Blarg: My PSG recorded 0 CENTRAL apnea events and 0 CENTRAL hypopnea events. Mixed events was also zero. A recent posting indicated that the events recorded by my encore pro data and labeled as OA (Obstructive Apnea) are actually central events. So, my question on the difference between central apne...

Hi blarg, the average 02 is not as meaningful as the instantanous O2 level. Generally the sleep docs draw the line at 88%, anything below that point requires intervention. Actually the blood saturation reacts amazingly fast. I've tried experiments and from a baseline of 96%, cessation of breathing f...

Example: Hybrid mask with headgear and all three sizes of cushions and nasal pillows Available at retail for 175.00 (manufacturer's suggested retail is 209.00) DME claimed 389.00 BCBS paid 269.56 I pay 29.96 total to DME is 299.52 I hope that no is suggesting that the Insurance Companies EOBs are fa...

I'm in exactly the same situation, that is a BCBS managed, self-insured program. As I said, I'm not giving up. I'm sure that the next rep I talk to, will probably give me a different answer. It is unreasonable to expect the "insured " companies to pay above retail. Likewise, I'm irritated that my co...

Are there no xPaP machines that use oximetry as the response to titrate against?
It would seem to me that blood desaturation is a much more effective method to detect apnea or hypopnea.
Is it possible to have apnea without desaturation?

I called my insurance (BlueCross/BlueShield PPO) about an hour ago and was told that unless I purchased from a participating provider, I would not be reimbursed anything. I don't know if cpap.com is a participating provider or not, but I thought that the point of a PPO was so that you could go to a ...

Please help me understand this, I thought that central apnea is a nervous system (brain controlled) caused cessation of breathing. I take that to mean that the muscles used in breathing are not being activated by the central nervous system. Can CPAP correct this type of apnea, or does it require a v...

It looks to me that my DME is charging BCBS 295.00 per month for ten months for a Respironics Auto Bipap. I actually pay 16.48 per month (my coinsurance). Now, the purchase price for this unit is around 1200-1300 outright. I intent to propose to BCBS that I just purchase the unit on-line. Seems to m...

I have several unused Ultra Mirage FF masks that were never used in medium and small. Anyone interested, PM me with subject line MASK.

I've been using the hybrid mask (yes the headgear is awful... seems very cheap and flimsy), but love the mask as it controls my mouth breathing and is much much more comfortable than the FP 431. It the chin support that makes the difference for me! I'll try the "tooley" fix tonight for the headgear....

Blarg.... Please Please keep us up to date on any progress you make. I'm not a programmer and not conversant with SQL. I've about gone bonkers trying to figure out how to get raw data into either excel, csv or access.

Can someone tell me how to read the Microsoft SQL data that is collected in EncorePro. What I’d like to do is export (for example) pressure data to an excel spreadsheet so that I can more closely example short time periods. It’s my understanding that data is acquired every 30 sec, suggests that ther...

Recently my DME brought a ResMed VPAPIII to me to use "for a while" saying it's a better machine than the Respironics BiPap Pro 2. Both machines were set to 16 and 5. Both have smartcards and both have humidifiers. The Resmed model is spontanous (not S/T capable), I really don't know about the respi...

My Dentist said that it was very possible that the pressure from the mask (I was using resmed ultramirage small) could cause pain, discomfort and a temporary feeling of loosening. This was particularily true if the mask shifted upward during the night. I have subsequently changed to a fisher mask, i...

Does anyone have info on the respironics communications port for the BiPap plus? Is it worth the effort to acquire data from this BiPap. What I'd really be interested in is a time based plot of pressures to assess the regularity of my beathing pattern. Is this a serial port or parallel, unidirection...