. The 2 sections are connected with what I will call a bellows. You adjust the headgear so that the "bellows " is about half way extended when under pressure. This means that without pressure it is so loose it couldn't possibly hold any air. It was my goto mask for over 7 years and works well at all pressures including both high (25) and llow pressures.

Fred

[Sleeprider]

Freedomland, I'm curious what basis your new doctor used to determine your central apnea (CA) has now become obstructive apnea (OA)? If not based on a clinical study, it may be he is one that simply rejects the notion that central and complex apnea exists. Hopefully not.

You can access the settings on your machine by turning the control knob to Settings, then pressing the ramp button and control knob at the same time. This will let you select the clinical settings. It would be incredibly helpful if you would do that, and scroll through the settings and mark down what they are, then post that information back here. The machine will exit clinical mode on its own, or just select exit. This is not a request to change settings, but to document them. See this tutorial: http://www.apneaboard.com/pr-system-one-...structions

Your treatment will be much better if you learn to understand it. Please consider downloading #Sleepyhead software. It's free, and you can read detailed results of your therapy, machine settings and much more on a laptop, PC or Mac computer.

What defines EDS? Hours of sleep?

[trish6hundred]

Hi freedomland,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Good luck as you continue CPAP therapy.