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Permalink Reply by Rock Conner RRT on October 11, 2009 at 5:59pm

These are good arguments for we PAP geeks to throw around, but for just folks at home, the difference between the ResMed & Respironics lines are similar to the difference between comparable models of Ford & Chevrolet. Most folks just get in the damn car & drive, & most PAP users just put on the mask & go to sleep. There are a few other manufacturers with a good product or two, and many manufacturers with inferior product lines, but Respironics & ResMed are consistently at the top.

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Permalink Reply by Judy on October 11, 2009 at 11:11pm

Rock Connoe just said a mouthful of truths. And the Ford and Chevrolet comparison is a pretty darn good one. (Resmed is the Ford!)

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on October 12, 2009 at 3:38pm

Rock's right you can't go wrong here skeezix. Both are going to do what you need them to do.

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Permalink Reply by The Skeezix on October 17, 2009 at 1:45am

The DME provider prefers the Respironics over the ResMed because of something to do with an automatic pressure reduction at the start of the exhale phase. I didn't understand it all, and he couldn't explain it to me in different terms. He sounded like a record. He did mention that while the ResMed has three fixed settings for that particular parameter, the Respironics has more. (I checked the specs as best I could on their respective websites and saw that BOTH have just three preset settings.)

He claimed that if my pressure setting were say, 8 (which it is), in order to obtain the correct exhale pressure I would have to set the pressure to 11 on the ResMed, and that the Respironics did not have that problem. He explained that for that reason, his company has seen a lot of unhappiness from those who opted for the ResMed.

I don't know if the provider is giving me a sales pitch or if there is truth in what he claims.

I probably have my terminology all wrong, but hopefully somebody can understand what I'm trying to describe?

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Permalink Reply by Judy on October 17, 2009 at 9:48am

Most likely they do most of their CPAP business w/Respironics and thus get better bulk prices than with Resmed. The feature he was discussing was the expiration pressure relief: EPR w/the Resmeds and C-Flex w/the Respironics. The Resmeds provide a specific expiration pressure reduction: 1 provides 1 cm of EPR, 2 provides 2 cms and 3 provides 3 cms. Respironics has never clarified just how much pressure relief C-Flex provides at each settting to the best of my knowledge - until their newest PR SystemOne devices.

Usually you are titrated during the PAP study to the pressure that stops all or almost all events and that is the pressure scripted. Thus EPR can provide expiration pressure relief up to 3 cms, taking your pressure down to 5 cms for exhalation and back up to 8 cms for inhalation. The biggest difference as I understand it is WHEN the expiration pressure relief starts and when it returns to the titrated/scripted inhalation pressure.

Both brands provide EXCELLENT therapy. There are those very few who do seem to do better w/the algorhythm of one brand over the other but it is unusual. The major difference in the two brands from my experience has been the ease of access to and amount of data available via the LCD screen w/the Resmeds excelling in that regard.

It really boils down to YOUR preference since YOU are paying for it. It is YOUR health, YOUR therapy. If you REALLY do have a preference then it might be worth while to call your insurance company and ask what local DME providers they are contracted with. If you have the option of more than one it can be worth while to "shop" your options as that gives you more bargaining/negotiating room to get the CPAP you want. But once you've decided on which CPAP you want the MASK becomes the most important element to CPAP therapy success so a lenient mask exchange policy on the part of the DME provider becomes of paramount importance (assuming they found THE right pressure for you during your titration study).

Since both brands provide excellent therapy you might want to base your decision on which local DME provider is willing to provide the most lenient mask exchange as finding THE right MASK for YOU can be a real matter of trial and error. I must have gone thru a dozen masks before I found one that was comfortable and relatively leak free.

On the other hand, since I INSISTED on access to as much data as possible my preference was clearly for the Resmed. You need to download and printout the data to get as much data from the Respironics. And when that is done the Respironics printout of the Daily Events Per Hour table excels over Resmed's printouts. Again, six of one, half dozen of the other which brand is preferable.

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Permalink Reply by Jan on October 17, 2009 at 10:06am

I have my first appointment with the DMR and (presumably) get my equipment on Monday or shortly thereafter. I know that my doctor has indicated a Respironics machine. Do the doctors need different equipment/readers/software or whatever in order to get at the results from the ResMed machines versus the Respironics machines?

Judy said:

Most likely they do most of their CPAP business w/Respironics and thus get better bulk prices than with Resmed. The feature he was discussing was the expiration pressure relief: EPR w/the Resmeds and C-Flex w/the Respironics. The Resmeds provide a specific expiration pressure reduction: 1 provides 1 cm of EPR, 2 provides 2 cms and 3 provides 3 cms. Respironics has never clarified just how much pressure relief C-Flex provides at each settting to the best of my knowledge - until their newest PR SystemOne devices.

Usually you are titrated during the PAP study to the pressure that stops all or almost all events and that is the pressure scripted. Thus EPR can provide expiration pressure relief up to 3 cms, taking your pressure down to 5 cms for exhalation and back up to 8 cms for inhalation. The biggest difference as I understand it is WHEN the expiration pressure relief starts and when it returns to the titrated/scripted inhalation pressure.

Both brands provide EXCELLENT therapy. There are those very few who do seem to do better w/the algorhythm of one brand over the other but it is unusual. The major difference in the two brands from my experience has been the ease of access to and amount of data available via the LCD screen w/the Resmeds excelling in that regard.

It really boils down to YOUR preference since YOU are paying for it. It is YOUR health, YOUR therapy. If you REALLY do have a preference then it might be worth while to call your insurance company and ask what local DME providers they are contracted with. If you have the option of more than one it can be worth while to "shop" your options as that gives you more bargaining/negotiating room to get the CPAP you want. But once you've decided on which CPAP you want the MASK becomes the most important element to CPAP therapy success so a lenient mask exchange policy on the part of the DME provider becomes of paramount importance (assuming they found THE right pressure for you during your titration study).

Since both brands provide excellent therapy you might want to base your decision on which local DME provider is willing to provide the most lenient mask exchange as finding THE right MASK for YOU can be a real matter of trial and error. I must have gone thru a dozen masks before I found one that was comfortable and relatively leak free.

On the other hand, since I INSISTED on access to as much data as possible my preference was clearly for the Resmed. You need to download and printout the data to get as much data from the Respironics. And when that is done the Respironics printout of the Daily Events Per Hour table excels over Resmed's printouts. Again, six of one, half dozen of the other which brand is preferable.

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Permalink Reply by The Skeezix on October 19, 2009 at 5:04pm

>>You need to download and printout the data to get as much data from the Respironics.

What is required to "download"? An application? An internet connection?

Thanks for your information, it is very helpful, as were the other replies.

BTW, I along with others cannot log into the cpap forum because the Captcha that we're supposed to copy never appears. Only a red X appears I know other folks have the same problem.)

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