Lowenstein issues

[m162]

I used a DeVilbiss Blue AutoPlus CPAP for 6+ years without any issues. It fixed pretty much all my problems and after the first week or two of slight fiddling with the settings to get everything right never again changed or adjusted anything and used it happily for years. About 6 months ago I was forced to switch to a Lowenstein Prisma Smart Max. Ever since then I've experience a host of problems that I never had with the DeVilbiss and it's driving me crazy. I've been in contact with the sleep clinic many times and they've adjusted all kinds of settings over time, which reduced the issues, but none of them have really been fully eliminated. And throughout the whole time all of the stats are basically showing everything green and according to the sleep clinic I'm receiving excellent treatment, so I have a feeling they're not taking my complaints very seriously.

The biggest issues I've experienced are:

- A very dry throat. This was absolutely terrible in the beginning, I didn't think it was possible for a human throat to get that dry. it got significantly better as they adjusted some settings and also gave me a humidifier, but my throat is still much drier than it ever was with the DeVilbiss, which didn't even have a humidifier.
- frequent events where I try to take a breath but no air comes in from the machine and I choke. Like someone stepped on the hose for a moment and completely blocked the airflow. This was also much worse in the beginning but they managed to reduce it, although it still happens occasionally, especially in the mornings, and it's very disturbing.
- according to my wife the mask is leaking a lot and I'm also snoring much more than before. The stats show very low to no leaking, but she literally recorded it one night with her phone while the stats showed no leakage that night.

I should also add that the mask and hose are exactly the same as the ones I used with the DeVilbiss, so no change there, only the machine changed.

There are a number of other things that annoy me with the Lowenstein, but these are the most significant ones. Unfortunately I can't continue using the DeVilbiss due to not being able to get any support/consumables from my insurance. The Lowenstein is the only device they offer so I'm stuck with it.

Any ideas what could be happening here or what I should try? Is it possible I simply have a machine with some kind of mechanical issue that doesn't show up on the data uploaded to the sleep clinic? Should I try to get the machine replaced? Thanks.

[staceyburke]

The consumables are not a lot.  Once you have the machine your cost is low.  I have not changed my mask or hose for over a year.

[larrygreg]

I have a lowenstein as well. 
Please see my thread on dynamic vs std. 
This could be helpful for you. 
My complaint about my machine is the inability to get details on my phone. 
I have to pull the card and upload it to the pc. 
Other than that it's pretty sturdy. 
People call it Darth Vader. 
It is super quiet.

[m162]

@staceyburke Yeah, I thought about continuing to use the old machine and just buying the supplies myself. But I figured I'm going to have to face changing the machine at some point anyways, it's eventually going to stop working, or become obsolete with the supplies no longer being available, or something. So might as well face that hurdle now. Plus I like the idea of formally being a patient of the sleep clinic, which is only possible if I use a machine they support.

[m162]

@larrygreg Thank you for the suggestions. Switching to dynamic is one of the first things they did, along with giving me a humidifier. Those two definitively helped a lot compared to the beginning. But even though it's much better now, it's still worse than the DeVilbiss.
Browsing through this board I got the sense that the Lowenstein is very well regarded, which is what made me think if it's possible that maybe just the one I have has some sort of defect? Because it doesn't make sense that it seems to work so well for everyone else, or that I would have so many problems with it compared to a device that's positively obsolete in comparison.

[Zombie on my Lawn]

Dear m162,
Your situation and symptoms sounds quite frustrating. Sorry to hear about it.
That would be terrible if you've been given a lemon of a machine.

I suppose you've tried all the different softPAP options? Wondering which one has been best (or least bad)?
I'm having a soft of strange issue with my new Prisma SMART where it seems to show in the stats twice as much "deep sleep" as other indicators seem to show me getting, so it has made me wonder about some of the stats.

[m162]

Thank you. SoftPAP is on 2 now, with a 5min soft start. I'm really not sure what to do or if to do anything. On the one hand the situation has improved significantly since the beginning. Even two of the three main issues I identified in my post haven't happened in the last 3 weeks or so (knock on wood). Not sure if that's a coincidence, or if the machine/my body/both are adapting slowly over time. If it stays like this, I'd be fine with that, just sucks that it took this long to get to this point.

On the other hand, the experience still leaves a lot to be desired compared to the DeVilbiss. Which is really frustrating considering how much newer and theoretically more advanced the Lowenstein is. But to be fair, if not for the DeVilbiss experience, I would likely have thought that this is simply as good as it gets and not thought about it as much.

[Zombie on my Lawn]

Dear m162,

Glad to hear that some things have been improving for you, even if not all the way to your blissful experience with DeVilbiss. Hearing about your experience with that machine makes me wish they were still making them so I could try it myself!

Do you have any idea what version of the firmware you have? I saw on another thread something about updates. I suppose your sleep clinic would have updated it. Not sure what version I have but it got me interested in trying to figure it out.