New to all of this… confused which machine to get

[cmarshall234]

Hello all, 

Finally bit the bullet and got a sleep study done through an at home test. Results came today and it seems worst case scenario. Dr is recommending a Bipap machine. I’m confused about which to get. 

I’m looking at the Resmed AirCurve, and I was told by the “coach” I called that I should get the VAuto, but I’m reading that now that might not be for me since I have some central apnea? 

Forgive me if I’m missing details or doing something wrong… new to all of this and just want to get started in the right direction asap.

[Deborah K.]

If I am reading their report correctly they want you to have a titration study.  If so, ask them to test you on a ResMed ASV machine as well as the ResMed Bilevel machine.  That will make it clear which machine you need.

Good Luck!  

[cmarshall234]

Thanks for your reply. I was hoping to just jump straight into getting a machine. My sleep is so bad, it’s affecting my quality of life and my partner’s as well. 

I’m also doing this all without going through insurance, so there are some budgetary constraints.

[Sleeprider]

Request a split titration study based on spontaneous bilevel and ASV. If you want to jump into therapy, request a prescription for the Resmed Aircurve 10 or 11 ASV. Most people do well with the default ASVauto mode at EPAP min 5.0, EPAP max 15.0 PS min 3.0, PS max 15.0. It will certainly work, and we can help you to optimize settings, but it's very unlikely insurance will reimburse for ASV without a proof you failed to have efficacy with CPAP/spontaneous BiPAP.

[cmarshall234]

Request a split titration study based on spontaneous bilevel and ASV.  If you want to jump into therapy, request a prescription for the Resmed Aircurve 10 or 11 ASV. Most people do well with the default ASVauto mode at EPAP min 5.0, EPAP max 15.0 PS min 3.0, PS max 15.0.  It will certainly work, and we can help you to optimize settings, but it's very unlikely insurance will reimburse for ASV without a proof you failed to have efficacy with CPAP/spontaneous BiPAP.

Thank you so much! So you wouldn’t recommend the VAuto to get started with?

[SarcasticDave94]

With the diagnosis including Central Apnea, there's a few things to recognize. Most doctors that order sleep studies have this aversion to recognize Central Apnea as an issue needing treated, or some form of failing to offer treatment for the CA.

This diagnosis indicates a few things: you have some Central Apnea needing treated, they were enough for the doctor to diagnose, this doctor seems to recognize they're a problem.

I've used the word treat a few times already. Regular CPAP, bilevel without backup breath rate like the VAuto or higher devices like ST, cannot treat Central Apnea. They can, in various levels of success, avoid some CA but never treat them. This is the difference with an ASV, it specifically treats CA and everything else Apnea too.

ASV is not for everyone though, so it's not suggested for all Apnea patients.

The normal insurance path is fail CPAP, fail VAuto, likely forced to fail ST, then success with ASV.

Info from a guy that has used an ASV 2 years successfully until COPD got a bit worse.

Best answer when you get an ASV is get a ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV.