StarMed CaStar – Hood for CPAP Therapy

I saw an interesting CPAP hood on Youtube today. Unfortunately, I’m skeptical of the usefulness of this hood. I would not want to wear this mask for a number of reasons. Follow along as I point out some unfortunate problems with this hood as a mask-alternative. My first impression, watching the “mission specialists” get him suited up is that he’s an astronaut. Scratchy radio: “Houston, we have a problem…”
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Example Polysomnography Report

You just got finished with your sleep study, also known as a polysomnogram or a PSG. As a patient, you have a right to receive a copy of that report in the United States. But what’s on the report you get may not be the same report your sleep doctor (Somnologist) gives your Primary Care Physician (PCP). You may get a one or two page report that doesn’t include a lot of data. You want the seven to ten page report with the extra data.

Ask for a full report with condensed graphs and all doctor’s notes.

Continue reading “Example Polysomnography Report”

ResMed S9’s Exhale Whistle

You’re very excited because you just received your ResMed S9 Autoset or Elite. You get it home, plug all the parts together, put on your mask and start drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, you can’t help but notice that every time you exhale there is a very very faint whistle coming from the S9’s rear.

It’s not that noticeable, yet for some of us, it’s a bit like the Gilligan’s Island theme song or the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song. You just can’t get it out of your head.

The sound can be slightly different from machine to machine, sometimes higher in pitch, sometimes lower, depending on year and origin of manufacture. Continue reading “ResMed S9’s Exhale Whistle”

Preferred Features for NexGen CPAP machines

CPAP models seem to change every two to three years. Soon, we’re likely to see new models that are more than a pretty makeover of the previous models. Manufacturers will have been combing the forums and looking for feedback from veteran CPAPers for the kinds of things interested CPAP users might want in their blowers.

What follows is an abridged and summarized list of the kinds of things people want to see. I’ve limited this to the two most popular models for ease of writing, but there’s no reason why a less popular model couldn’t wow us with actual options that please informed cpap e-patients. Continue reading “Preferred Features for NexGen CPAP machines”