How did you get your machine?

I'm curious how people have gotten their CPAP machines. Did your doctor write an rx for a specific machine or just for CPAP therapy? I'm also curious who manages your apnea. Does anyone here have their primary care doctor managing their CPAP? Did you source your machine yourself online or locally, or did you have to go through a local medical supply company? My titration study lists the suggested equipment, but I have no idea if since my primary didn't specify the equipment if the home medical supply company is going to choose something for me. I can't seem to get any answers on my end.

My company required a sleep study (luckily, an at home type), brought in the DME with the equipment, which we returned the following morning to our terminal (I assume the DME came back later to collect devices). A month of back and forth trying to get results landed me with another dealing with the company supplied DME, who brought a Respironics PRS1 560 (no choice in machine), a Quattro FFM, and the Swift FX. These were my options. I got to choose the mask type, that was all.
Since then, I've relied on this forum's members for info and advice, since my only contact with the DME early on was negative. And I still haven't seen an actual DOCTOR, other than the one who made sure I was compliant enough to requalify for my DOT medical card.
Since then, I've bought several other machines. Another 560, a 150 (yeah, well...I have plans), and two S9 VPAP autos. All but the original have been out of pocket. I have also acquired heated hoses for all the "big" machines, which have been a near necessity for me.

I'm sure the big guns here will be along soon with more sophisticated answers, but here's mine, for what it's worth.

DO NOT let a medical supply company (called a DME in these parts) decide what equipment you get. Your titration study suggested equipment; fight for that equipment, especially if you liked that equipment . A prescription can say hardly anything yet be good even for sophisticated equipment. Go to cpap.com (the sponsor here, and a good place to go) and look at their section about what needs to be in a prescription. If you can pay up front and then claim, you can get equipment from them. There are also ways to get gently used equipment.

If you use a DME, make sure they DO NOT give you a "brick," i.e., a machine not capable of gathering/downloading data about your night's sleep. You want to be able to get software, like SleepyHead (see the pinned posts at the top of the forum), and monitor your condition and how treatment is working.

Personally, I used a DME; I had a pro-active doctor who specified exactly what I was to get, and a sort of decent DME that didn't try to argue about it.

Note that insurance may have some impact on what you can get, at least if you need insurance to pay for it. Sometimes you can score a great machine and mask online for not much more than you would pay in copays for the vastly inflated DME prices. It all depends on your plan. If you use a DME and need insurance to cover it, make sure you find one that is in your plan.

Welcome, and good luck!

When I was initially referred to the sleep center, I knew nothing about how all this worked. Turned out the sleep center did an excellent job of doing the sleep study and titration study. Then, I found out they were their own DME and really gouged their patients.

With the help of the people on this board I discovered I was given a "brick" and charged $1,200 out of pocket. I went back and made them an offer they couldn't refuse. Got a full data machine, and some money back. I can be very persuasive, especially when someone tries to rip me off.

Then I fired them. Now my PCP writes any scrips I need and I buy on the open market. My insurance deductible is so high (thanks Obama) that it is all out of pocket now, but cushions, masks, headgear, etc. seem to last forever for me, so it is actually fairly cheap. Used, excellent condition machines can be purchased at deep discounts. So for me, doing it myself saves a LOT of money.

If you have good insurance you probably need to work through them, though.

Recently diagnosed and just got my machine this week. Did my research beforehand and decided I wanted a Resmed 10. Found a DME that carried only RESMED. Took my prescription to them, but all my prescription said was CPAP 10 H2O. Since this prescription didn't even say mask and supplies, I was going to need another prescription anyway. The DME had an "order form" We filled out CPAP including specific brand and model (Resmed Airsense 10), added supplies, humidifier, mask of choice. Took the form back to my doctor as all it needed was his signature. Took it back to the DME, they filled everything, but did not have an Airsense 10 yet. They send me home with an Autoset S9 and told me when the S10 came in they would swap it out for no charge since it was on my prescription.

The recommendation for the Bilevel Machine came from my sleep study and then was prescribed by my Neurologist.
The Neurologist office contacted my Insurance company CIGNA who told them to contact CareCentrix.
CareCentrix made all the arrangements for the machine. I don't think the Neurologist cared about who the manufacturer was
just that I got the Bilevel Machine.

I manage my own therapy which the Neurologist was happy about, and at first I was faxing her my monthly reports from the Encore Software, and office visit every 6 months. The last 6 months she told me once a year is fine. She told me she just
was looking over my shoulder to make sure I was OK.

Sorry to read that it is not a smooth process for you. Be patient this to will pass.

I wish you well..

After my sleep study my doctor wrote a prescription for a generic CPAP. I was given a "brick"...I didn't know any better. As I progressed and discovered cpaptalk.com I realized the benefit of having an auto cpap and monitoring my therapy. Since my Ins paid CPAP was only 2 years old, I bought an auto on Craigslist and I have been managing my own care ever since.

I lucked out. My DME provided me with a then top-of-the-line, data-capable machine.

Since then I have bought a duplicate, and an upgrade, on Craigslist.

I just went through all this. Luckily I found this site before I got too far into it.

But I've got to say, I kind of lucked out. The Sleep Center did the diagnosis and the titration.

I then went to the DME braced for war with really good input from here and come to find out the Dr.
had ordered up a "good machine" (data capable) for me and I had no fights at all with the DME.

Every question I was told to ask was answered and it all passed the test. Things like mask replacements and parts you need as you go along are
all taken care of as one would hope after being educated.

She said the machine is "rented". After a certain period of compliance, the insurance company will pay the machine off and it's mine.

So I'm glad I educated myself. If I hadn't, I think I'd of been ok as things have turned out. My doctor
prefers the Phillips Resporonics machines.

I will keep an eye out for a machine for travel etc for cheap but for now I'm happy.

I had good insurance luckily and this didn't cost me any out of pocket.....yet.

So as I said, it's really been pretty uneventful but I'm glad the folks here told me what to look out for and had they
messed with me, I was educated and ready to make sure I had what I needed.

I wish you the best as you sort this out.

My situation mirrors LSAT, except I purchased my PRS1 550P from CPAP.COM. Earl

I did a home sleep study. The doc told me to buy any APAP and self-titrate the pressure. He even referred me to a DME. I talked to the DME and told him that I am paying cash and will buy from the cheapest option (internet or DME). He agreed to price-match the lowest price I could find.

I found a PRS1 60 series auto with heated tube+humidifier for $624 at some online place using google shopping. I told DME what I found and he price matched it. He also price matched the Resmed F10 mask for $149.

I think it is worth your while to get a price match from the DME for everything. And cpap DOT com may not be the cheapest all the time for the specific machine/mask that you want.

1st machine 10 years ago sleep doctor wrote a prescription for a particular pressure level. Supplier dumped on me what ever they wanted - Fischer Parkyl brick. It is still working. I used it up to 4 days ago. I did no research and got what they gave me. Bricks were pretty much the only thing they had at that time.

2nd machine 4 years later. Purchased Series M off of CraigsList for $150. Configured the machine myself. Used it for 4 years until the humidifier died. Purchased it specifically because it was 12v capable so I could use it camping. I still use it for camping with water in the humidifier but no heat. I did a lot of research and got exactly what I wanted. I reconfigured the unit for the pressure I wanted.

3rd machine 4 days ago. Doctor wrote new prescription for APAP. Supplier decided they would give me an Airsence 10. I told them I wanted a System One (PRS 1 Model 560) for 12v capability. Started all over with a different supplier then the original supplier called and said they had a System One for me. I did a lot of research and got exactly what I wanted,

I manage my care and I dictate to my doctor and DME what I want. The doctor and DME are only there to take me and the insurance company for as much money as they possibly can. The DME started to go through how I wanted it configured. I told him politely "Don't bother I will figure it out myself and tweak the settings to give me the best sleep". I spent a couple of days at pressure 6.5. I will bump the pressure up to 7,5 and look at my data to see if it is an improvement or not. Being able to look at my own stats seems like the best thing ever for getting the best night sleep. I will tst CPAP vs C-Flex seperately of pressure and analyze the results myself. I know the Doc or DME will never look at the stats and really don't care if my therapy is optimal or not.

I can't even begin to explain how grateful I am for this community. Thank you everyone for your responses. I had posted my newbie post, which had my sleep study and titration results, as well as the machine and mask that the lab suggested for me. The report lists the Resmed auto S10 nasal CPAP. It was suggested that I try to get the same machine but in the version for women because of my mild sleep apnea and the extra setting that machine provides. I contacted my doctor's office yesterday to see how they wrote the rx for the DME, and they just wrote CPAP therapy. I called the DME, which is the second one we're trying since the first never returned calls and kept claiming they had no paperwork for me, and the same thing happened and they couldn't find me in the system. I know this isn't true because after my doctor sent over the paperwork, there were at least two callbacks from the DME with questions. I called my doctor after they couldn't find me, but it was too late in the day to get anything done. Now armed with the responses from this post, I called my doctor and asked her to re-write the rx with the specific equipment, which would be the Resmed AirSense 10 auto set for her, along with the Fisher and Paykel nasal mask size Zest (whatever that means). If the DME won't cooperate, my only other option is to purchase online and seek reimbursement from my insurance company. As it stands now, my in-network deductible has been met for the year, so if the DME orders the right equipment, I have no out of pocket expense. Otherwise, I have a $400 deductible for out of network. And thank you for alerting me to the 'brick' issue. I had no idea.