CPAP Machines and reporting to the "Cloud".

[bubbablitz]

I was prescribed a CPAP machine for Sleep Apnea which I picked up for the Medical Supply company yesterday. I was told both by my Neurologist and the Respiratory Therapist, that I have to use it every night for sleep otherwise my Insurance Company will take it back from me. I have to use for at least for 4 hours within a 24 hour period, and my stats are reported by the machine to "The Cloud". (Kind of freaky that my breathing while sleeping habits are being sent somewhere to someone making sure that I use it regularly). Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what type of network it uses, I'm assuming it's cellular though I guess it's not impossible to work off of satellite. It's not connected to anything in my home because it would need a password, and I don't have to upload anything manually on my end, it's apparently just does it automatically. If it's on a cellular system, how would they know I'm actually not in a dead area, I didn't have to do any connection or signal strength test like I had to when I installed my Burglar Alarm. Just curious to know if anyone knows how these things actually work. Thank you.

 

[slicerwizard]

They use a cellular link.

 

[n1das]

Hi from a fellow CPAP user. I have a ResMed S9 machine and it has a cell modem on the back of it and it uses T-Mobile. It doesn't know if you're in a dead service area. It happens. Mine normally has a solid network connection but occasionally I see the modem light blinking as it searches for a connection. I use my machine enough that I've had no trouble meeting the usage criteria for insurance coverage. My sleep doctor did a 3 month data download once prior to an appointment so I didn't need to bring the SD card with me. The machine has a 365 day memory and data is stored on the removable SD card.

I have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and I have been using a CPAP machine for the past 5 years. At 58 years old, I sleep like a teenager again. I have 100% more energy throughout the entire day. Wow, what a difference. I'm a different person now because of it. I think I've had OSA for most of my adult life but it has gotten worse over the years due to age and weight gain, aka middle age spread, LOL. The doctors say that the way to get rid of OSA and not need the machine anymore and sleep like you did as a teenager is to lose a serious amount of weight (> 50 lbs) and keep the extra weight off. Basically you need to be in the same kind of shape you were in as a teenager.

A lot of people don't like using the machine but in my case I actually look forward to it because of the turbo-charging effect it has. I am totally out cold for the entire night and it has been nothing but 100% quality sleep EVERY night for the past 5 years that I have been using the machine.

The cellular modem is there but no need to worry about it. My life has been changed for the better with the CPAP machine.