Sleep apnea, CPAPs and other sleep health solutions.

[ponytug]

Has anybody one this forum used a Raspberry Pi to control the CPAP because you didn't like the menu selections offered by the manufacturer?

For example: I hate when my mask leaks and the machine goes to full air pressure. I would far rather have it lower the pressure till the mask isn't leaking anymore. I have my max pressure set at 14 but I've seen it as high as 17 when the mask leaks which just irritates me.

Another example: If the CPAP machine can sense when I go to sleep it should be able to sense when I wake up and turn the air pressure right down to the lowest setting. After all I'm not going to have apnea if I'm awake.

Have you looked at other models, and / or talked to your doctor about changing the settings / profile? I don't know that the first is do able, but the second certainly is on some units. Changing the parameters is changing the prescription.

CPAP machines are medical devices, and as such tightly regulated by the FDA, so you aren't going to see much sharing on how to reprogram one as that tends to get the attention of the FDA and medical boards quite quickly.

My $0.02 is talk with your doctor about what could be changed, both in terms of prescription/ programming and the mask / headset for you. Slight changes in mask and fitting can make a big difference.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Snobdds]

After spending last weekend at the deer lease with a packed hunting cabin. I've started a CPAP collection fund for a number of the members. WOW! What a chorus of snoring, snorting, choking and other sounds.

The medial industry has told people that is not normal.

Snoring is normal.

The only thing that is not normal is not going into rem sleep. If you don't get rem sleep, then yes, something should change. If you have to take a nap in the middle of the day. That's your sign.

 

[pmsmechanic]

These devices have to be certified, so they try not to provide interfaces for anything.
The manufacturers do have ways of feeding back requests, but I am sure that would be slow.

I'm due for a new machine so my thoughts were to keep the old one and eliminate their interface on it completely and design my own.

At this point I'm frustrated enough that I really don't care if it's certified or not. I know I need it though as I'm loosing weight the need is definitely less. I don't mind wearing it either as I do get a better sleep.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Have you looked at other models, and / or talked to your doctor about changing the settings / profile? I don't know that the first is do able, but the second certainly is on some units. Changing the parameters is changing the prescription.

CPAP machines are medical devices, and as such tightly regulated by the FDA, so you aren't going to see much sharing on how to reprogram one as that tends to get the attention of the FDA and medical boards quite quickly.

My $0.02 is talk with your doctor about what could be changed, both in terms of prescription/ programming and the mask / headset for you. Slight changes in mask and fitting can make a big difference.

All the best,

Peter

Like I say I'm due for a new machine but if it's not an improvement then what's the point.

As others on this thread have done I've gone into the machine and changed some of the parameters. That has definitely been an improvement.

I will talk things over when I get my new machine but I'm not expecting to be totally happy. I was wondering if someone else had been just as frustrated as I am and if there was a way to improve the CPCP experience.

 

[CalG]

History recounts many examples of "two sleeps" each night. Art works depicting candle lit writers clothed in nightwear suggest the same.

I've always been advised to get up when I wake up, then return to bed again when sleepy.

It's hard, but works.

I sleep best after a full day of physical activity.
My wife snores, I love knowing she is safe and warm beside me.

 

[ponytug]

Like I say I'm due for a new machine but if it's not an improvement then what's the point.

As others on this thread have done I've gone into the machine and changed some of the parameters. That has definitely been an improvement.

I will talk things over when I get my new machine but I'm not expecting to be totally happy. I was wondering if someone else had been just as frustrated as I am and if there was a way to improve the CPCP experience.

So, do you have an s9 now? My understanding was that that ResMed's machines have settings for tapering pressure, but I'm not an expert.

I think getting the issues that you are asking for are completely reasonable, and some like getting the right mask and fit ought to be doable.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MarkF48]

Just came upon this post and I've been a CPAP user since 2020 at age 72.
My journey began when I suspected having apnea episodes and my wife noticed that I appeared to pause often in breathing while sleeping. Apnea episodes can affect ones blood O2 saturation levels, so I bought a Wellue O2Ring from Amazon to monitor O2 levels while sleeping. Generally O2 sats that go below 88% for a period of time can be a sign of a sleep related breathing problem. I was getting nights where my O2 sats were frequently down around 80%. I took the data from the O2Ring to my PCP and without hesitation he got me scheduled for a sleep study. I did two nights, one to determine if there was a problem and a second with titration. Diagnosis was severe apnea.
I ended up getting a Philips DreamStation not too long after and used that for almost a year until when it was recalled. I hadn't used an ozone 'cleaner', so I didn't have any reservations about continuing to use it until I received a replacement DreamStation 2 which I have and use currently. I wanted a spare CPAP in the event the DreamStation 2 failed and to have for travel. I bought a low hours Resmed Air Sense 10 Auto from a seller that frequently has machines on a CPAP forum (CPAP and Sleep Apnea Message Board | CPAPtalk.com).
One unexpected improvement I've had in a nights sleep is I use to make about 4 trips to the bathroom at night due to apnea arousal's. The CPAP has controlled the occurrence of the apneas and I'm down to usually just one bathroom wakeup call now.

I still use the O2Ring to monitor O2 levels and heart rate and if something looks off I'll use OSCAR software to see how the nights sleep looks. The image below is a screenshot of my O2 sat levels prior to starting CPAP.

 

[kenmbz]

It takes me weeks when I get a new CPAP.
Mine allows me to have a range, which is senses, and that makes a big difference.
Mine varies from 9.5 to 11 based on data with range set 9-15.

I was lucky in that my nose pillow mask fit me well from the start, tried a few others and they did not work as well for me.

It would be nice if you could pre-try a few machine/mask combinations, but the costs and cleaning process would make that prohibitive.

I also buy my own machines after the insurance companies/medical companies always tried to give me a lesser model for a lot more money. Common scam, Machine I could buy outright for $600 was charged about $1500 to the insurance company..So bypass that, more out of my pocket, but so far I have been on better machines that work well for me.

 

[pmsmechanic]

So, do you have an s9 now? My understanding was that that ResMed's machines have settings for tapering pressure, but I'm not an expert.

I think getting the issues that you are asking for are completely reasonable, and some like getting the right mask and fit ought to be doable.

All the best,

Peter

Yes I have a S9 now. Someone here kindly sent s link so that I could download the clinical manual and get into the appropriate menus without making a mess of things.

My issue isn't with the mask but about once a week I end up sleeping with my mouth open for a while. When I wake up my mouth is thoroughly dried out and that makes me a bit growly. That the CPAP puts out more pressure to counter act this makes no sense at all.

I'm anticipating an interesting conversation with the clinician when I go get my new CPAP. The two times that they have set it up they made some stupid mistakes. The first time setup the CPAP wasn't set for auto pressure and would just blow at 17lbs all night long after the ramp up. The second time they set it up the auto pressure was enabled but the max pressure was set at 20. That was rather uncomfortable as well. When I got into the menu I set the lowest pressure right down to 4 and I would set it lower if I could. I set the max pressure at 14 which is considerably more comfortable. Like I say it'll be an interesting conversation.

 

[kenmbz]

Good luck, getting the manual is my first step as the Dr. usually don't know the specific equipment that well