CPAP machine for travel

Hi Jim @thankful -- I ended up purchasing a Dreamstation Go CPAP which is a little larger than the other one I was looking at. I went with the Dreamstation Go because I'm able to sync both of the CPAPs with the app on my phone to track sleep results. I bought it a few months ago but didn't use it until this past weekend while visiting the wife's twin sister and hubby in Illiniois. I liked it so well that when I got home I unplugged the Dreamstation and put it in it's travel case and plan to make the Dreamstation Go my everyday CPAP as well as take it if I travel. I've been struggling getting my AHI numbers below four consistently and was amazed at the 3 nights away from home coming in at 1.6, 1.6, and 1.3. Then last night being the first night home was 2.2 which was still my lowest AHI recording since I started using a CPAP. I hope the low numbers continue but it may be just one of those things.

It is nice and compact and also comes with a nice cloth bag for the hose and mask. I bought the larger case that goes with it so that the humidifier fits and travels with me also.

@johnbishop
My cousin sets his bi-pap on a setting of 7. With this limited information, does anyone know what that setting does? I’m totally ignorant of these gadgets.
Thanks,
Jake

@johnbishop
My cousin sets his bi-pap on a setting of 7. With this limited information, does anyone know what that setting does? I’m totally ignorant of these gadgets.
Thanks,
Jake

@johnbishop
My cousin sets his bi-pap on a setting of 7. With this limited information, does anyone know what that setting does? I’m totally ignorant of these gadgets.
Thanks,
Jake

@jakedduck1 -- I'm pretty sure the setting of 7 is the air pressure setting prescribed by the doctor for the sleep apnea. My sleep medicine doctor prescribed a setting of 8 to 18 but it normally never gets above 12 during the night for me.

@jakedduck1
I used a CPAP for around 15 years, and bought a loaner unit from the supply store for travel. I got tired of packing and unpacking my machine.

But a year or two ago my sleep doctor had me do a sleep study, and from what they saw they changed me to a BIPAP. CPAP means constant air pressure. The BIPAP only puts out pressure on my inhale. The setting I have is 12. I think that indicates the pressure.

AHI? I suppose that means the number of apneic events per hour. With the BIPAP, I almost always have numbers below 1.

I used a full face mask for years, and had ongoing issues with leaking. Not very nice for my wife. My machine is ResMed, and now I use nasal pillows. Of course, because I move around at night, my mask gets pushed out of place, but the air leakage is much quieter with the nasal pillows. I imagine that having a beard made it impossible to maintain a seal with the full face mask.

I've been a mouth breather all of my life until the ENT doctor corrected my deviated septum. I had never been able to breathe through my left nostril, and my right one wasn't the best, either. WOW! After surgery I could breathe through my nose! It was a great feeling.

Anyway, because I was a mouth breather for 50 years, my brain still is programed that way. So I wear a chin strap, which is semi effective. To prevent me from opening my mouth completely, I'd have to tighten the strap so tight that it would be painful.

As I age, I find that I must become more adaptable. I've heard about people being set in their ways, but that's not the way to live comfortably in an aging body.

So now I have only one machine, but since we moved 13 years ago, going to a doctor or Walmart or Costco is no longer a 3 hour drive (each way). We had to spend the night in a motel at least once a month, and it was nice to have a machine packed and ready to go.

It's about time to do what I've been writing about. I'm glad you guys are doing well with your sleep.

Jim

@jimhd
Thanks Jim, glad your breathing better with your repaired nose. So is it common to lower the pressure setting when switching from cpap to bipap. My cousin used 7 with his ccap, should he decrease it now with the bipap. Sorry I’m so ignorant.
Jake

Hi @jimhd, I also have a deviated septum and have issues with my right nostril always being plugged up and hard to breathe. My sleep doctor told me it wouldn't fix my obstructive sleep apnea but I'm thinking I might have it fixed anyway for the reason you mentioned about breathing being so much better. Psst...how old were you went you had the septoplasty? I'm 76 and wondering if I'll have any issues with the surgery.

@jakedduck1 I don't know the details of the pressure. My doctor just set it up. It stayed at 12 when I made the switch.