Newly Diagnosed - Titration Study Saturday - Advice???

Hi all!

I was recently diagnosed with moderate OSA (stats below) and have been trying to educate myself. There is a wealth of information on this site and I'm glad I found y'all!

I have a titration study this Saturday and I'm wondering, with all the different types of therapy available, what type of machine might be best for me. I feel a little lost at this point and fear my ignorance may be taken advantage of by someone in it for the money. Any words of wisdom would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

I am very excited that relief to a more than a year of utter exhaustion may be right around the corner.

FoggyFroggy

AHI 23.1
Non-Supine AHI 24
Supine AHI 13
REM AHI 85.7
Non-REM AHI 19.9
Lowest Oxygen Saturation 90%
Significant sleep disruption with increased stage 1 sleep,
decreased slow wave sleep, decreased REM sleep, and
delay in REM onset. Decreased sleep efficiency of 63.1%

IF you have insurance, and have met your deductible for this year, and have a big deductible next year- I'd suggest making sure you have purchased a machine in 2015 to best take advantage of your insurance.

FoggyFroggy wrote:Hi all!

I was recently diagnosed with moderate OSA (stats below) and have been trying to educate myself. There is a wealth of information on this site and I'm glad I found y'all!

I have a titration study this Saturday and I'm wondering, with all the different types of therapy available, what type of machine might be best for me. I feel a little lost at this point and fear my ignorance may be taken advantage of by someone in it for the money. Any words of wisdom would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

I am very excited that relief to a more than a year of utter exhaustion may be right around the corner.

FoggyFroggy

AHI 23.1
Non-Supine AHI 24
Supine AHI 13
REM AHI 85.7
Non-REM AHI 19.9
Lowest Oxygen Saturation 90%
Significant sleep disruption with increased stage 1 sleep,
decreased slow wave sleep, decreased REM sleep, and
delay in REM onset. Decreased sleep efficiency of 63.1%

Bring with you whatever will make you comfortable... i.e. Special pillow, PJs, teddy bear etc. Also..if you think you will have trouble sleeping bring a sleeping pill.

Cardsfan wrote:IF you have insurance, and have met your deductible for this year, and have a big deductible next year- I'd suggest making sure you have purchased a machine in 2015 to best take advantage of your insurance.

Thanks for the advice, Cardsfan! I do have a high deductible that has been met for this year and was able to get the follow-up titration study scheduled on a cancellation so it would be covered. I'm hopeful that I'll get my equipment before year's end so it will be covered as well.

LSAT wrote:Bring with you whatever will make you comfortable... i.e. Special pillow, PJs, teddy bear etc. Also..if you think you will have trouble sleeping bring a sleeping pill.

Thanks, LSAT. This is my second study as I was diagnosed through an initial study a month ago and I will be SO much more prepared for sleep this time!

Most people can use any good data capable cpap or apap for treatment. There's always going to be a few whose high pressure needs or centrals dictate a different machine. You're kinda in a tight spot if you are using insurance and dealing with year end issues. Your doctor is not likely to prescribe a machine until the titration results are back, as the pressure is usually a part of the prescription. Unless you get them to write it for an auto with an open range and hope you're not one of those who need a more specialized machine. If you have a supplier you will be working with, it might be a good idea to ask them in advance exactly which machine they plan to dispense then check it out here. One word in the title can make a difference. Then check the machine you actually get to make sure it's as expected. Good luck with the titration. I have taken my own pillow before just to remove that one piece of newness from the equation.

kteague wrote:Most people can use any good data capable cpap or apap for treatment. There's always going to be a few whose high pressure needs or centrals dictate a different machine. You're kinda in a tight spot if you are using insurance and dealing with year end issues. Your doctor is not likely to prescribe a machine until the titration results are back, as the pressure is usually a part of the prescription. Unless you get them to write it for an auto with an open range and hope you're not one of those who need a more specialized machine. If you have a supplier you will be working with, it might be a good idea to ask them in advance exactly which machine they plan to dispense then check it out here. One word in the title can make a difference. Then check the machine you actually get to make sure it's as expected. Good luck with the titration. I have taken my own pillow before just to remove that one piece of newness from the equation.

Thanks, kteague! At this point, I feel blessed that the second study will be covered by my insurance. I don't mind investing out-of-pocket for a clear head and energy to live life again!

Welcome to the forum.
You have the one thing most likely to give you success,
GOOD ATTITUDE!

I'm kind of in the same situation you are. (Though my titration study is Jan 3, yes a Sunday and weird day at that.) Anyway I don't think any way to get the equipment this year for you either. I'd think they'd have the study and then they need at least a week before you see them again. Actually in my case it's two weeks. Oh well.

I got my first machine early in the year, and was then able to get masks and supplies after the deductible.
Just having the copay made it a bit easier. My deductibles were HIDEOUS!
The next year, it made sense to ignore my insurance, and go straight to online (cpap.com)

Thanks, ChunkyFrog! Your machine is the one that I saw at cpap.com that appealed to me the most. I've relaxed now that I've accepted that either way, using insurance or not, I'm going to be paying out of pocket for the initial setup. We'll see what happens. I can't wait to start this journey to feeling betta!

chunkyfrog wrote:I got my first machine early in the year, and was then able to get masks and supplies after the deductible.
Just having the copay made it a bit easier. My deductibles were HIDEOUS!
The next year, it made sense to ignore my insurance, and go straight to online (cpap.com)

Just saw your post, jonny515 - Thanks! I contacted the sleep lab and found out that there is indeed no way equipment will be issued by year end. That's okay. I'm more relaxed now that I've done some research and have settled in for the long haul. Good luck to you on the 3rd!

jonny515 wrote:I'm kind of in the same situation you are. (Though my titration study is Jan 3, yes a Sunday and weird day at that.) Anyway I don't think any way to get the equipment this year for you either. I'd think they'd have the study and then they need at least a week before you see them again. Actually in my case it's two weeks. Oh well.

If it isn't too late, and you haven't already gotten one, get a sleeping pill for the titration study. It will help you to sleep for long enough to get good accurate results. There are lots of opinions from people on this site, but the basic type of machine you need will be dictated by your titration results. Your intial sleep study results have absolutely no bearing on the required pressure.

I will give you the same advise I give anybody else. When you get your machine, wait for the first long weekend or create one, or at least start on a Friday night to actually start using it. It makes it a lot easier to adjust.

This is good advice for most people; but my sleep was so horrible, I started right away, and I was right.
Getting used to Cpap could not make my sleep any worse.
When you start is up to you. It will work when you are ready.

And to you, FF. Yes, I'm doing a lot of research as well. Overload of info, I"m afraid.


[quote="FoggyFroggy"]Just saw your post, jonny515 - Thanks! I contacted the sleep lab and found out that there is indeed no way equipment will be issued by year end. That's okay. I'm more relaxed now that I've done some research and have settled in for the long haul. Good luck to you on the 3rd!