I am a newly diagnosed apnea patient, 4 months on a borrowed cpap.  You all have been very helpful a couple of times in the past.  Many thanks.

A couple more questions.  My sleep test showed 4% REM sleep, 108 apnea events per hour, 52 seconds max duration and 65% O2.

After a total of four night studies (three on equipment), my studies generated a lot of conflicting data; the best I ever achieved was 17 or 20 events per hour at a pressure of 17.  None of these were neurological centrals; they may have been caused by the machines themselves.  

I am 5'10'', weigh 205#, neck 16-1/2.  My blood pressure used to be 145+; with the treatment so far, it is consistantly 98/60. Pulse 62.

I am otherwise healthy and like the outdoors so much of my weight may be muscle.

Also, after some comparison, I have full confidence in the quality and dedication of my sleep lab staff and attending physician.

After 4 months on an auto (non cflex), today, I have just gotten my brand new REMstar auto-bipap with bi-flex. The first one in my area.  I even got to meet the REMstar rep!  I am so excited!  So I have lots of questions.

Four months ago, my therapists told me to use auto set between 8 and 18. As I said, my studies contained conflicting data but despite this, I had hoped that nightly the machine would self adjust to 17.  According to the data card, sometimes it did but it was just as likely to record a distribution between 13 and 19. I discovered this as I got the card read several times during the first few weeks. I correlated these records with how I felt the following days.

With my correlation I was granted permission to adjust the machine; eventually I got it to 17/20 which seemed to work the best for me.

My new bi-pap is set between 12 and 18 on the exhale side, a max gap of 9 and max inhale of 22 or 23.

Is a bi-pap significantly different than a cpap that I might want to experiment further?

Will a bi-pap provide better relief generally than cpap, especially regarding my min. number of episodes at 17/hr.

Do you have any idea whether I can have any hope that my central apneas caused by a machine (or at least not neulogical) go away with time?

I suppose I'll find out, but can people on bi-paps get by more readily with out a humidified than they can on a cpap?  After all, I would really like the avoid the extra cleaning.

Since I had 108 episodes, and 120 seems to be the max, does this mean that at more than 120 a person is dead? After all holding ones breath 2 times per minute  is bad. I killed me.
  
Finally, do you have any advice about cleaning which my be extra to the instruction manual.  

Is there anyway to shore up  hoses against leaking on their strees points?

My insurance is United; they will only pay for a mask and hose 1/yr so I have to make the things last as long as possible.

Any more advice?

Again,  thanks.