Sleep Apnea
 

Anyone else have this ? Was diagnosed with this yesterday and I have no idea what to do from here. Dr said he was going to call my insurance and get them to approve me a CPAP machine. Whats the most "Comfortable" contraption to use while sleeping ?? Darth vader mask or the O2 nose mask ?

PM me your number, I own a company that handles Cpap machines and can point you in the right direction. I also have a RT on staff that can talk to you.

Most people I know use the nose cup

My Cpap machine changed my life! I don't go a night with out it. I suffered for years even had my nose redone. The first time I used one was in the sleep study, fell asleep and woke up asking the nurse what happened, she said " it's time to get up". I had slept all night didn't even budge.

Once you are at home it will take a while to get used to it. Wear it every night to go to bed. It took me a month before I could keep it on all night.

Best thing I ever did for me.

Forgot to add. Full face mask, I have allergies and it your nose is stuffed up, the nose one won't help at all. Plus it will be easier to get used to because some times you breath through your mouth and some times you nose.

i just had nose surgery earlier this year. Im tired of sleeping 8-10 hrs a night and waking up feeling more tired than before i went to bed. Waking up at 2:00am for a fire dont help much either, but thats beside the point. I was telling my Dr yesterday and I feel more alert of i get 3-5 hrs of sleep vs 8-10. He said its because im fighting myself when I sleep because i cant breathe.

CPAP
 

When I first used the cpap i wanted to throw it against the wall. For some people it takes a while to get used to. I have to keep my pressure lower than what is recommended because I would have severe cramps in the morning that would last til 10:00...Could barley move...No problems now. Im sure many people that "died in their seelp" had this disease and didn't know it. I would think i was sleeping all night til my wife told me i stopped breathing many times througout the night and the episodes would last for 20 to 30 seconds. This can lead to lead to many other health issuse like heart disease so get used to the machine! it will save your life. Some people notice a difference right away in their energy level others like me take much longer.

As far as the sleep apnea machine they are amazing. Started using one about a year ago... I use a Elan Sleepweaver cloth mask. And for me that has been super comfortable and very easy (since it's a soft type mask)

It's going to be very awkward at first... and takes some getting used to.. but once your used to it you will have really good sleep again.

Look very very closely at what your insurance company will pay vs what you will have out of pocket....

compare that to what you can just purchase a machine outright for from somewhere like CPAP.com. Because of the high humidity here in LA i almost never use my humidifier for my machine. So consider just purchasing a machine without humidifier.

If i had to do it over again, i would not have let my insurance company talk me into the BS deal that they did for their overpriced cpap machine. By the time i pay my yearly deductible I end up having paid 3x what i could have bought a brand new machine for, and then because it was a rental rather than a purchase.. you get to do it all over again for every year.... I said adios to them after realizing how big of a scam it was.. and outright purchased machine 6 months ago.

If budget is real tight you can get a refurbished unit from somewhere like http://www.secondwindcpap.com/ (your gonna get a new tube and mask anyway so it's not like a refurbished machine is a bad thing)

after you start using it... Welcome back to real sleep... amazing difference.

I went from sleeping the 8-10 hours and waking up dog tired...

to sleeping 6 hours and feeling amazing when i woke up..

honestly now i can't hardly ever sleep more than 7 hours...


This is the mask i use... I went with camo pattern.... you can always choose pink or leopard print if that's your thing... :P

http://1800cpap.com/sleep-weaver-mas...FUdk7AodI3MAng

^^^^^Why shop online from an out of country company when you have small business owners like myself who can offer the same products.

Have a machine and used it 5xs and never put it back on!!! I sleep on my stomach and that thing never stayed on 20mins right


Use it to blow up mattresses @ camp

Have you tried LIMU


















:rotfl:

Not saying he should, And purchasing a machine from someone local that you know and trust has it's benefits. Just providing some options.

I am saying that it's wise to watch what type of deal the insurance company is going give you before choosing them, If they want to put the customer on a rental contract yet their plan has a high yearly deductible... well the math says you are a whole lot better just buying outright.

I don't think it's the norm for ins companies to do this. But I know that's what they pulled on me... so just a word to the wise kind of deal.

So give jordan your machine... perfect solution right there.

lol...im working a deal right now.

Goldenrod, i will get with you when i figure out how much insurance will pay for a machine. If they want X amount and you can beat the X amount, you have my business.

99% of all insurances rent CPAPs for 13 months. This criteria is set nation wide and has nothing to do with the provider that you choose to do business with. For instance, Medicare rents the machine foe 13 months, then the machine belongs to the patient. But after the first three months we have to download it to see if the patient is complient, if not we do not get paid.

so its a rent to own for 13 months ??

Yep

Make sure you factor in the cost of your deductible... ie... it's almost end of year so even if you have met this years deductible... when next year rolls around you will be paying a deductible again. could end up costing you 700$ for a machine that you can buy outright for 300.

same here, I thought I was sleeping all night. My wife said I would stop breathing for such long periods she thought I was dead. Bad on many levels for your health. When I went for the sleep test, I was suppose to stay most of the night, after an hour they woke me up...."Oh Yeah, You Got It".

Just the other day I said something to my wife about me sleeping on my side, she said no. Apparently I sleep on my back all night now. I am way better off with my Cpap. I'll look at the type maks I have later when I get home. I have showed it to some friends that have the Cpap and they switched.

:shaking:Doctors & Chiropractors both will tell you sleeping on your stomach is bad for your back. So STOP doing that W!!

I've had one for 3 years and tried using it with four different masks and figured out how to adjust the pressure on my own and tried every trick I could think of and I can't sleep for more than 15 or 30 minutes with the darn thing. I hate it.

My wife says I quit breathing too at night. She just shakes me in the morning when its time to wake up, and I start up again.:spineyes: Seriously though, can you even get a machine without having a sleep test done?

I have used one for the past 5 years. Like the others have said, it has changed my life. I get a great nights sleep with it. I tried the full face mask, but kept having a leak or having to have it so tight that it was uncomfortable. I have been using the nasal pillows and can sleep on my stomach, side or back.

I would highly recommend the Resmed 9 elite with humidifier and the resmed swift lt nasal pillows. I did a lot of research initially and ended up with the resmed machine and never looked back. I also found that using the machine without a humidifier would dry my throat out. My pressure is set at 14.

One thing to keep in mind with a DME is that they will try to push the cheapest machine on you. When they code it in the system it is all coded under the same thing. So if you get the $300 machine or $1200 machine it coded under the same insurance code. Therefore, the DME may be reimbursed $1300, so pushing the $300 machine means greater profit over the $1200 machine. Do your research ahead of time and let the DME know what make and model you want before showing up to the appointment. If they don't want to give you that model, go to the next DME provider on your insurance until you find one willing to give you what you want. You will be stuck with it for 5 years, so get what you want.

Well, i just got a call back from the Dr's office. Looks like im going to get the screwing of my life soon.... They want $945 for me to sleep in a bed hooked to a machine for 2 different nights to "MAKE SURE" I have sleep apnea. I've met my deductible for the year, but anything I have done, I have to pay 20% of the total which equals $945....... What can I do to get around this ?? Suck it up and pay it ?? Definately dont have that kind of money. Thought Dr's were here to help you.... not screw you as hard, if not harder than the government..... End of my rant... Anyone else have any other suggestions ?

get a second opinion. never heard of the sleep test taking more than one night.

I went one night for a sleep study and another to sleep with a cpap to see what pressure I needed. It wasn't a big deal for me since my insurance covered it.

i have a used spare cpap machine . i would make someone a goo deal on 9853209464

Yeah my ins made me go two nights as well..

Jordan if the doc is sure that you need it, I would look for a good used machine (either locally or thru the web.. (not even sure if you can buy one without a prescription)... and then follow the direction on how to set the pressure on the machine.

Start low and work your way up.

If the doctor you see doesn't have any used machines see if they would set up a machine if you bought it somewhere else.

I wont know what % of pressure to use until I do the sleep study WHICH COSTS $945

Can't legally buy a machine without rx. They will give pressure setting after sleep study

[SIZE=3]I was diagnosed with a mild/medium sleep apnea a couple of years ago and tried using the CPAP machine for 2-3 weeks. The problem I had was trying to get used to the constant positive pressure even on my exhale :cry:. This made me feel like I was being suffocated. A few months ago, I heard about the BiPAP alternative. With the BiPAP, the pressure is reduced on my exhale instantly. Now I enjoy using the machine because it really makes a difference with my ability to get a relatively good night’s sleep :). I would recommend trying the CPAP and if that doesn’t work, ask your doctor about the BiPAP.[/SIZE]

Sleep Apnea
 

I had a study set up by my local Dr. but my part was $875+. I cancelled the study and called my insurance company. They gave me some places to call and the study will only be $125 out of pocket. A buddy says the machine is like candy once you get used to it.

Before we talk about cpap or bipap can i ask if u are overwieght? Exercise regularly? Have u explored some preventive measures before u get hooked up to the positive pressure machines. I was a respiratory therapist in the past and did alot of home care and once u are on those machines, problems just compound later on.

I am overweight. I exercise regularly. I have tried everything my dr has asked me to do. I take Ambien. Tried sleeping on my side. Im still tired when I wake up. I sometimes "doze" off driving to work. I wake up in the mornings and still feel like i could sleep another 10+ hrs after ive slept 10 hrs....

I know the money is a big obstacle, but I felt tired like you and had trouble staying away before I got a cpap machine. It made a huge difference in my quality of life.

I had two studies in June and have had a machine since. I still struggle to sleep with that mask. My brother had the mouth piece made by his dentist and swears by it. He has an old machine that he would love to sell if you are interested.

I would suggest you look into spending the money on the mouth piece. Not sure of the cost but it may be less than the sleep study and you won't have to keep going to doctors to get masks, etc for the insurance to cover it. He had his mouthpiece done by Dr Domingue at Jerome smith dds in lafayette. Hope I helped.

Bite the bullet and pay for the machine and studies. Or sell some stuff to pay for it. I have one for 7 years and crave it each night. It travels everywhere with me. Seriously, people die from sleep apnea. During my sleep study, I stopped breathing almost 30 times that night. Once for over a minute. The money you spend now will be peanuts for quality or life you gain. I also went from a nasal mask to nasal pillows to a full face, which I use now.

exercise regularly and overweight should not be in the same sentence. You need to redefine exercise, and maybe looking at your overall eating habits. Normally, it wouldnt matter to me what kind of shape u are in but when it leads to health problems, it should be addressed.

Agree. Keep in mind that you can eat healthy foods and still be overweight, eating more calories of lettuce than your body burns will create a deficit that will allow you to be overweight. It's an exaggeration, but holds true to paint the picture.

If you have a weekly consumption deficit of 500 calories more than you are burning, then those calaories will be stored as fat to be used as energy later on. There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, so every 7 weeks would equal an extra pound of useless energy stored as fat.

Say your body burns about 1800 calories a day naturally, you consume 2500 a day and burn an average of 500 a day excercising... That's still a deficit of 200 calories a day being out away as fat. In reality, 2500 calories a day is very easy to consume considering how we eat and drink around here, 500 calories a day is very hard to burn and chances are you don't do that every day of the week, and to too it off the 1800 a day naturally used by your body is probably very close to reality.

Diet is huge in achieving and maintaining your goals.


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At the rate in my last paragraph, which is hard exercise 7 days a week and a modest diet, you would pack on more than a pound of fat every month.....


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im 6'6" and 330

Im a firefighter and work in an office also. I walk an average of 4 miles per day. I lift weights (not in a gym) on a weekly basis. Im no health freak by any means.

You got any good stories to tell about what that Ambien does to you .. I've heard that stuff will make you do some crazy stuff

there is alot of things that i dont remember doing that other people tell me i have done. Most of which I think arent true.... I (Against dr's orders) have halved my perscription to cut back. Going to let Dr know to take me off in 3 more months.

If you take it on an empty stomach, be close to a bed because your going lights out QUICK. If you eat, then take it... it takes a few hrs to kick in.

Never had any nightmares or thoughts of suicide or killing anyone if thats what your asking.

I know of 2 episodes from Ambien

The first is a buddy that is a marine and was serving in Afganistan, and taking Ambien to help sleep .. When he woke up he had his gun to his bunkmates head, he said he was dreaming he was in a duel with John Wayne

The second is a buddy that I work with .. We were at work one night and he hadn't slept in something like 3 straight days .. So he took an Ambien to try to get some sleep (at the beginning of the shift, I guess he was planning on sleeping at work) and he started hallucinating ... He was seeing dwarfs all over the plant, he said they were crawling up and down the buildings and running across the road and several other things!!

aint seen or done anything like that. One of my fellow team mates on the fire squad said i drove a fire truck to the scene of a fire with my t-shirt and boxers on. He likes to play jokes. I asked another guy and he said they never had a fire, so I think he was messin' with me. I'm telling ya, that ambien can take an elephant down for 8 hrs.... its powerful stuff. I feel like i sleep too hard some nights.

And don't forget. It's perfectly legal and encouraged.


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