Diagnosed with SA 70AHI

[BoxcarPete]

Your plan is good, except for step 5. There isn't any benefit of having another sleep study done so soon. Once you start CPAP you will be able to track your entire night breath by breath every day if you like, so your progress will be right there at your fingertips while you are using the machine. Your sleep architecture should be much improved once you adjust to sleeping with CPAP, which may take hours, days, weeks, or even months depending on a variety of factors that we can address when we see them in action.

Sleep specialist who told you that you have no options other than CPAP is wrong. However, it is often a one-stop-shop for all the subtle issues and irregularities that go into the obstructions so it's almost always the first step. It's very important to begin there and pursue alternatives as they become apparent or available; by this I mean you should be using your CPAP every day while you seek out an otolaryngologist appointment to have your sinuses cleaned up. I do recommend that you find a different ENT specialist as well, because there are many out there who do know of the interrelationships between OSA and congestion in the nose and sinuses. Those are the ones who will be able to offer you meaningful alternatives, not the guy who claims they're not related.

As a starting point, I recommend you watch a video by UK-based ENT Vik Veer on "How I think Sleep Apnoea Should be Treated" or something like that. He goes through his approach from start to finish, including the easiest patients who adjust to CPAP well and are happy to stay on it for life, and how to peel back the layers of the onion for those who don't tolerate it that way.

[HalfAsleep]

Most important to add to your to-dos:

Get hold of that sleep study you already took. You’ll want the entire write up. This will give you a data starting point as your therapy begins. I think you can see by now that data drives sound therapy decisions. And the way your own head works is naturally attuned to data. Yep, get the sleep study write up!

Don’t bother with another sleep study so soon. Just do Oscar every day, and get guidance here. For practical purposes, it’s like having a study every night, and it’s free. Your brain is very compatible with this method, since you’re very analytical. Learn how to read Oscar charts, see how they get interpreted, and see your numbers go down as you draw on your brain power. Not everyone’s brain works that way, but yours does. You can go full-on Oscar-geeking to get where you need to be.

Worry about what PAP looks like for the next 45 years after you get some good rest, not now!

Forgot to mention: do some reading on this site where posters are analyzing Oscar data for each other. This way, you can arrive at best practices for doing it for yourself.

Also, you might consider whether sleep deprivation is giving you anxiety and making you torture yourself. Give PAP a substantial chance, and see how your brain operates when it gets more significant rest. You might be quite surprised. The sweetness of healthy sleep might change your mind about a lot of things!

[Deborah K.]

When you visit your cpap specialist, a durable medical equipment provider, which we call a DME, you need to tell them what machine you want.  They may suggest a different brand or model, but you don't have to accept it.  Insist on receiving a ResMed AirSense 10.  It's up to you, not them, which machine you get.  If they say they don't have it or don't have it in stock, then go to a different DME.  You can and should get exactly what you want, not what they try to talk you into.  They are salesmen, not folks looking out for your best interest.

[Newbie2024]

Thanks for the recommendation. I called the CPAP consultant and she told me Resmed Auto 10 was available. She said that Resmed Auto 11 is in stock but it has been giving issues to many of her clients. She told me the cost for the both the machine is the same and her recommendation is 10 but I could buy any of those.


Interestingly, she told me that I will have to pay 1299  if i decide to go without OHIP(Ontario Health Insurance plan) and if I go through OHIP the cost for the same machine is $550 and I will only pay $150 out of pocket. I think Ontario Health has negotiated a better rate from the manufacturer.

[Dormeo]

I'm glad you can get the ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset. Before accepting the machine, please be sure "Autoset" is part of its name. You'll see it on the front of the machine. The ResMed Airsense 10 CPAP only has fixed pressures, and it's a brick (no data written to an SD card so not compatible with Oscar).

[HalfAsleep]

You could consider the Resmed Airsense 10 Auto that doesn’t have the cell connection to the doctor’s office (which you may not actually need). It’s called “card to cloud”. It costs about 1/2. This may actually explain the different prices you were quoted.

[Newbie2024]

Thanks @halfasleep for the feedback. I was told that both are the same machines but I will confirm and report back!