Hello everyone! my name is John and im from the Philippines (please forgive me if my english is bad) i really need and would greatly appreciate your advice and expertise on my situation
so 2 months ago i suddenly started waking up 5 hours into my sleep with heartburn and a racing heart with gasping for air and i thought it would just be a one night thing. went to the doctor and got prescribed sleeping aids it helped a little but i will still waking up after a few hours into my sleep with racing heart and gapsing for air
i had all sorts of tests done to check for heart failure which all came normal except for a leaky valve which the doctor said was normal and everybody gets also had an MRI on my head that just said something along the lines of "Normal Migraine" because i was also getting some headaches
im a fairly young 22 year old guy who is 5'7 170 lbs currently (used to be 190 and had hypertension or pre-hypertension before 140/90 blood pressure but has since gotten better) im not aware of me ever snoring or breathing through my mouth i really just suddenly wake up few hours into my sleep with a racing heart and gasping for air
after checking and trying everything,i found out about sleep apnea and CPAP and it seemed worth it to try but just when i was about to schedule for a sleep study the lockdown hit the city due to covid-19 and now there no way to get even a home sleep study done especially without a doctors prescription.
i kept searching for solutions until i stumbled upon a website that offered a 7 day trial program for a 2nd hand auto CPAP machine in which if you are not satisfied you get your money back except for the cost of the mask and hose which is brand new. they said that i would not have to play with any settings because the CPAP machine was automatic and that it would adjust to my breathing pattern and was perfectly safe. just as i made the payment thru paypal and waited for the machine to be delivered, the next day they said that due to concern over the safety of covid 19 they are suspending the trial program and i either have two choices ,i can either have my money refunded or i purchase the 2nd hand machine from them with no more possibility of a refund since the purchase would be final, but because they were the only company in here offering a machine without a prescription or sleep test and i was so tired and desperate to find a solution for my sleep that i just bit the bullet and bought their 2nd hand machine which is a Phillips Resperonics System One Remstar auto A Flex with 1740 machine hours on it. i bought it for 25k Php which is 490 in USD including the mask and hose. they were also offering brand new machines and newer models but i could not afford them (between 70k and 80k php , 1300-1500 in USD) they offer installments with credit card but because of the covid-19 again it was currently suspended.
In hindsight i really should have done more research before i purchased it and not after the fact. i did more research and alot of my searches said how dangerous and unsanitary it was to use a 2nd hand used cpap machine that aside from covid19 i could get tubercolosis ,bronchitis ,pneumonia and all sorts of other respiratory problems that might even worsen my condition. some of my searches said that its actually relatively safe to buy and use a 2nd hand machine as long as you change filter, humidifier chamber and new set of hose and mask. i have the new mask and hose covered but the 2nd hand unit came with its used humidifier chamber and filter so im not sure whether its enough to soak the water chamber and filter in soap and water or i should get a brand new filter and water chamber which i dont even know if they have any for this model. so ive had the machine just sitting here for days and still not sure if i should give it a try or not risk it. the mask is another thing too , its a nasal mask that came with it with three sizes to select from. not sure if it will work efficitively on me but since i dont breathe from my mouth when i sleep nor do i snore i figured it would be the best choice also because the full face mask has three seperate sizes and because there is no way to fit them it would be expensive so i just had to go with the nasal mask with 3 sizes included.
the machine is a used Philipps Resperonics System One Remstar Auto A Flex ,company said that their used machines come from the US and that before delivering the machine to me that it was just sitting on the local warehouse stockroom for 3 months.
since i cant return the machine anymore should i just clean the humidifier chamber and filter and give it a go? and are there any other risks in using CPAP besides any bacteria/virus infection from previous user that could possibly cause respiratory diseases and complications? i was also wondering if i would be able to see and monitor my AHI on this old model? and would it be compatible with OSCAR?
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from
https://www.reddit.com/r/SleepApnea/comments/glzr3d/new_to_cpap_need_help/
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