New to forum, great cpap experience

[milkman]

Have been lurking for a few weeks and thought I'd post. Had my sleep study in May and had a great experience. My family doctor referred me to a sleep doc. Went in for consultation, and set up a sleep study appointment for a few days later. The study went well, I slept OK. After they woke me up, I was told to take a shower and the doc would be in to see me in about 30 minutes. The doc came in with a laptop computer and reviewed the study with me. My AHI was 53.5. He told me I needed CPAP, that I could get this wherever I wanted, but they would be happy to set me up right there. Not having a clue about cpap, this forum, online sales or anything else, I said to go ahead and set me up. He said ok, and took me down the hall to the DME coordinator. The guy fitted me with several different masks and I choose the swift nasal pillow system. He said it is a good idea to have a full face mask in the event of cold or congestion, and fitted me with an ultra mirage FF mask as well. He set me up with a Remstar Pro M with heated humidifier. He said I should replace the hoses and pillows occasionally, and he could just send the replacements out automatically every other month, along with some filters for the machine. Of course I could call anytime I need anything out of the ordinary. They have been diligent on their follow up on this. He said I could bring the card in anytime and he would read it and give me a report. (After discovering this forum, I ordered the software and reader so I could do this myself.) So I walked out with my machine a little over an hour after waking up from the sleep study! I feel very lucky to have had such treatment after reading some of the posts in this forum. It does not seem very common to have the sleep doc, lab and dme all in the same place. After all I have learned here, the only thing I would have changed, had I known, would have been to request an auto machine. But other than that, the equipment and service have been top notch. My insurance covers 90% so my out of pocket has been minimal. Thanks for all the great posts, I've learned a lot here and enjoy checking the posts. I didn't have any trouble adjusting to the machine (pressure 9). My girlfriend has been supportive. Her complaints about my snoring is why I mentioned it to my doctor, I'd just become use to being tired all of the time, which I still am to a degree, but hopefully that will get better with time.

[inacpapfog]

What a great start!
You are lucky to have had such a positive beginning!
Happing pap'ing and keep us posted!

[LDuyer]

Hi milkman,

Say, that's great that it all went so smoothly.
I am curious, though, was the sleep study a split night study, meaning did they also do the titration part, test you with cpap to get the pressure of 9? And it does seem unusual for the sleep lab and DME be all in one. But hey, it's good you're going to get going with this. Let us know how it goes for you.

Linda

[milkman]

Yes, they told me that if it was obvious that I was having AH events, they would wake me up half way through the night and put me on a machine, which they did.

[bdp522]

Welcome to posting! You should fill in your profile so if you need help we know what equipment you have. I, for one, am very impressed with your Dr. and DME. I would have loved to have THAT experience! I've had to fight for everything. Glad you're adapting so well!

Brenda

[kteague]

How refreshing! Always nice to hear of a good experience. It's pretty sad when things just working like they're supposed to is cause for celebration - should be the norm. Does your software give you any indication that your residual tiredness is related to your cpap therapy's effectiveness? While everyone says it takes a while to feel better, if you're still tired for much longer, it wouldn't hurt to ask your doc to look for other contributing factors, rather than stop short of feeling good.
Kathy

[editrix]

Wow, you had such a great experience! Quite a contrast to mine. I had to go on two separate nights, about a month apart (long story), and after the CPAP titration there was no follow-up with me whatsoever. A week later my PCP's office starts calling me, wanting to know how I'm doing with the CPAP machine. What CPAP machine? No one had even told me about my test results yet! I never once got to meet with the pulmonologist who reviewed my results and wrote the report. Not only that, each doctor's office pointed to the other doctor's office as the source for information about how to get a CPAP machine. I was completely clueless.

Nobody was doing anything to help me get started, so finally my roommate (who works as a hospital case manager) took pity and set me up with a DME rep she's worked with. That person took over and soon got me set up with their RT, who did my orientation with the prescribed machine. Fortunately my insurance paid 100 percent, and I can get a new mask every three months. The DME people were very accessible and helpful.

I don't really blame my PCP's office; I blame the sleep lab and the associated pulmonary practice who couldn't be bothered to even contact me. I've made an appointment to see a new sleep doc (also highly recommended by my doctor-savvy roommate) next month, by which time I'll have been on the CPAP for about a month -- probably a good time to evaluate whether I'm adjusting well, whether I need a different mask, and so on.

Based on my experience, you were lucky. I wish every sleep-lab practice was as helpful and efficient as yours!

[Patrick A]

Good to see a post that is not a horror story about ow long you had to wait.
In a couple of days you will feel like a new person. I sure did after 3 days

[bsil]

Milkman- I don't think you are stuck with that machine. You can call your sleep doc and explain that you want to switch to an APAP and ask that he write a new script and tell the DME. THey should be able to switch it out.
My experience was that I had a 3 month rental and the 4th month was the purchase. After one month on my first machine, I requested to be switched to an auto bipap. THey asked me why and I gave them a good reason.
After much research, we all end up knowing as much as, if not more than the sleep professional!
Good Luck

[milkman]

I had an appointment with the sleep doctor yesterday. I told him I had some residual tiredness and I thought my AHI should be better. It averages 6, some nights down to 4 but others as high as 9 He said he thought we should up the pressure from 9 to 10. I told how everyone on the message board sings the praises of auto machines. (He asked what message board and I told him cpaptalk.com. He said "oh yea, I've seen that, don't they sell equipment too?" I told him that cpap.com hosts the board.) He said that the only problem with the auto is you are letting a computer dictate your pressure, but the algorithms have come a long way and he did not have a problem switching me to an auto. He told me to try the pressure of 10 for 4 to 5 weeks, and if it didn't improve my AHI and the way I feel, then he would switch me to an auto.

[Wulfman]

He said that the only problem with the auto is you are letting a computer dictate your pressure, but the algorithms have come a long way and he did not have a problem switching me to an auto.

Milkman,

I think that the word "determine" or "decide" rather than "dictate" would have been a better choice for him to use, but my question to him would be....
"As opposed to......?"

That's SUPPOSED to be the purpose of using an Auto.....to help decide/determine which is the appropriate pressure to use. Some people use their autos in that mode throughout the nights and some of us use the autos to help us decide which "fixed" pressure is best. One night in a sleep study doesn't give a very good picture of how we normally sleep in our own beds.....and our conditons do change over time.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear he's a little more flexible than SOME doctors are.
Good luck with your therapy.

Den

[Bookbear]

You are very lucky to have had such a positive experience. Thank you for sharing it with us, its nice to hear good news! Do keep us informed about your progress. The doc is right about having to give the new pressure more than a few nights to judge effectiveness. I think 4 to 5 weeks is a bit long, though. You should be able to tell in a couple of weeks if the higher pressure is bringing the API down to below 5 (5 is considered normal).

Good luck!