What is the usage requirement for compliance?

[lorraineg57]

I got home really late the other night and wanted to just crash but I'm so afraid of being non-compliant. I've only missed I think 2 nights since I got the machine. Anyone know what the requirement is?

[BlackSpinner]

70% of the nights at 4 hours

[MidnightOwl]

You should be ok. And odds are good that the numbers above are correct. But this is an answer you really should be getting from your insurance company not the internet because their answer is the only one that counts.

[archangle]

70% of the nights at 4 hours

Correct for MOST insurance, not necessarily all.

[ozze_dollar]

70% of the nights at 4 hours

If you cant achieve that you have some problems you need to address.
I am still not entirely happy wearing a mask but i am very determined and I wear it every night ,all night.

[Noddinggal]

I agree, check with your insurance company. The medical supply company where I got my machine told me I had to use it every single night for 4 hours to be compliant. I recently had a power outage due to Hurricane Sandy and lost power for one night. I panicked and thought the insurance company was going to reject the next claim for payment by the supply company. I called the insurance company to explain and they told me not to worry and that I have to use the machine for 4 hours or more per night for 24 days of each 30 days to be compliant. So I think that does come to about 70% of the time. Confirm with your insurance company to be sure.

Karen

[Journeyman]

I started cpap back this past February. I would have to check my calender for sure. But I remember in about 30 to 90 days I had to my take my sd card to my dme and getting another sd card in the mail. I think my dme did the paper work? They all said I was good to go. I had missed one night completely and less than four hours another night because of a bloody nose. The way I understood it I wouldn't be checked again. My insurance is renting the unit then it will be mine at some point inside of a year if I remember right? I guess I should pull my cpap folder and know for sure.

[lorraineg57]

I think I've missed two days and I believe I started Sept. 26th. I'm going away for Thanksgiving and really don't want to pack it if it's not absolutely necessary.

[JO'M]

Why wouldn't you want to take it with you? CPAP is not an "only when I feel like it" therapy. You need to use it all the time.

[archangle]

Be very careful about deliberately missing days if you still need to make compliance. Sometimes CPAP machines have data errors, DMEs screw things up reading the data, or you have some unavoidable problems later causing you to miss some further days.

[lorraineg57]

Why wouldn't you want to take it with you? CPAP is not an "only when I feel like it" therapy. You need to use it all the time.

My apnea is mild and "largely positional". To the point where the recommendation included "positional therapy if cpap is not tolerated". In fact, had they let me sleep on my side like I usually do at the sleep study, I probably wouldn't have qualified for an OSA dx (on my side I had .8 AHI).

[Denial Dave]

Wow in other posts you were concerned about them taking away your machine due to non-compliance.

Now your asking about how to beat the rules by not using it during an upcoming holiday.


I can't wait to see what your next excuse will for not using the machine.

[lorraineg57]

Wow in other posts you were concerned about them taking away your machine due to non-compliance.

Now your asking about how to beat the rules by not using it during an upcoming holiday.


I can't wait to see what your next excuse will for not using the machine.

Wow back at ya!...that's a little hostile!

I'm not asking how to beat the rules. I'm asking what the rules are so that I can make sure that I'm following them. I said I've missed two nights since Sept. 26th. I think that's not too bad considering the cpap doesn't seem to be doing a thing for me. This is the only post that I've even mentioned compliance in. The post where I mentioned them taking the machine had nothing to do with compliance. It had to do with my two week trial of the APAP being over.

"Beating the rules" would be asking how to go in and edit the data in order to meet compliance.

[chunkyfrog]

Cpap is like a marriage.
If you want it to work, you work at it every day, NO CHEATING;
and you don't keep score.

[lorraineg57]

Cpap is like a marriage.
If you want it to work, you work at it every day, NO CHEATING;
and you don't keep score.

If my AHI were over 5 or I had centrals, I'd suck it up and pack the thing. Truth be told, I actually kind of enjoy the thing, it's a comfort level now. Every night I go to bed and hope that maybe this will be the night it actually helps me and I won't wake up until morning. So far that hasn't happened.

If I'm well under my compliance limit and it's not going to affect me adversely (probably not since my osa is positional and mild) I really don't see the issue. I haven't missed a day since I think Oct 7th, so I'm hardly looking for "excuses" to not use it. I average over 6 hours most nights, which is the amount of time spent in bed.

That being said, I really resent the previous poster questioning my motives and for that fact, my integrity.