Philip J Fry said:

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If you have an aircurve, I think bi pap is built into it?

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Resmed Aircurve 11. It has some bipap functionality but not the same as a normal bipap allegedly.

Cromagnum said:

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Philip J Fry said:

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If you have an aircurve, I think bi pap is built into it?

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Resmed Aircurve 11. It has some bipap functionality but not the same as a normal bipap allegedly.

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This could get WAY into the weeds, but do you know why you have central sleep apnea? It's often cardiac in origin. If you do not have a significant cardiac issue, perhaps they could let you run a while in autoPAP, with a V-com device attached for comfort, and see if your central events go away or lessen. It would certainly be better than not treating your apnea. BiPAP is becoming less and less used outside of people with obesity hypoventilation or significant pulmonary issues (emphysema, etc.).

Kool said:

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Cromagnum said:

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Philip J Fry said:

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If you have an aircurve, I think bi pap is built into it?

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Resmed Aircurve 11. It has some bipap functionality but not the same as a normal bipap allegedly.

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This could get WAY into the weeds, but do you know why you have central sleep apnea? It's often cardiac in origin. If you do not have a significant cardiac issue, perhaps they could let you run a while in autoPAP, with a V-com device attached for comfort, and see if your central events go away or lessen. It would certainly be better than not treating your apnea. BiPAP is becoming less and less used outside of people with obesity hypoventilation or significant pulmonary issues (emphysema, etc.).

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Don't know why. Only cardiac issue is high blood pressure and high cholesterol. On medication for both for years. For all i know it's the bull**** emergent kind that only shows up when you are on CPAP

Cromagnum said:

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Kool said:

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Cromagnum said:

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Philip J Fry said:

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If you have an aircurve, I think bi pap is built into it?

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Resmed Aircurve 11. It has some bipap functionality but not the same as a normal bipap allegedly.

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This could get WAY into the weeds, but do you know why you have central sleep apnea? It's often cardiac in origin. If you do not have a significant cardiac issue, perhaps they could let you run a while in autoPAP, with a V-com device attached for comfort, and see if your central events go away or lessen. It would certainly be better than not treating your apnea. BiPAP is becoming less and less used outside of people with obesity hypoventilation or significant pulmonary issues (emphysema, etc.).

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Don't know why. Only cardiac issue is high blood pressure and high cholesterol. On medication for both for years. For all i know it's the bull**** emergent kind that only shows up when you are on CPAP

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What did your diagnostic study show in terms of central events per hour (including mixed apneas and hypopnea) versus obstructive events? If the centrals are treatment emergent events, the answer is to treat the obstructive events with PAP and monitor over time, as they will often go away. AutoPAP with a nasal mask (especially nasal pillows) with one or two in-line V-Com devices is the way to go for comfort for most people. Did you just have a split study, where they did the first half of the night in diagnostic mode and the second half in therapeutic mode? Again, if the central events were not present during a diagnostic study in significant numbers, just treat the obstructive events and follow.

I don't remember the numbers now since the study was back in February. 1st night was a split study, where they ended with Bipap and said I had enough central events to warrant ASV. I did night two on ASV and didn't fall asleep at all so the data was probably absolute crap.

So if the diagnostic portion did not have a preponderance of central events, do APAP and see if the centrals go away

Kool said:

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So if the diagnostic portion did not have a preponderance of central events, do APAP and see if the centrals go away

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Even though they claim there are no refunds / returns, they magically have a trial program for a bipap to let me try out starting tomorrow. I already told them I'm not buying anything else from them since they pushed a useless ASV on me.

Yeah. Sounds like a bunch of ****s to me.

They loaned me one of these auto bipaps, but I can already tell this isn't going to work either. I sat there for 2 hours and could not fall asleep with this thing on. Took it off and slept without it. Pretty well convinced im not treatable.

Cromagnum said:

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They loaned me one of these auto bipaps, but I can already tell this isn't going to work either. I sat there for 2 hours and could not fall asleep with this thing on. Took it off and slept without it. Pretty well convinced im not treatable.

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Maybe you're a candidate for that "Inspire" implanted device?? I don't know much about it but a friend has it and says it works well for her….

88Warrior said:

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Cromagnum said:

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They loaned me one of these auto bipaps, but I can already tell this isn't going to work either. I sat there for 2 hours and could not fall asleep with this thing on. Took it off and slept without it. Pretty well convinced im not treatable.

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Maybe you're a candidate for that "Inspire" implanted device?? I don't know much about it but a friend has it and says it works well for her….

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Not interested in getting something implanted. That's a non-starter for me.

Cromagnum said:

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88Warrior said:

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Cromagnum said:

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They loaned me one of these auto bipaps, but I can already tell this isn't going to work either. I sat there for 2 hours and could not fall asleep with this thing on. Took it off and slept without it. Pretty well convinced im not treatable.

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Maybe you're a candidate for that "Inspire" implanted device?? I don't know much about it but a friend has it and says it works well for her….

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Not interested in getting something implanted. That's a non-starter for me.

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It's too invasive for my liking as well…just threw it out there as possible option….hopefully you figure something out…

PA at this place tried to tell me that the inspiration pressures are as low as they can be set. Bull***** I looked up how to engage the clinicians menu and dialed that **** down to a more reasonable level. They had this **** nearly pegged to max and felt like my lungs were being overinflated yesterday.

I would rather get some relief and still be able to sleep than to be at some crazy high pressure that would stop most apnea events if it didn't also prevent all sleep.

Suggest you just ****ing titrate it yourself. Start with the lowest setting. Raise it gradually every couple nights until the apnea numbers get better

I give up. I tried the loaner auto bipap for a couple of weeks and can't even fall asleep with it no matter how low I set it. Looks like im just going to have to live with untreated apnea. 4 months I've tried and tried, but nothing works.

Went to an ENT who suggested I do minimally invasive turbinate reduction with the laser treatment. Did that about 5-6 weeks ago, and while I can breath through my nose somewhat better, I am still completely intolerant of any form of CPAP, BiPAP, ASV. Sleep docs won't take my useless and expensive ASV back so I'm going to try to sell it outright.

Not a candidate for Inspire due to severity of apnea, but I'm not willing to get an implant anyways. Gonna try the mouth guard route to see if I can at least put some kind of dent in this. Normally thats for folks with light to perhaps moderate apnea, so im not the best candidate for that either. Otherwise, I'm basically untreatable.

I did cpap for almost a year. While I slept better, minimal- no snoring, got to where I couldn't keep the mask n place. Have used an oral apnea appliance and love it. Sleeping well, no snoring, etc.

General Jack D. Ripper said:

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So I've been using my nose mask CPAP for about 2 weeks. I'm up to about 7.5 of use per night. I still have some difficulty getting used to it. The only complaint is that it tickles my nose, but I'll get used to it.

Unfortunately, I can't lose weight to improve my sleep apnea. I'm already a healthy weight. I was just born with a mouth made for sleep apnea.

If anyone is snoring, I highly recommend getting a sleep test. I'm scared to say that it's changed my life at the risk things go back to my prior "normal." Previously, I was waking up in the mornings with FEAR, anxiety and dread. I really thought that I was in a years long depression.

All I looked forward to was a nap every day at lunch (but couldn't because the anxiety was out of control). I experienced constant anxiety all day. My business was stagnant and I had zero motivation or drive. All I wanted was to just get through the day. I had no motivation to exercise or engage in hobbies.

I tried everything except for medicine: Wim Hof breathing, yoga, meditation, Stoicism, Buddhism (ok, well that kind of stuck), nootropics, therapy (oh your constant rumination is OCD), CBD, consumerism, and on and on and on.

I was at a loss, so I researched the issue a few months ago. I learned that gasping for air all night and not sleeping makes a person wake up with insane cortisol levels. This lead to my fear, anxiety and dread. Also, I guess not sleeping right for years takes a toll on the body.

I seriously hope this isn't some sort of sleep apnea pink cloud, because I feel like my old self again: motivated, fearless and able to enjoy life. I woke up at 5 this morning because I didn't want to sleep anymore.

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Bumping this thread, it's a great one. Thanks, everyone, for the info!

Wanted to see how everyone is doing. General Jack, are you still using your CPAP? How's the anxiety level?


I had a home sleep study, which I've been putting off for years. I can't remember the exact device, but it was a watch/pulse oximeter on my hand, a device that went around my chest for positional measurement. I know these aren't the gold standard, but insurance won't cover the in-lab without multiple of these, and then in-lab would be $725.


Average AHI was 13.6/hr. 15.4 when sleeping on my back (25% of the night), 13.1 when on my side (75% of the night). RDI of 17.3/hr. "Snoring was present". There were only 2 mins under 88 sp02%, lowest at 83%. Hypoxic burden of 17.26%.

I'm 6ft - 185lbs so I could lose a few, but not too overweight.

My symptoms are just feeling generally tired, but not so much that I am falling asleep every day. But we have 3 young kids (9,7,3), and I can't tell if the tiredness is from the parenting stress or apnea. If I get less than 6-7 hours, I feel like death and can barely function, nausea and all. I've had a lot of anxiety and have to be proactive, or it will go off the rails, hard. It will impact my sleep, so now I am wondering if it's a feedback loop with anxiety + apnea.

I'm trying to decide what to do next. The NP essentially said sleeping on my back is moderate apnea, while sleeping on my side is borderline. She steered me towards a mandibular advancement device, but after reading this thread, I'm not sure it's worth it. The maintenance on the APAP/CPAP also looks like a lot, especially for "mild" apnea.


Where did most of you buy the CPAP? Insurance appears to cover 0% until we hit the deductible, so I'm wondering about just straight-up private pay. Hell this site has AirSense 10 for $499.99 with code BESTDEAL

I have mild sleep apnea and have used a cpap (Airsense 11) for a few years now. My wife made me get one after we got married…

I have noticed a significant improvement in my sleep. I never realized how bad my sleep was pre-cpap. I'm able to fall asleep faster, sleep all night without waking up randomly, and feel refreshed even after 6 or so hours.

I realize there's like 3 posters on page one who had bad experiences with the mandibular advancement device and I would say that if you are prone to having jaw issues or have a lot of dental restorations or teeth in anyway compromised then it may not be a great treatment modality. There's also a chance that these posters had their adjustment set way too far forward if they were having that many issues. I've had dozens of patients successfully use and love a MAD appliance including a handful of friends who say they sleep fantastic. They can require some adjustments to get comfortable and some getting used to no doubt.

You'll also see many posters having issues with CPAP so it's not a magic wand and you have to find out what's right for you. Unfortunately that could mean trying a few different methods which means spending $ but there are worse things we've spent our money on I'm sure.

I didn't think about the first part regarding dental work. I unfortunately mouth breathe at night and have had tons of dental work, I think there's a correlation. Mid 30s with a couple of crowns and many cavities already, and I take excellent care of my teeth.

I was evaluated by 1 ENT who didn't think I was a candidate for septum repair. Maybe I'll get another opinion.

Looks like a MAD is going to cost be $1275 because my insurance sucks. I'm leaning toward just jumping for the AirSense 10 CPAP for $500 and realizing it might be months before I get it dialed in. (Or the 11 for $639)

AgsMyDude said:

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I didn't think about the first part regarding dental work. I unfortunately mouth breathe at night and have had tons of dental work, I think there's a correlation. Mid 30s with a couple of crowns and many cavities already, and I take excellent care of my teeth.

I was evaluated by 1 ENT who didn't think I was a candidate for septum repair. Maybe I'll get another opinion.

Looks like a MAD is going to cost be $1275 because my insurance sucks. I'm leaning toward just jumping for the AirSense 10 CPAP for $500 and realizing it might be months before I get it dialed in. (Or the 11 for $639)

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I know they are supposed to be similar but my 10 started messing up and I bought an 11 and slept much better with it. With the 10 I could not sleep with a pressure range… it would shoot the pressure up too fast and leak and wake me up so I just set it to one static pressure and slept better that way. Now that I have the 11 I have it on a range and it smoothly transitions if it changes pressure and it doesn't wake me up.

I have lost 35 pounds since last year and my top pressure keeps dropping as I lose weight. My ENT thinks I can get rid of it if I get to a healthy weight. I hope he is right. I still struggle to fall asleep with it at times and sometimes wake up with leaks when I roll over in my sleep. I am hoping to be CPAP free by August if I can keep losing 1 pound a week.

In my opinion, that's a great price for that device. That's about our cash fee as most insurances don't cover it and it's a complete pain in the butt to get medical insurance to play ball. The office is that can make it work with medical insurance often in charge three to $4000 which is wild to me.

lazuras_dc said:

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In my opinion, that's a great price for that device. That's about our cash fee as most insurances don't cover it and it's a complete pain in the butt to get medical insurance to play ball. The office is that can make it work with medical insurance often in charge three to $4000 which is wild to me.

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It is definitely a good price. I got my 11 from cpapnation.com and it was $900. They have it slightly cheaper now if you give them your cell number they text a discount code.

That's awesome, nice work!

lazuras_dc said:

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In my opinion, that's a great price for that device. That's about our cash fee as most insurances don't cover it and it's a complete pain in the butt to get medical insurance to play ball. The office is that can make it work with medical insurance often in charge three to $4000 which is wild to me.

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My only hesitation is that I'd be sort of flying blind without in person mask fittings. My sleep doc wanted $1,300 for the 11 for cash price. But that included a setup appointment with the respiratory therapist, mask fittings, etc.

Insurance definitely sucks on this front, it all feels like a scam getting set up

Although I did find that Resmed has templates you can print and cut out for each mask.

https://shop.resmed.com/GB/en/find-the-right-size

My APAP script says 7-20cm H20 so maybe I start there and dial it in as needed

I didn't find my appointments very useful. I didn't really get stuff that worked until I tinkered with the settings on the CPAP and tried different things from a full face mask, to nasal mask, nasal pillows, hybrid mask and I eventually settled on nasal pillows with snore tape. You can do a fit test on your own when you set the machine up. I would just get two sizes to try at first. You will likely be a medium and if your nose is more narrow then also try a small and if it is wider then also try a large.