Sleep Apnea

[sleepingvader]

I recently became nicknamed Sleeping Vader by my 7 yr old son because of the sound of my CPAP machine. I'm renting CPAPs through www.bestcpapprice.com, and their great and inexpensive, but I'm hoping you all can tell me which CPAPs are the quietest, as my wife is a relatively light sleeper, I'm also having trouble finding a machine that doesn't irritate my eyes, I could barely open them two days ago. Or if anyone knows where I could find a good list of good machines that would be great. Thanks everyone.
~John

[brendasue]

I have a have a RemstarPro M series. It makes no noise and it has a built in Humidifier which is great during the cold months when the central heat dries out the air so bad. My sleep disorder doctor also prescribed Flonase to use at bedtime to help with the congestion you sometimes get using the machine for awhile. I just dont like the nasal masks as it is hard for me to sleep with something stuck in my nose. Its not that it is uncomfortable, its a mentsl thing.

[mbg]

I would refer you to a news article on Kusa9 News Denver, Colorado under the Health section that refers to the Pillar Procedure. It's called Snore No More. Also I have read about implant procedures and surgeries that often corrects sleep apnea assosiated with deviated septums, soft pallates, etc.

I have emailed 3 Ear, Nose and Throat Doctors and as of yet received no response.

My wife has to use google search engine and not firefox to find them.

Good luck. I failed at CPAP. I woke up with nightmares.

mbg [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed]

[LaDonna]

I have recently started using the same machine that you use and have noticed that I have nasal congestion after using it at night. This is all new to me I have only started my third week with my machine. The first two nights were great! I felt much better during the day. Then for the next four days I had what seemed like a terrible cold. I had nasal drainage and my ears hurt. I couldn't use my machine during this time. I have used it every night after that. And I still get congested but not as servere as those four days. What should I do? My pressure is set at 12 and I use the nasal mask. I turned the humidifier down from 2 to 1.

[SnorzAllNight]

Hey sleepingvader. There are two possible sources of noise; the machine and the interface (mask) exhalation valve. I'm going to bet your noise comes from the mask exhaust and not the machine. I have a Remstar Auto M Series with Cflex and it is absolutely silent. The nasal mask exhaust makes a hushing sound that varies in pitch with inhalation and exhalation. The Cflex feature makes the mask less pressurized during exhalation, so less air is vented than with a fixed pressure CPAP. Also, the APAP device only supplies the air needed to keep the air passages open, rather than a fixed prescribed pressure. All of this means, I may hiss a bit, but I don't sound like Vader.

Additional benefits of this system is it logs the usage hours, maximum, minimum and 90% pressure, mask leakage, snore index, AHI and other features that my doctor can use to evaluate therapy effectiveness, or that I can use with the optional EncoreView software to see what's going on and provide feedback to my doctor. If you don't have time or money to spend on sleep and titration studies, an APAP and smartcard recorder are ways you can finally take control and prove your needs so you get the right prescriptions. Most doctors can see the win/win of a patient taking control of their therapy and providing knowledgeable feedback. Getting a script for an Auto CPAP with humidifier and smartcard should be a no brainer. Out of pocket these systems can cost over $1300 to buy with all the accessories, and rental costs won't be the cheapest. Having more control over your therapy and having the best equipment that delivers what you need, when you need it is more likely to keep you in compliance, since you can see the results and feel more comfortable.

Best of luck to you and good for you keeping your family involved in your therapy. 7-year olds need a lot of reassurance that this is a good thing for dad, and you need to continue therapy to be there and healthy when he really needs you...to look after the grandkids. :)