New member/user needs setup help and advice.

[Wrenchtwister1]

Hi there. 
VERY NEW user to cpap etc. And I need advice/help. 
I was diagnosed 1 year ago and have the report from the home testing. They say I have VERY SEVERE OSA. 
At the time I was given an APAP resmed 10 to try and during the trial I had a very very hard time adjusting to the machine.. It felt like every time I took a breath some one turned a shop vac on, with the hose on the outlet. I couldn't sleep at all. 
I have no IDea what those setting were and the clinic I went through has gone out of business. 
During my trial my employer changed my health care plan provider, and they will no longer pay for said machine, or much for any machine, it's been a terrible battle. 
My father died from a heart condition his doctor claimed was from sleep apnea, dad did have all they symptom and was a thunderous snorer, as am I. 
So..... 
I bought a lightly used Auto BIPAP. It is a philips dream weaver. It's the best I could find at what I could afford. After a bit of research it seemed the best overall solution... Maybe I was wrong? 
I think the model is dsx700x11? 
So.. .I have chosen to manage this on my own hopefully with the help of the kind souls on this forum, 

I need initial setup  numbers for this machine so I can generate an Oscar report. 
What steps are next?

[Canuck 2]

Welcome to the forum, If you are using your machine already download OSCAR because the fellows need to see what is happening during your sleep. Need to know what brand of mask your using could help you? Oscar will tell what  pressures that are being used during sleep and what type of Apnea's are affecting you. Your machine is a Auto type and it will record vital information needed.
It's good they have edit on this forum, make sure you have a SD card in the and not locked so it will record your results. If you have to find clinical instructions to change information inside your machine you can find them on the top of page "Cpap setup manuals" just find your machine model and it gives instructions.
Once inside you can find what pressures the machine is already set at and that is helpful information.

[Wrenchtwister1]

So are you saying I should put it on auto BiPAP and post the Oscar readings from that for a night I bought a new mask from ResMed with we memory foam on it I'll get the model and starch when I get home

[Canuck 2]

You mentioned you have a home study report done that indicated severe OSA, you could show that and that will give important information also. Make sure personal information is not shown for privacy(names, address......)
You can test your machine in your easy chair watching TV to get adjusted to your mask and make sure you feel comfortable with it before going to sleep with it. 
Take your SD card out and Oscar can even read that information while you adjust to your new equipment. I think the hardest part to Cpap is getting use to a different way of resting while sleeping and your wife will enjoy the quiet when you get it dialed in.
I do not have any experiences with Bi-pap but there are folks here that do and will help you possibly. The dream station uses different algorithms than the Resmed machines so they are set up a little differently and that is were the expertise is needed with folks who use them and know their strengths and weakness. Resmed also makes excellent  cpap variants for all different problems while sleeping as does Phillips Respironics as you already know.
 I hope this little information gets you going on your path to better sleeping.

[Wrenchtwister1]

OK.. Just got home from work.
Big thank you to those that replied.. Very much appreciate it!

The machine is a cax700t12

In clinician mode it has AutoB, CPAP, AND BILEVEL.

I was under the impression it would also do APAP.? But it's not listed.

So which should I choose and what initial settings are best?

The mask I bought is a resmed airtouch f20 with memory foam, as I had bad sealing issues last time.

Once again.. Thank you!

[Sleeprider]

You have a Dreamstation Auto BiPAP. This is a relatively high level positive air pressure machine that is capable of adjusting pressure and pressure support. This is a higher level machine than the Dreamstation Auto CPAP csx500txx. Your machine can do much more than APAP because it can not only auto-adjust pressure, it has pressure suport.

It is unusual for the Canadian health system to prescribe a BiPAP, so it would be interesting to see your sleep study results. Your BiPAP is not able to treat central sleep apnea events, and I have a strong suspicion that may be at play. You indicate in your profile you are using OSCAR, so I am very interested to see a chart that shows your settings and the AHI results. If you know, what are your settings? If not, please post a chart as soon as possible.

[Wrenchtwister1]

Thanks for responding Sleeprider. Much appreciated.
 I was initially supplied an resmed 10 of some sort as a trial. My employer changed health insurance providers in the middle of my trial. The new provider does not cover anywhere near what our old one did. 

I purchased this machine used, on my own through other markets due to insurance issues, and I'm tired of the run around of my doctor, the sleep clinic and the system in general.

What I am looking for initially, is what settings I should use on this machine.
(I know a bipap is different than an Apap and so am not sure of the settings)
  So I can produce an accurate Oscar readout that can be a stepping stone for my therapy.

I have a ton of questions but know this must be done step by step. 

I have tried to attached a photo of the report the clinic gave to me, but I cannot get a low enough file size to post. 

Is there any numbers you would need from this report to be able. To help? 

Kind Regards!

[staceyburke]

Have you used the machine to sleep with yet? If so you can download that information in OSCAR and we can see what is going on. If not it is just trial and error. But If you have not used it yet try 7 for the low (EPAP) and 20 as the top number. dont worry about the rest they will give you settings after they see your results.

[Sleeprider]

The Philips BiPAP titration protocol recommends starting at EPAP 4.0 and PS 4.0 for a starting bilevel pressure of 8.0/4.0 (IPAP/EPAP).  With the auto BiPAP, we can start there and allow the machine to automatically titrate.  Many people find a starting pressure of 4.0 too low, and I'm sure that is what Staceyburke has in mind, however we don't have any CPAP history to work from, and it seems prudent to go by the book for now and make adjustments after we see the first night of therapy. For initial settings, use:
AutoB mode, EPAP min 4.0, PS min 4.0, PS max 4.0, Max Pressure 14.0.  This will offer a range from 8.0/4.0 to 14.0/10.0.

If you find the bilevel pressure very disruptive, usually described as "the machine trying to breathe for me", you can reduce PS min and PS max until comfortable for the first night.  I'd like you to maintain at least 2.0 cm pressure support.

Be sure to use a clean SD card in the machine, then post your detail chart from OSCAR.  Instructions for Organizing Your Chart and Attaching a File are linked in my signature. 

[Wrenchtwister1]

Hi! 
No I have not used the machine yet. I had thought it had Apap as one of the features, but it does not.
Thus, I am a unsure of which mode I should choose, and the settings to start with per that mode. 

I think I'm going to set it to auto bipap as per your recommendations and try it