Newly diagnosed...HELP!

[sjohnson315]

Hello all! I was recently diagnosed with OSA with an AHI of 16.7 during an at home 3 night sleep study. According to my new pulmonologist I likely have a higher AHI as these studies tend to UNDERestimate the events.

Nonetheless...I have an appointment with the equipment people this Friday and need some advice! So...when I spoke with them on the phone they said the average cost of getting started with CPAP therapy is $3,000! I'm young and (thought I was) healthy, therefore I have a $2,500 deductible...yikes! I will have to pay all of this, plus 20% of the rest of the set-up! So...I've been doing some research online and have found multiple new machines online that are a fraction of the cost! So my question is...can I go to this apt. on Friday and get "fit" for the mask and buy the mask through them and then buy the machine and future supplies online? Will this affect my insurance in the future? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

Also...I'm 31 years old, married with 2 young children. I get up frequently in the night (kids!) and am slightly concerned about the implications CPAP will have on my sex life. Okay...I'm not as concerned as my husband! Ha ha! BUT...my question is...is there a machine you would recommend over others for me? I also like to travel and would like a machine that's light weight and easy to pack! Eek...this all makes me sound so needy! Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks all!

[LSAT]

Check with your insurance to see if purchases of CPAP equipment on line will count towards your deductable. If so, go to cpap.com...the sponsor of this message board. They are priced as low as possible on equipment and supplies.

[spmccord]

Also ask your insurance company if your DME is part of your network, and what is the network allowable is for the CPAP. The $3.000 cost is an exaggeration. The actual cost will be much lower.

[Okie bipap]

Once you find out what insurance will pay for the cpap machine, ask the DME what they are planning on charging you for the machine. It should not be more than what the insurance allows. If it is more, look for a different DME, or purchase from a source such as cpap.com, secondwindcpap.com, or check with forum member grayghost4. Many members have purchased equipment from him. Regardless of where you purchase your equipment, get a copy of your sleep study results and your prescription for the cpap machine and supplies. This will allow you to purchase supplies from other places if you want to. You can also find supplies and masks on ebay at greatly reduced prices. I recently purchased two brand new masks for less than I could have purchased one from my DME.

[palerider]

So my question is...can I go to this apt. on Friday and get "fit" for the mask and buy the mask through them and then buy the machine and future supplies online? Will this affect my insurance in the future? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated!

yes, you can do that, you can get a machine from anywhere, though it may not count towards your deductible.

am slightly concerned about the implications CPAP will have on my sex life. Okay...I'm not as concerned as my husband! Ha ha!

most people don't have sex while masked up... though there is at least one thread buried in the archives here where a couple masked up, went at it, and then (I think) posted the data showing their breathing patterns..

my question is...is there a machine you would recommend over others for me? I also like to travel and would like a machine that's light weight and easy to pack!

I'm a fan of resmeds, so the resmed airsense 10 autoset for her, or if you want a better priced deal, a resmed S9 autoset. failing that, a respironics prs1-60 or dreamstation auto.

[Sleeprider]

If you ever plan to camp with the CPAP on battery power, the Philips Respironics auto units will run on 12-volt power rather than the 24 volts of the Resmed, which require an expensive up-converter (12V-24V) to work. Both are great machines. Also keep in mind, a used or discontinued machine like the Philips Respironics System One Auto will save a lot of money. Check out Secondwind.com for examples of lower priced machines.

[sjohnson315]

Oh my goodness, thank you all so much for your much needed advice! I tried to call the docs office today but never heard back, so I think I'll try to call the insurance company tomorrow and see where I get!

About the sex questions, I figured it would be awkward to go at it masked up, but I wasn't sure if there were some masks that were easier to remove than others?

Thanks again for all the help!

[CPAP_DAD6]

Oh my goodness, thank you all so much for your much needed advice! I tried to call the docs office today but never heard back, so I think I'll try to call the insurance company tomorrow and see where I get!

About the sex questions, I figured it would be awkward to go at it masked up, but I wasn't sure if there were some masks that were easier to remove than others?

Thanks again for all the help!

I've been researching masks, because I don't like the one provided to me, and it seems most masks have a quick removal feature of some kind. . I wouldn't base your choice on this because fit and seAL are most important, without that your fighting against the therapy . Good luck !

[palerider]

About the sex questions, I figured it would be awkward to go at it masked up, but I wasn't sure if there were some masks that were easier to remove than others?

it varies depending on the mask, my first mask, a full face one, would take me maybe 10-15 seconds to put on, and 5 to take off...

my current one, (below) takes a couple seconds either way.

[Grace~~~]

it varies depending on the mask, my first mask, a full face one, would take me maybe 10-15 seconds to put on, and 5 to take off...

my current one, (below) takes a couple seconds either way.

~~~but you would never "violently rip it off"
...only just 'taking' it off takes a few seconds.


I think seeing sleepyhead data for two is more interesting?
...but as I cannot yet understand sleepyhead I may be waaaaaay overestimating?

[sjohnson315]

If you ever plan to camp with the CPAP on battery power, the Philips Respironics auto units will run on 12-volt power rather than the 24 volts of the Resmed, which require an expensive up-converter (12V-24V) to work. Both are great machines. Also keep in mind, a used or discontinued machine like the Philips Respironics System One Auto will save a lot of money. Check out Secondwind.com for examples of lower priced machines.

Thank you! Seconwindcpap.com has some great options! I appreciate the feedback!

[sjohnson315]

I wouldn't base your choice on this because fit and seAL are most important, without that your fighting against the therapy . Good luck ![/quote]

Thank you!

[sjohnson315]

About the sex questions, I figured it would be awkward to go at it masked up, but I wasn't sure if there were some masks that were easier to remove than others?

it varies depending on the mask, my first mask, a full face one, would take me maybe 10-15 seconds to put on, and 5 to take off...

my current one, (below) takes a couple seconds either way.

I really like the idea of the nasal pillows, but I'm a mouth breather! Since you've experienced both what would you recommend?

[palerider]

~~~but you would never "violently rip it off"
...only just 'taking' it off takes a few seconds.


I think seeing sleepyhead data for two is more interesting?
...but as I cannot yet understand sleepyhead I may be waaaaaay overestimating?

I don't think I ever felt the need to rip it off... if the machine quit, I could still breath through the anti-asphyxiation valve, I'd just reach up and unclip one, or both of the headgear clips, lift the mask off my face and set it on the headboard....

which is pretty much what I do with the p10, except it doesn't have clips, so I just slip it off.

I have no desire to abuse something that lets me sleep at night

as to the bedroom session thread, I'll leave that up to the interested party to dig out of the archives, unless someone who remembers it posts a link again... I've seen links posted a couple times....

some of the old timers a few years ago were naughty!

[palerider]

I really like the idea of the nasal pillows, but I'm a mouth breather! Since you've experienced both what would you recommend?

it all depends on what works for you, and that's VERY individual... I started with a FFM, because that was what got tossed in with the craigslist machine I started out with, I just was really lucky in that the mask was the right size for me, and it worked well, I kept trying others for several years, and kept going back to the first one.

I'm not a mouth breather, so I can't really help with that, but I will say that I've read that some people mouth breath because their noses are stuffed, and some of 'em find that the pressure from the cpap opens up their nose enough that they don't NEED to mouth breath, and after a while, they get used to nose breathing with cpap.... as always, YMMV.