Frustration of roadblocks and a success story...

I am a Newbie here...but wanted to share my story and recent "victory." I have been a CPAP user since 1998. I had suffered the effects of un-diagnosed sleep apnea for years before things finally got bad enough for me to seek help. I snored horribly...and my wife said that I stopped breathing for periods of more than a minute...gasped...and then repeated the cycle, all night long. I was virtually narcoleptic after 2 PM, almost any day...falling asleep during meetings (even one-on-one) during phone sales calls (makes a great impression) stop lights (gotta love that), and any time I sat for more than a few minutes...anywhere.

And then, I had an NDE...which is an entirely different topic...but, was scared enough to start asking friends and relatives if they knew what was going on. Luckily for me, one of my clients had tried surgical solutions, nose tape, and finally a CPAP machine, and gave me his sleep specialist's name. Being self-employed, I was very under-insured, but my wife had just started a second career as a teacher, and I was able to piggyback.

The sleep study was supposed to be two nights...one eval, and one trying a machine, if I warranted it. After just 3 hours of the first night, the tech woke me up, freaked out, and said, "We need to get you on a machine...now!" Turns out, I was registering between 35%-50% oxygen. OK then. After just 5 hours using the machine, I literally felt as if I had waken from a dream...I had energy. I had clarity. My throat didn't hurt.

I was told by my insurance company that it was going to take 60 days to get the doctor's prescription, and get the machine. Desperate to speed things up, I videotaped myself sleeping and left it with the doctor, along with a note to ask him to speed things up, if he could. I got a call the next day, and machine within two days.

Old reliable...was a Sullivan V Elite. It was preset. And I didn't touch it for...oh...let's see...sixteen years. It worked great...but was starting to show a ton of wear, after being used every single night over sixteen years...hauled in carry-on baggage for countless sales trips, and personal vacations. It was time to get a new machine.

I did a ton of reading, and realized that with my advancing age (just turned 61) and changes in body (former football player...who golfs and likes microbrew), that an Auto-Adjusting machine is what I wanted. I also wanted to by it online to save money and add convenience, as I had been buying my replacement masks, headgear, chin straps, and mask components for years from CPAP.com.

Oh. Wait. I need a prescription??? Or a Copy of one from my PCD?

So...I called my old sleep doc...who gave me an appointment. He told me upon arrival that my records had been lost during a move to his fancy, new office complex. No problem....all I need is a prescription.

Nope. Am told that I need to do another sleep study to see if I still need a machine. I assure him that I do...and that even a nap without the machine creates snoring, and apnea attacks. Not good enough. I need to have another sleep study...for just $1800.

I call my insurance company. They tell me they will only cover 80% from their provider. The Resperonics S9 that I had my eye on, will ONLY cost $1,650 from their provider. Oh...and I have a $1,000 deductible for these kinds of procedures.

So...haul out the calculator... I will pay $1,000 for the sleep study...to find out I need a machine. I will then pay $330 for my part of the machine (20%)...so grand total of only $1,350.

OR... for %500 cash, I can get the almost new S9 that the guy who tried it, and decided to use an oral device to stop snoring...and "just wants to get rid of it." After checking the output...to see that he had put a whopping 27 hours on it...I paid the cash, and took it home.

Three nights later...I am in heaven. I ordered a new mask, and hose...did a basic cleaning...and put it to work. First night, minor leakage (new chin strap), and hit a 6.7 AHI. I adjusted the minimum level upward to 7. Next night...down to a 4.6 AHI. New, wider mask on day three (thanks to Amazon Prime)...and hit a 2.5 on day three.

Needless to say...I am very excited, and realize that I have been depriving myself of the new technology for years. Slow to learn, I guess.

I will not be billing my insurance...or returning to my former sleep doctor.

I've yet to figure out why the Insurance Company would want the Doctor to rack up unneeded charges...or why the online companies require a prescription, as nobody is going to buy a machine at full price to sell it on eBay. But, whatever the case...I am a happy camper. Can't wait to try it with a battery camping.

Nice score! Please add your equipment to your user profile so it will be added to all your posts. And find the posts at the top of the forum to download the SleepHead software so you can monitor how things are going with your new machine.