[Pressure] Living in China with Obstructive Apnea

[greatunclebill]

Hi Greatunclebill,
I will always use a suitcase that travels with me in the overhead bins of the plane.
I believe in the usermanual it is also said not to check in this equipment.
If I am travelling, I have a 2 laptops + some gear my clothes and now the APAP as well. I prefer to store it in a suitcase that is allowed to take in the overhead bins. However the size of that suitcase is restricted. The bag with APAP together takes too much space.
I fully agree not to check in the APAP and take it with you all the way.

Regards,

Gerard

sorry, i misunderstood you. i was thinking of a big suitcase in checked baggage and not a little carry-on suitcase.

[Gerard]

A view Months ago I posted a topic regarding my experiences regarding having OSA in China. I managed to get a rudimentary sleep test in a hospital and the results were: AHI: 116 /RI: 118 /ODI: 96/ (UAI) 99/ (OAI) 7 /(CAI + MAI) 0. Quite shocking.
I bought a APAP in the US, a PR system one serie 60 with humidifier.
I also bought a Profile light Nasal mask and a Comfort gel full face mask, Also from PR.

The System one serie 60 performs very well. I am very happy with it. It is my first APAP so I can't compare to other brands. I think it is easy to use, is feature rich, easy to program and has a very low noise level. Breathing through the mask causes more noise than the machine itself. So far I did not use the humidifier.
The only problem I encountered is that if you want to detach the humidifier, which is quite easy, the hose doesn't fit on the connection of the PR system 60 anymore. Than you need to have a standard hose, which I don't have.
I would not hesitate to buy this machine again. I think it is a winner and I am thinking to buy a 2nd one (without Humidifier) as backup and for traveling.

The problems I have is with the masks.
The Profile light Nasal mask, does not fit on the hose of the PR system 60 heated hose. So I never used it. The diameter of the connections are different, however supplier says it should fit. Well it doesn't. I also can't find a suitable connector to overcome this problem.
The Comfort gel full face does fit. It has a click system on the hose connector and the hose can be clicked on.
However this mask is broken. The lashes on the T-bridge broke off on two sides and I can't connect the head gear to the T-bridge. I have a temporary fix and I am going to order a New Mask. I am thinking of
a Forma Full face mask from F&P. Does anyone has experiences with this mask? I want to try it, because it fixes under the Chin.

Coming back to the effectiveness of having a APAP, because that is where it is all about.
Previously I tried to fine tune the APAP settings based on the data of the PR system one's display, which is quite doable. I could not use Sleepy Head. The PR system one serie 60 was for a long time not compatible.

Now I can use it on my Mac. Kuddo's for the people who updated Sleepy Head to make it available for the system 60 and off course Kuddo's to Jedimark. Mark has put a lot of effort into this freeware software. I think he built an excellent piece of software. For me it provide very good indicators to see what is happening to me. Next step will be a oximeter.
Below the results of using my Apap. My AHI indicator dropped from 116 during sleeping test to 0.52. AHI + RERA is about 3. For me that's fantastic. Since the day I used the APAP if feel reborn. I am not tired anymore and I am not falling asleep while driving, working or just being at home. For me the Apap works well.

CPAP Statistics as of 16 December 2012
256 days of CPAP Data, between 29/03/2012 and 16/12/2012
Details Most Recent Last 7 Days Last 30 Days Last 6 months Last Year
AHI 0.52 0.92 1.02 0.95 1.09
RERA 2.41 1.81 1.89 1.46 1.34
Flow Limit 1.05 1.32 1.43 1.39 1.38
Average
Pressure 7.50 6.77 6.73 6.49 6.19
95% Pres. 12.20 15.90 16.30 17.20 17.60
Avg.T Leak 25.61 31.43 33.97 38.99 39.72
95%
Total Leaks 30.00 46.00 52.00 58.00 58.00

Changes to Prescription Settings
First/ Days AHI FL Machine Mode Pr. Rel. Min Pres. Max Pres.
Last
15/12/2012
16/12/2012 2 0.46 1.34 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 7.50 20.00
11/11/2012
14/12/2012 34 1.17 1.48 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 6.50 18.00
30/06/2012
10/11/2012 127 0.87 1.36 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 6.50 20.00
02/05/2012
29/06/2012 59 1.19 1.37 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 6.00 20.00
01/05/2012
01/05/2012 1 0.78 1.57 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 6.00 19.50
06/04/2012
30/04/2012 25 1.51 1.27 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 5.00 20.00
29/03/2012
05/04/2012 8 2.34 1.49 PRS1 Auto A-Flex x2 4.00 20.00

Machine Information
Brand: Philips Respironics System One RemStar Auto with A-Flex (560P) First Use 29/03/2012
Last Use 16/12/2012

I tried to reduce the bandwidth between Minimum pressure and Maximum pressure to reduce reaction time of the machine. I altered one setting at the time only. First I increased the Minimum pressure. Later I lowered the maximum pressure.
My conclusion is, increasing the minimum pressure lowered my AHI. Decreasing my Maximum pressure made my AHI Higher. I could only see that with the Help of Sleepy head, because it gives a good overview of all settings.
My last settings are based on using sleepy head.
The data recorded by My PR system one and visualized via Sleepy head, are to me indicators only and not measurements. The PR system makes assumptions based on its baked in algorithms. In other words the machine assumes the indicators, based on breathing patterns. That is the reason for me to use a oximeter as well. Understanding this I want to use another set of parameters, provided by the oximeter. That's the maximum I can do at home.

I would like to use the CMS 50 wrist oxymeter. Does anyone uses this one?

My next focus will be RERA events and Leakage.


Regards,

Gerard

[zonk]

I would like to use the CMS 50 wrist oxymeter. Does anyone uses this one?

My next focus will be RERA events and Leakage.


Regards,

Gerard

Wrist Pulse Oximeter CMS-50F
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...1#pid25011

Importing CMS 50D Plus oximeter data into SleepyHead
http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...SleepyHead

Pulse Oximeter CMS-50D+
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...er-CMS-50D