Questions to ask...

[TiredMominCanada]

Finally after 5 weeks the report from my sleep study is ready and I have an appointment to see the specialist tomorrow. The morning after my sleep study the tech unofficially told me he thought moderate to severe OSA and that I would be back for a titration study soon.

I've been reading a lot of posts on the board and have gained a lot of knowledge! I have asked for a copy of the report and they said I could request one at the appointment tomorrow.

Does anyone have any advice as to what questions I should ask the doctor?

Thanks!

[TalonNYC]

You should definitely ask for a copy of your prescription (after they do the titration sleep study and get the results). This will let you go to any DME your insurance provider allows.

Also ask the doctor to prescribe an auto-titrating machine with full efficacy data recording, by name, in the Rx. Otherwise, the DME will give you the least-expensive machine they can. Note that the doctor doesn't need to supply a brand-name, they just need to specify auto-titrating and full efficacy data-capable.

Good luck on the titration study!

[cflame1]

Including leak data.

[JO'M]

I'm guessing you are in Canada based on your screen name.

Search for Black Spinners, Nan Wilson and roscear(sp?) posts they are all in Canada (as am I), there are some differences in the American way of doing things and each individual province. You might also want to fill out your location, so you can get more specific information.

From my experience (I'm newly diagnosed this summer) I went to the sleep Dr, to review the results, he then ordered a titration study. the morning after the titration study, I was given a folder with a "temp" prescription (basically my pressure and what masks they tried on me), a list of DME's and another appt with the Dr for a month later. It was up to me to contact the DME and set up an appt.

It was the RT at the DME who walked me through all the machines, talked to me about my sleeping habits and tried a bunch of masks on me. She also should me how the machine/masks worked and how to care for them. She has been monitoring me for the past month and will be providing a report to the Dr for my follow up appt. After he is satisfied that I am compliant and the CPAP is working for me, he will write the official prescription. Which I then take back to the DME and all the paperwork gets submitted to OHIP and my ins.

The RT will be monitoring me in between Dr's appts, my insurance company covers monitoring and I figure it's a good idea to have another set of eyes on it.

I plan on asking for a copy(ies) of my prescription, which I will use to purchase anything extra I want from cpap.com


I'm in Ontario - HTH

[TiredMominCanada]

So I met with the specialist today and he sent me straight to the DME for a machine. Turns out my AHI is 60. He wants me try the machine out with a 9cm pressure for a few weeks and then do a titration study. He figures this will increase the odds of me sleeping at the clinic. I'm sort of in shock that results were so bad.
The initial reaction I've had from family and close friends has been so-so. Mostly supportive but almost everyone assumes that the apnea would go away if lose some weight (I am about 30lbs overweight). I asked the doctor this question and he told me that I could lose 50 lbs and my apnea would still be severe. I'm tired of trying to explain things already and have decided that I won't be telling anyone else for a while.
The DME gave me a ResMed Nasal mask but I don't know what kind it is. I looked through the nasal masks on cpap.com and don't see the same one there. I think its a pretty bottom line mask. I'll try it out this weekend and see how it goes. Wish me luck. I feel like this is the first day of the rest of my life!
I think I posted my equipment... I have a loaner Resmed S9 Autoset and like I said - not sure what the mask is!

[Sloop]

Mostly supportive but almost everyone assumes that the apnea would go away if lose some weight (I am about 30lbs overweight). I asked the doctor this question and he told me that I could lose 50 lbs and my apnea would still be severe. I'm tired of trying to explain things already and have decided that I won't be telling anyone else for a while.

That is not necessarily true. It is JUST as possible that if you were to lose 50 lbs, you could mostly elimate your OSA. I know because I did it. Now everyone is different, and possibly your doc knows more about your physical limitations (i.e., maybe there are underlying reasons for your OSA in addition to being overweight). But, if you are the run of the mill Apneac, then losing a lot of weight will GREATLY reduce or even eliminate OSA.

[Sloop]

And yes, they may give you some "also ran" mask -- so make the best of it for the short term. There are HUNDREDS of mask options out there for you to learn about in the coming months. You WILL find the perfect match, or damn close to it.
And hopefully you will also experience what happens to some of us -- immediate relief and renewed energy. As you'll read here, not all are so lucky - but many of us are. If you are in our group, the renewed energy will spark you into increasing your daily exercise and you'll discover it is a win-win situation.

[purple]

I congratulate the fellow who lost a lot of weight and reduced his need to use an xPAP machine.

I believe that anyone is more likely to lose weight while doing sleep apnea treatment, assuming they need xPAP. For most of us, losing even a little weight is extremely difficult. Insofar as myself, I know that I had sleep apnea when I was younger, stronger, and slightly underweight.

I do not want to discourage you from attempting to lose weight. In my life, trying to lose weight is mandatory to keep from gaining weight. I would suggest though, that you focus on doing xPAP treatment whatever you attempt on the weight issue.

I believe that in my case, my multiple health problems magnify the effect of the others. So doing xPAP therapy helps my heart, my diabetes, makes it little harder to gain weight, my arthritis, and so on.

My advice is to be focused on doing xPAP, without that losing weight becomes even harder.

[TiredMominCanada]

I think he said I would still be severe if I lost the weight because I have a really big tongue, an overbite and a small throat (His words, not mine
I guess I just don't want to feel like it's my fault that I have this...

[Sloop]

I think he said I would still be severe if I lost the weight because I have a really big tongue, an overbite and a small throat (His words, not mine
I guess I just don't want to feel like it's my fault that I have this...

I guess you could always have a tonguectomy!

Oh -- almost forgot. If by chance you are a smoker, you should learn that smokers are 40 times more likely to have OSA than non-smokers.

The day I was diagnosed with OSA, I quit the habit cold turkey. I also embarked on what turned out to be a life-long walking program. I also went on a Spartan diet. I lost 65 lbs in one year and "cured" my OSA. Now, 21 years later, I unfortunately regained all the weight due to blowing out two knees (total knee replacements) and backing off on intense walking. So, I've been back on CPAP for the last 8 years or so. The good news is that I still walk 3 miles a day and have never once taken even one puff on a cigarette since I quit.

[purple]

Losing weight. Quitting smoking. You are a tough guy. U must have been a US Marine.

[BlackSpinner]

I think he said I would still be severe if I lost the weight because I have a really big tongue, an overbite and a small throat (His words, not mine
I guess I just don't want to feel like it's my fault that I have this...

It is not your fault, unless you specifically chose your gene providers before birth to experience the world this way.

You will probably lose weight once your cpap therapy kicks in. Many people do (I didn't but I was eating emotionally).

Note that the way sleep apnea is handled is different in each province.

[TiredMominCanada]

Well I'm sure glad I found this place - thanks for all of the support!!

First night went pretty well, took a long time to fall asleep but slept for 7 hours once i did!

Thanks again!