CPAP/BIPAP machines

Thanks Woody.  Does it sound correct that this person might have one of these machines if the alarm sounds like an alarm clock?

Mine is, I think the same as Woody's and agree it is fairly quiet. The humidifier is separate and has a heated base plate. My only quibble is the volume. OK i 50% humidity but can't last 6 hrs in the dry desert of AZ. Have to use a room humidifier to supplement it.

Thanks to medicare I got a new Renstar with C-Flex to replace my Remstar I have had for the past 4 years that did not have C-Flex.

While C-flex is nice it is definitely nosier than my older machine. I find the C-flex action also causes me to breathe through my mouth more ofter.

Its a continuous tone Tom, not as loud as one of those clanging alarm clocks but enough to wake you up, that is if you're still breathing  ;D
The alarm also goes off if the power goes off during the night and then comes back on, or if there is a power drop. I had forgotten about that. The C-PAP will obviously go off when power goes off but will not come back on til the button is pushed again, hence the alarm.

Woody

Jeff,
My wife does that (breathe through her mouth). She has to wear a chin strap that keeps her from opening her mouth. She looks like one of those old timers that had a toothache, its a constant source of amusement around here.
I got my C-PAP before her and she constantly made fun of it. Now that she has one its payback time.  :

Woody

Is this a political payoff for successful lobbying or is there a good medical reason to require a prescription for a device that blows air into my nose

Is congestive  heart failure a good enough reason?

A proven fact that snoring and other sleep disorders causes congestive heart failure of a period of time.  Which can cause irreparable damage or death.

If you don't know why you have one, why are You Using it?

If you don't know why you have one, why are You Using it?

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OK Barb, I need a translation  ???  Most folks who have CPAP machines have been through a sleep study and understand why they need the machine

Over 13 years on CPAP has extended my life and aided my fight against congestive heart failure [diagnosed 20 years ago] I'm quite certain. My sleep apnea should have been caught in the El Paso hozpital as I felt so great using O2!

I now have a mask that's just a tube the same size as the hose with nasal pilliows, very quiet, quite comfortable!

I have a former parishioner in Roswell with $$$$$$, not insurance, that bus his equipment without scrips through his respiratory tech that he also pays direct. It can be negotiated. [BG] Cash talks.

Barb said:

Is this a political payoff for successful lobbying or is there a good medical reason to require a prescription for a device that blows air into my nose

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The presciption specifies the air pressure that the machine wll deliver -- mine runs at 10" of water.

I have a former parishioner in Roswell with $$$$$$, not insurance, that bus his equipment without scrips through his respiratory tech that he also pays direct. It can be negotiated. [BG] Cash talks.

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Hey Bob, I'd love to hear some details, privately.

Tom:

Respironics charged my last insurance company $189.00 for a mask that can be purchased online for $79.00. I do not know what Medicare pays.

Tom,
  My wife and I both use the Resmed Elite S8 that you mentioned.  They are quiet.  Neither one of us or the cat has any problem sleeping.  My doctor feels that it is highly recommended.

            Dean and Linda

I had a history of brochitis and pneumonia, heartburn and a few other digestive problems. I was tired all of the time, no matter how much sleep I had gotten and I snored like a bull moose. I literally have had someone wake me up in a hotel because my snoring was disturbing other guests. I was diagnosed with the sleep apnea when I was in the hospital for pneumonia.
They performed the sleep study a week after being released from the hospital and I was holding my breath for so long and so often that the tech performing the sleep study got scared and put me on the machine early. My setting is 14 lbs. of water pressure.
I recall that my dad was also a heavy snorer and held his breath when asleep. I imagine that either caused or contributed to his fatal heart attack.
I firmly believe that if I hadn't gotten the C-PAP I would have either been dead or very sick by now.

Woody

Woody said:

I firmly believe that if I hadn't gotten the C-PAP I would have either been dead or very sick by now.

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Same here Woody.  When I took my sleep test I was two hours into it when they decided to put me on the CPAP machine as a test.  In one hour I stopped breathing (while asleep) 90 times.  This seems like a lot, and it is, but there was one man there that night who stopped breathing 120 times in one hour.  At work my lack of sleep became somewhat of a joke...I'd often nod off, sometimes when I was sitting down talking to a co-worker.

Now you sound like a world-class snorer...I used to ride with a motorcycle club and when we went camping the other guys always wanted to know where I was going to set up my tent, then they would set up theirs accordingly...far, far away.

Steve

Jeff,

I have a few years before Medicare pays anything. By the time I get there, the fund will probably be empty 

s congestive  heart failure a good enough reason?

A proven fact that snoring and other sleep disorders causes congestive heart failure of a period of time.  Which can cause irreparable damage or death.

If you don't know why you have one, why are You Using it?

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Barb,

Yes, I understand why I have it. I was just asking why a prescription is necessary for these air machines and they're accessories.

Dave

I'm supposed to be using a bipap machine and I tried it for 6 to 8 monthes before I had to stop.  I started with a nose mask tried a half mask and finally a full mask.  Also tried a cpap and finally wound up with a bipap.  It worked for a while after we got the mask and machine dialed in but 6 to 8 monthes in I started having severe sinus problems including infections and huge sinus headaches.  I'd go off the machine for a week or so and my head would clear up, go back on and in a few days I'm right back to plugged up head and tremendous pain.  I had a humidifier on the machine and tried all three of the masks I had to see if I could get through it but as long as I was on the machine my sinuses stayed messed up. I even tried sticking it out for 2 weeks after the sinsus problems came back to see if I could 'get past it'.  I finally just stopped it completely.  While on it I originally felt some benefit but I'm still not sure that wasn't all in my head, wishing as it were for it to work. 

I've been told by several doctors that my weight probably has a lot to do with the apnea so if I was to loose some it might even go away.  Well I've never had much luck with weight loss BUT I've been on a new med for my diabetes, Byetta (lizard spit  ) and not only has it completely stabilized my diabetes but I've lost over 30 pounds over the last year.  I know thats slow but I haven't had to change my eating habits much I just eat less because I'm full all the time, its a side effect.  I'm hoping this takes care of the apnea to.  If I get down to around 200 or so I think I'll schedule a test to see if it has gone completely away.  The only downside to the Byetta is that I have to inject it twice a day.  I'm needle phobic and I have been known to pass out getting bloodwork or at least get an interesting shade of white (ask my wife about the blood test we took for our marriage license  ) but shooting up twice a day has helped even that and even if it didn't it'd still be worth it. 


Bill

I'm needle phobic and I have been known to pass out getting bloodwork or at least get an interesting shade of white ...

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You and me both Bill. When I go in for a blood sample to be drawn, I tell them to go get two big guys to hold me down while they stick the needle in. I have the added problem of very small veins in my arms and, despite their assurances that "I've been doing this for xx years and have never stuck anyone yet", they eventually give up and take the blood from my hands. Meanwhile, my arms are like pin cushions and I'm a nervous wreck.

I have 2 standard requests when I go in for bloodwork, which I do every 3 to 4 months, I need to lie down and please use a peds needle. Thats peds as in pediatrics.  This seems to minimize the trama a great deal.  The last time I had it done I actually got someone experienced enough in that I did not even feel the 'pinch' at all, probably the best lab work draw I've had done yet.  By the way the reason I go roughly quarterly for blood work is that I cannot use the test strips.  Even the though of sticking myself with those foot long simitars, ok maybe they aren't quite that big, makes my legs go wobbly. My doctor compromised and told me that I wouldn't have to do it if I went for the bloodletting 4 times a year.

Bill

Understood Bill. I always warn them up front, and they always use the smallest needles on me, but rarely can they find the veins in my arms. I've probably had 3 or 4 occasions when a nurse or, in one case a doctor, hit it first time. Usually I hear "oh missed", followed by "missed again". I'll say "told you", and they'll say "I'll get it this time .... oops, missed again", until they eventually give up and do as I asked in the first place, i.e. take it from one of the large veins in my hands. By the time they do that, I'm so tensed that I can't relax my hand after the needle has been inserted.