I am wondering what machine would be best for me.  I have been using a CPAP for about 6 weeks now I have the Remstar plus with C-flex.  I am having a bit of a hard time getting used to it.  I am sleeping for about an hour and a half then I am awake for about 2 hours then back to sleep for an hour and half and back up.  My Doctor did write me a perscription for the Resmed Spirt (Auto Cpap) but Apria forgot to order it last week and they claim it should be in tomorrow.  But I am wondering if it is worth switching.  I am fairly okay with the pressure set on the machine I have now.  Is there any down side to the Auto that I dont know about, I have read that there are some medical conditions that would make you think twice about using an autopap and none of those apply to me.  

I just want the best machine possible to help me sleep at night.  Does the machine matter or is it me that still needs to work on it?  


Thanks for your advise

Well, a couple of questions...

What is your pressure at?  If it is fairly low, an APAP won't make much of a difference.

Is the Cflex setting on your machine turned on?  In my opinion, with average pressure, (near 10)  Exhalation relief does more than any other gadget.

What kind of mask?  The mask is the KEY to getting good therapy.  Get the wrong one, and you will be fighting it the whole way...

I agree with Mike that the mask is THE most important compliance issue, it should be comfortable and seal well.

Do you have a Heated Humidifier...to keep the nasal passages well hydrated and clear?

The CFlex has three setting options, have you tried all three expiration relief levels...have you tried turning it OFF....you might be one of the people for whom the changing pressure causes awakenings.....if you can exhale well against a fixed pressure....you might sleep better without the constantll pressure change and motor sounds that go along.

I have an autopap....and a cpap....sleep equally well on either.............absolutely no advantage regarding "staying asleep" with one over the other.

Thank you for your response.  The pressure on the CPAP machine is currently set to 12.  Acording to my titration study most of my time would be well spent with a pressure of 9 but there are a few times during the night that I need it to be higer that is why it is set at a 12.  

I do use the heated humidifer and agree on how important that is, for the first week I did not have one and the second week I did, It was a diffrence of night and day the heated humidifer is a must.  

I use the ramp setting when I first lay down it is set for 30 mins ( I think).

I use the Ultra Mirage full face mask, because I can not breath out of my nose.  I seem to do Okay with the mask.  I have a few leaks while I get adjusted in bed but dont remember being awaken by any leaks during the night.  I am often bothered by the heat from the humidifer in the mask, it bothers me to have the hot air on my face.  But I dont think that is the main reason I am not sleeping during the night.  

I hope that helps with anyother posts from people.  I really enjoy getting responses from people who seem to know about this.  Thanks again in advance for your future replys.

IMO I think an APAP is good and far more useful than a CPAP. For one thing an APAP can run in CPAP mode and be used that way. Another important factor is that you have data from each night's sleep that can reveal how you are doing, sleep wise, when used in the automode. Of course this data will be no where near what an actual sleep study gives but still is an accurate record of the data you want to know about. As anyone on OSA treatment knows certain sleep positions require certain pressures to keep OSA at bay. For example, sleeping on your back (the position most apt to create OSA) will require a higher pressure to keep the tongue from falling to the back of the throat (which would create an OSA) than say lying on either of your sides. Therefore, if your 2nd sleep study only accounted for a pressure setup while sleeping on your side (no pressure setup for back sleeping) then you could still have an OSA event if you were to end up sleeping on your back (not a good situation) . Furthermore, if you were sleeping on your sides more than you sleep on your back, why would you want to have the extra pressure exerted on you when an APAP would adjust down to a lower pressure that would still keep your airway open. The adjustment down could be as high as 6cm H2O drop. Wow! Some people tend to adjust better to an APAP than a CPAP yet for others it is the direct opposite. Sleep studies do have the tendency to give a pressure setting that may not be quite correct for you due to a different sleep environment then what you are use to, uncomfortable (resulting in poor sleep) due to the wiring up of your head/body and possible introduction of a sleeping pill which would have the tendency to relax your body even more than normal. An APAP would account for this because the settings would normally be 1 to 3cm H2O lower than your titrated value and 3 to 4cm higher than the titrated value. Finally, if you purchased an APAP that your sleep doctor uses you could easily either hand the raw data off to him or sit down and discuss the compiled data thus allowing you to participate in the making of decisions in your treatment.

I agree with the others when they say the mask is the most important factor. If the mask is not comfortable and one you can sleep with then your compliance to this treatment will be nil.