British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association

Hello all here !

I learned that I had OSA only about 8 months and have already been through surgery (did not improve my condition significantly other than easing breathing whilst awake) and have just ordered a CPAP machine online (PR System one Remstar).

I hope to have something to contribute in the months to come once I get the machine, and will no doubt have many questions at the start.

I am currently in S. Korea so getting advice on machine settings, mask adjustment and just general advice on the machine and my condition is going to be a long distance thing I fear.

I have taken the step of ordering the machine without a sleep trial because I just can't carry on with the kind of sleep I am getting at present, so a bit of a 'panic' buy I suppose.

Lastly, I just wanted to say that I ordered the machine online from CPAP.com in the US and it seems like a good deal at present with the exchange rate as it is and the offers I got when ordering.

Sleep tight everyone

MJS

Hi and welcome.

You seem to have made significant strides in getting your OSA diagnosed, and getting a machine BUT you really shouldn't be using a CPAP machine without having the amount of pressure you need calculated by a doctor. It isn't a 'one size fits all' thing and you could do yourself more damage by using it without having your pressure determined by a doc.

Although you are in South Korea, there must be some hospital there that would be able to do a titration study for you - there must be an American hospital or even a UK or US community somewhere. Please take the time and pay the cash to contact them. If you are prepared to buy a CPAP without a sleep study, this implies not only that the problem is serious but also that you have a certain amount of money to invest in your treatment. If you are going to make this investment DO IT RIGHT!!!

I am rather shocked that any company - even an American one because they are sticklers for going through the right channels or risk being sued - would send you a CPAP without a doctor's prescription. And if a doc DID issue you a prescription without having conducted a sleep study to see what your requirements are and the safe limits for your treatment, I'd be asking to see proof of this doc's qualifications.

I would steer well clear of ANY company supplying xPAP machines without a doctor's prescription and without details of what it should be set at. This type of company is putting people's lives in danger for financial gain;

Please be very careful; you are in danger of harming yourself more ... get a sleep study done - or why not contact the association who runs this website and make an appointment with them to get one done when you're back in the UK on home leave or even take leave specifically to get one done. Your health is very important and it's great that you are pro-actively helping yourself, but without the full information, you could do more harm than good.

Now are you advertising the machine or the web site?

Or are you really a first time poster?
If you are you didn't say what type of mask you bought?

Looks like another one slipped through the net !!!!

Nice ad matey !!!

Try the NHS its free



You are the weakest link -goodbye .

gosh you are a bit paranoid aren't you? since when was there an NHS in South Korea?

If you've ordered a fixed pressure CPAP then you've probably wasted your money as it's difficult to manually titrate unless you know what you are doing and is not much good without a prescribed pressure. If you've ordered an auto then it's not so bad. It would be much more ideal for you to have someone checking on you to ensure you are getting optimal treatment. a certain manufacturer I'm not going to advertise (makes the machine you ordered ) runs a private service where you can send them the data from your machine and someone checks it for you. Disclaimer: Other companies exist and offer a similar service and I'm not endorsing any of them including the above ) If you were in the uk I'd definitely say you'd do better with the NHS but I don't know what the health care system is like where you are. Using an APAP without a sleep study is not a problem in itself. Some major sleep centres go straight to a trial of APAP in those with highly suggestive histories of OSA, but they are then monitored by highly specialist physiologists, nurses or physiotherapists, with access to a consultant. Their GP will also have taken a detailed history and checked for a number of potential other problems. You should therefore make sure you get yourself medically checked out and monitored on your CPAP. also CPAP is more difficult after surgery (I assume you've had a UPPP) for instance you are unlikely to get on with a nasal mask. Another reason for seeing someone and not just self treating.