Returning to CPAP, to upgrade or not upgrade?

[dannythemuppet]

Hey all,

I posted original in the newbie forum here (warning, text heavy), but on Pugsy's advice, I'm starting a new topic, with some less text, more detail.

Background
I was diagnosed 6 or 7 years back with moderate sleep apnea, and sold a Remstar M-Series A Flex machine, which I couldn't get used to. I had surgery for a deviated septum, had the turbinates ground, and got rid of the sleep apnea. I had multiple sleep studies that confirmed no more apnea. Recently I got finally got diagnosed with narcolepsy, but during the MSLT they discovered my sleep apnea was back.

I think the return of the sleep apnea is my own fault, lack of exercise and poor diet. I broke my hand and tore ligaments while playing ultimate Frisbee just over a year ago which stopped me from being able to lift anything properly with my hand so I stopped lifting weights, and then a further groin injury stopped me running, so I put on about 25lbs, which I'm pretty sure is why the sleep apnea is back. At 167 my sleep study showed no apnea, less than a year later, at 192 I'm at the mild/moderate level. I know that surgery doesn't always work for sleep apnea, but I'm (overly?) confident it's my weight gain so I'm already working on that.

I really don't like using the machine, as a lot of people don't. I hate having things on my head/face (I rarely wear sunglasses, and pretty much never wear a hat), and even with the narcolepsy, the noise of the machine is enough to keep me awake. However, with that said, thanks to reading areas of this site, I made adjustments to my machine, went from 15 minutes, to 2.5 hours a night, and finally I am now up to 7 hours a night, although some nights I have to rip the mask off because no matter how tired I am, I can't handle it.

Questions
I have a few questions, but as they're based around my current machine and hatred of it (I think it's controlled by Skynet), I'll explain that part first. As I mentioned, I have an older Remstar M-Series A Flex (I think they were made before man landed on the moon), and I hate the machine for these reasons:

• It is super loud, I got the whisper cap, and it is still obnoxious. I'm looking into other solutions to make it quieter.
• It emits crazy amounts of LED light, which is terrible design, so I use a t-shirt on top to counteract that.
• The humidifier seems to do nothing unless I have it up high, and then of course I get rainout.
• The interface for accessing the data, or making modifications is terrible.

With that said, the actual questions:

1. Is it really worth spending the money to get a modern machine? (Thank you Pugsy for your answers in the other thread)
2. Has anyone else made a jump from technology built by the druids to modern technology also? If so was it worth it? (I don't mean financially, I don't care about the cost, it's the benefits)

[palerider]

the current machines are hugely better. not only the fact that they're dark, but they're much smarter, and use sd cards so the data is easy to get, and they'e supported by sleepyhead, which you can read about in many other posts.

[BlackSpinner]

If you had problems before it is worth your while to get a quiet data capable machine so you can track your issues.
The other issue is rainout which totally disappears with a heated hose.
You other major concern is mask comfort. There are many masks on the market now. There are also mask liners available. And of course there is a whole community here to help cheer you on.

[Pugsy]

Based on your answers to my question "what do you hate about the M series"...
yes...the newer models are more likely to please you...quieter, your can turn off the annoying lights, with the heated hoses available you can eliminate rain out along with allowing greater customization of the humidity amount delivered...and with the SD cards you have easy access to the data and that data is more comprehensive anyway. Software is free...links in my signature. No special card readers are needed to access the SD card data unless your computer doesn't have a slot for the SD card but even then a cheap generic card reader/adapter so you can use one of the USB ports will work.
No more big smart cards and the pricey Smart card reader needed with the M series.

Like I told you before (or at least I think I did)...I started my therapy 5 years ago with the M series machine you have...and I have moved on to the newer models as they became available. I bought all my machines out of pocket (good deals can be found) and have never for one second regretted moving on to new technology.

[Wulfman...]

Lots of people had mixed experiences with the M Series machines.
On the other hand, lots of people have commented on the forum that some of the newer ones have had their "issues", too.
It's "the luck of the draw". Meaning you may get a good one (quiet, no issues, etc.) or you may not.

But, given the choices, I'd probably take my chances with a newer model than another (or staying with an) M Series machine.

I like my older Legacy models (pre-M Series), but they're getting harder to find in decent condition, too. They were made during the "pre-druids" age, but they're still darned good machines. They were "state-of-the-art" data-capable machines 7-10 years ago and still provide effective therapy and tell me how it's working......so, I'm NOT updating......EVER.


Den

.

[Guest]

While what you said about the M series is true...

As I mentioned, I have an older Remstar M-Series A Flex (I think they were made before man landed on the moon), and I hate the machine for these reasons:

It is super loud, I got the whisper cap, and it is still obnoxious. I'm looking into other solutions to make it quieter.
It emits crazy amounts of LED light, which is terrible design, so I use a t-shirt on top to counteract that.
The humidifier seems to do nothing unless I have it up high, and then of course I get rainout.
The interface for accessing the data, or making modifications is terrible.

The Aflex machines do provide excellent therapy.

But certainly so do the newer machines. And don't forget to ask for the heated hose option if rainout was/is a problem for you.

[jacobsbd]

If you can put it almost on the floor or lower that the bed you might find that that helps with the sound and other issues

[dannythemuppet]

Thanks for the replies folks. I will look into upgrading, I'll trawl the forums to figure out the model I'll buy, but definitely one that I can read the data in SleepyHead.

[archangle]

There are recommendations on machines in the links in my signature line.