Titration study

Spiritus · Post by **Spiritus** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 5:09 pm

Hi,

I'm curious about what to expect on my titration study. Do they wait until I'm asleep, and then adjust the pressure? When they delivered my machine, they started me out at 6 - my guess is to get my used to the mask before I take the study.

Also, just out of curioslty; is 6 likely to make any change in my sleep quality? A summary of my first study results were:

Total arousal index 27.1/hour with 8/hour due to respiratory events, 8.6/hour due to PLMs, and 10.5/hour either spontaneous or snoring induced.

Thanks,

Rob

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:57 pm

Rob, I'm confused. They've already given you a REMstar Plus with C-FLEX that you been using a couple of days at home with the pressure set at 6? Yet you're supposed to go back in to the sleep lab soon for a titration to find the pressure you need? If they were going to send you home with a machine and no titrated pressure yet, it seems like they'd have given you an autopap...to give them an idea of what pressure works best for you through the night. Oh well, I'm not a doctor.

At your first sleep study, did they put a mask on you at all, anytime during the night?

Spiritus · Post by **Spiritus** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:23 am

rested gal wrote:Rob, I'm confused. They've already given you a REMstar Plus with C-FLEX that you been using a couple of days at home with the pressure set at 6? Yet you're supposed to go back in to the sleep lab soon for a titration to find the pressure you need? If they were going to send you home with a machine and no titrated pressure yet, it seems like they'd have given you an autopap...to give them an idea of what pressure works best for you through the night. Oh well, I'm not a doctor.

At your first sleep study, did they put a mask on you at all, anytime during the night?

Hi RG,

No, they didn't put a mask on me the first night. They only did the initial testing. Apparently what they do at the sleep lab I'm going to, is to give you a machine at the very low pressure of 6 so that when you do the actual titration study you are used to the mask, and sleep as much as possible.

As far as autopap is concerned, here in Canada (of the socialized medical system) there is concern about cost. The patient pays for everything after the initial $780, so an autopap might cost the patient close to $3000, once support is factored in.

Best,

Rob

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 1:43 pm

Thanks for the explanation, Rob.

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 3:22 pm

Hi Rob,

I paid less than $1000 USD online for my complete auto-adjusting cpap setup including everthing. If you are quoting CND I think that would be about $1250 CND. Are they charging $1750 for support? I've gotten quite a bit of support from my online provider for $0. I did send them a couple boxes of chocolate mints for their effort.

Good luck!

Spiritus · Post by **Spiritus** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 3:47 pm

wading thru the muck! wrote:Hi Rob,

I paid less than $1000 USD online for my comlete auto-adjusting cpap setup including everthing. If you are quoting CND I think that would be about $1250 CND. Are they charging $1750 for support? I've gotten quite a bit of support from my online provider for $0. I did send them a couple boxes of chocolate mints for their effort.

Good luck!

Hi,

That's actualy a very good idea, but I think on this go-round, I'm going to stick with the unit I have, and with the current provider. They just came over to my house today and changed my mask to an Activa. While I'm still a newbie to all of this, I think discretion will be the better part of valor! By the time I'll need a new machine, I'm sure the technology will have taken yet another leap forward - at that time I'll look at something automatic.

Rob

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 4:37 pm

This was my first go around too. I guess maybe I'm more adventurous than most. If you're getting good service from your supplier you can be grateful for that. In my case I got a bad feeling just trying to inquire at the local DMEs about the equipment I was looking for.

Glad to hear you seem to be getting what you need.

Spiritus · Post by **Spiritus** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:16 pm

wading thru the muck! wrote:This was my first go around too. I guess maybe I'm more adventurous than most. If you're getting good service from your supplier you can be grateful for that. In my case I got a bad feeling just trying to inquire at the local DMEs about the equipment I was looking for.

Glad to hear you seem to be getting what you need.

Oh, and one other thing: I was told that OHIP won't pay for an AutoPAP unless the doctor specifically prescribes it, and even then they only pay $780 of it.

There are some benefits to having privatized health care - at least you can be sure to get the care you pay for. At least that's my impression. With our socialized system, we pay into it through our significant taxes, and have to take what we're given.

Rob

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:55 pm

Spiritus wrote: There are some benefits to having privatized health care - at least you can be sure to get the care you pay for. At least that's my impression. With our socialized system, we pay into it through our significant taxes, and have to take what we're given.

Rob,
Though we heard about how wonderful the Canadian health system is I think what you say is the reason our presidential election turned out the way it did.

Spiritus · Post by **Spiritus** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:52 am

wading thru the muck! wrote:
Rob,
Though we heard about how wonderful the Canadian health system is I think what you say is the reason our presidential election turned out the way it did.

Yes,

It's a hot debate here as well. I would be happy to pay an insurance company for high quality health care, but then again I can afford it. Although I do have the option of buying into my own health package, it doesn't make much sense. I'm already paying through the nose for the provincial health care through the enormous taxes I pay. The problem with not having a provincial health program, is: what do you do about health care for those who don't have sufficient financial resources to pay for insurance?

While the downside with the Canadian system is that those who can afford health care get inferior care to what our American brothers and sisters get, the upside is that even a homeless person can and does get the same health care that I do.

So what it comes down to is: which is better - that everyone have sufficent healthcare regardless of finances, or that only those who can afford it get sufficent health care?

Rob

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