Hello and Happy New Year everyone... I haven't been around in awhile so I thought I would chime in on this one. SaphireSkye, is your Medicare primary? If so, their payment schedule (what they will pay 80% of, that is) is as follows: New mask- every 3 months (headgear they will only pay for every 6, ...

[quote="Colorado Jan"]I don't remember, Newgal...did you check with BillMyInsurance.com? Do they work with your insurance? Maybe you could get your apap that way. OR....check with your insurance to see if they would reimburse you if you purchased it directly. That would get you the Apap. See how tha...

I usually say that anything above 90 is safe, like Lori said, it usually drops when *anyone* is sleeping. If the desats to 85 were very brief, it probably isn't anything to worry about, but if it stays that way for more than a minute or two, you might have a reason to be concerned. As far as adjusti...

That pressure may also vary depending on the altitude setting if there is one. I've found that an incorrect altitude settng may vary a manometer-read pressure by as much as 1.5cm. I don't know if the basic Remstars have that adjustment or not.

If the unit has been purchased from the DME by your insurance company, then the settings shouldn't matter to them. However, if your CPAP is still on rental, then, from the other side of the fence, you should at least keep them in the loop because it is still "their" machine. Depending on your DME, t...

Dammit, that was me!

Lori, I'm so glad the results were good! Way to go girl!

Sorry, that post above was from me!

I would run away from any doctor who said they don't treat sleep apnea until the patient is de-satting and cyanotic during the day! I have started patients on CPAP who didn't hardly desat at night but still had sleep apnea. The only way to know would be to have a sleep study, and assume that you *do...

Could you clarify what kind of test this was? An ABG, or VBG? Most commonly results are given in mmHg (millimeters of mercury), and the normal CO2 level is 35-45 mmHg

I don't disagree with you, and I honestly don't know why doctors (the ones I deal with anyway) don't do more APAP. I just offered my insight in case the original poster was perhaps already stuck with a straight CPAP and had the support available to make a gradual change. And as far as "high priced m...

I would call your doctor and talk to your RT about it. I know everyone here would quickly say, "switch to an auto-PAP", which would probably help, but not all doctors are on board with that (another thread entirely!). I will share a patient experience that I had last year. I had a patient who, coinc...

In my very limited experience, most private insurance companies and Medicaid (basically, everything besides Medicare) purchases CPAP machines outright- was yours not purchased for you? At the very least, maybe your new DME will be a little better at contacting you!

Sleepless on LI wrote:On vacation? Charge him.

That's kind of what I was thinking. This is the kind of person I'm dealing with here, and why this is so aggravating!

This guy does not NEED a new sleep study, nor does he NEED a new machine. He just wants a new machine because he feels it is working better for him than his old one. Another sleep study will not tell him whether or not this new machine works better for him. Only he can tell you what works better no...