Dreamstation 2 feels like it isn't treating my apnea (any suggestions)?

[Sunday3]

...Even though it says it is. I am curious if anyone else is having a progressively terrible experience with their DS2, and if they found any fixes. 

I got the Dreamstation 2 Auto summer of 2022 (because of the recall). I'd been using the DS1 since summer 2019 with little issue even though the initial adjustment period was rough. Once I got into a routine, I just put the DS1 on every night and I'd sleep through the night. That ended as soon as I got the DS2. I'm awake half the night now. I hoped the issues I was having with the DS2 would go away but they're just getting worse.

I can do a pull of the data, but frankly, I know what untreated sleep apnea feels like and the DS2 has made me feel progressively worse until I once again feel like I have entirely untreated sleep apnea. Every morning when I wake up, I'm back to feeling so tired I could weep.

Issues:

• I was initially bothered by the very bright blue light and ridiculous screen position, but I laid something over the light (and the screen just remains useless because I can't see it, for reasons I will explain in subsequent points)
  
• The machine doesn't autostart in a normal bedside position
  
• In order to make the machine autostart as often as possible, I have to keep it a few feet away from the bed (the DS1 was near my head, but the DS2 doesn't seem to be able to function properly if I just put it beside me... no autostart, weak pressure)
  
• The machine wakes me up at night multiple times blowing air uncomfortably into my face (never happened with the DS1, which seemed to respond to my waking/sleep cycles and adjust accordingly). 
  
• When I do wake up, the pressure doesn't ever decrease with the DS2 like it seemed to with the DS1 and I can't fall back to sleep without manually hitting the ramp button... and since the damn thing doesn't work unless I keep it a few feet away from me, I have to get up to do that
  
• Unfortunately it takes me about an hour to fall back to sleep and since the ramp is 45 mins, so at 45 the sudden rush of air wakes me back up every time
  
• Despite having what feels like weak pressure, it occasionally malfunctions and blasts air SO hard, it makes a very loud noise wakes me and feels like it might damage my eardrums (I think maybe the machine is detatching its two halves somehow during the night)
  

All my settings were the same as the previous. I tried tinkering with the flex etc and nothing improved. I don't know if I got a lemon, but the machine itself seems to me like the biggest downgrade possible from the DS1. I have read people complaining about how flimsy and clunky this one is compared to the DS1 but I don't know that I've read anyone else having the same sort of issues I am.

I don't have a provider right now and can't get one because I moved to a remote location without any, so any future purchasing I do will be online (and I can't just consult a provider). 

I can't get a new machine covered by insurance but I'm so tired and miserable I will just have to fork out the dough. I was hoping to get a Resmed for Her but they seem out of stock everywhere.

[StratCat48]

I have a DS2 as a replacement to the recalled DS1. The transition to the DS2 from the DS1 was no problem and both felt the same for the therapy given.

Regarding the autostart, I've found it doesn't work with the full face mask I have (F&P Vitera) unless I cover the vent holes on the mask with my fingers. Evidently the masks vent holes don't allow enough of the in and out breathes to register back to the sensing of DS2 to initiate the autostart. If your mask has vent holes you could try covering the holes with your fingers to see if the autostart will work near the bed (If this works I do not recommend covering the holes with tape or anything else) The DS2 has settings for mask "resistance" (OFF,X1-X5) and has something to do with air flow of the mask. Respironics masks will or usually have the resistance value on the packaging. Not sure if this setting may affect how the autostart works, but may be worth experimenting with the different settings to see if it affects the autostart. Having the autostart not work while near the bed and work when set away is weird.

Are you aware of any issues with mask fit that perhaps could give a blast of pressure to compensate for leakage?

You appear to be using OSCAR. It may be helpful to post one of the charts to see what's going on.

[Sleeprider]

Read this thread, and ask yourself if you're really comfortable using the Dreamstation 2. https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...in-the-U-S Start complaining and get a Resmed Airsense 10 or 11 Autoset. You are going on 5-years with the defective Philips devices. You're due for replacement. Get a Resmed. For inspiration on how to complain effectively, read Montacute's thread here: https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread...op-selling

[Sunday3]

Thanks for the advice (I'll respond just below this) but I managed to borrow a Resmed 10 Auto and now I have absolutely no doubt that my Dreamstation 2 both isn't treating my sleep apnea whatsoever and is also not functioning as an APAP (even though I quadruple-checked the settings). Wearing the Resmed machine was just like my DS1, I put it on when I got into bed and slept through the night for the last three nights. It responded to changes in my breathing and never woke me once. My AHI was 2 both nights. I haven't slept this well since early 2022, I feel like a different person in the morning. 

As for whether I am comfortable using a Phillips machine, I agree with you and the answer is a resounding no, but I also live in Canada so I'm not sure what the difference is there since I don't believe we have had the same legal declaration about the machines. Either way, I am going to buy a Resmed, even if I have to pay out of pocket. My insurance won't cover it because even though I got my DS1 in 2019, the replacement came in 2022. Doesn't matter, I am going to have to make it work.

RE: the other notes about using the DS2

I have tried covering the holes with my mask on (using the DS2) and it doesn't do anything. I both have to move my machine away from the bed (so the hose is stretched out) and breathe incredibly hard AND usually sit up a little to get the DS2 to autostart and it only does so occasionally. There are no kinks in the hose. If the machine is positioned next to my head like people normally have them, the DS2 never, ever autostarts. I have it set to the proper mask as well.

My mask fit is excellent. I am a very light sleeper, so a leaking mask wakes me immediately, and my husband also wakes/notices when there is a leak. The DS2 also claims my mask fit is excellent but I don't believe anything that machine says anymore 

[Sleeprider]

Sunday3, you might want to check Supplier #1 that has been selling the Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset card to cloud version for $399 USD. I'm not sure about shipping to Canada, but it may be available, or if you have a friend in the U.S. that can receive and forward, that would work too. All they care about is some record that you are prescribed CPAP.