I had a septoplasty about 9 years ago. Recovery was miserable but not painful. By that I mean you can't blow your nose for a week even though you really feel like you need to. I scheduled a light week the following week but never missed a day of work. In fact, since I had to wait for my wife to driv...

You are correct, he/she cannot require you to use a specific DME and, in fact, if audited he/she must be able to prove that you were aware that you had a choice. Remind him/her that prison is really unpleasant.

VERY good point about keeping DMEs honest. Also, as discussed in another post both Respironics and Resmed (and maybe others) give the DME a replacement mask on any mask rejected in under 30 days. Some DMEs (I've seen it at online DMEs) offer to sell "mask insurance" to replace a mask within 30 days ...

VERY good point about keeping DMEs honest. Also, as discussed in another post both Respironics and Resmed (and maybe others) give the DME a replacement mask on any mask rejected in under 30 days. Some DMEs (I've seen it at online DMEs) offer to sell "mask insurance" to replace a mask within 30 days ...

I have had people say this many times. Most the time they say the machine isn't blowing and they think this because they have become used to the pressure. This is discussed elsewhere in this forum and others. HOWEVER: your machine also probably has an auto off feature that can be enabled or disabled...

Generally, CPAP is better for obstructive apnea than bilevel. Bilevel is good for hypoventilation. In years past, bilevel was sometimes more tolerable than CPAP for some people, and that is still true to some degree. Modern autoset machines with flex/epr are much more tolerable so the difference is ...

What it will mostly affect is: (1) response to events for an autoset machine and (2) recording of therapy hours for any type of machine that records usage as opposed to just a timer on the blower like the old machines did.

In my lab we use auto's exclusively. We never ever set it for the full range. Normally we set a range of 4 to 6 from the minimum to the maximum pressure. Everyone gets a machine with a modem so we can review their data when they come to the lab or our support group. We do our titrations specifically...

From the standpoint of your machine, the difference between pillows and a mask is that the mask has a larger air volume to act as a damper when you breath. This can affect the ability of your machine to detect your breathing, and events, and the machine's sensitivitiy must be adjusted. That is what ...

PS: You may want to see an ENT doctor to see why you have to breathe through your mouth.

I have had several people use the Oracle. Some like it, some don't. Give it a try and see how you do, but you may need to see your doctor and have the pressure adjusted.

All too long. In almost 25 yrs working in the sleep field we have never had a sleep study that wasn't "scored" by the end of the day following the night study, interpretation is always within the week, except on rare occasions for holidays or vacations it's the next week, and CPAP ordered within a d...

PS: I have discussed many of the problems you might face in "how to tolerate cpap therapy for your sleep apnea" available at sleepingwithcpap.com

In our area the DMEs have learned that the more expensive/sophisticated machines result in better compliance and they make up the extra cost when you ultimately stay on the machine and use more masks/supplies. So we order auto set machines with modems, Respironics or ResMed only depending upon which...

Everything said above is good advice. Try turning up your humidifier. Sometimes, the air going out the mouth results in increased nasal congestion which results in further opening of the mouth. Theoretically, if the air from the CPAP were at 100% humidity and 98.6 degrees, this wouldn't happen. The ...