Apria strikes again!

[ejdischer]

Hilarious, is all I can say about this. About two weeks ago I called Apria to see about getting a Bravo. They tell me they can't get it(documented in another post). Anyway, I go and buy it from Cpap.com, which I obviously don't mind doing, but hey, if I can get it from Apria, the insurance covers it. So today I get a phone call from Jenna from Apria. She leaves me a message telling me that the Bravo has come in and could I please call her so I she knows what to do with the mask. Oh how bad I wanted to tell her exactly what she could do with it. This is exactly what's wrong with their company. Half of the morons who work there don't know their ass from their elbow, or a full face mask from nasal pillows. Thankfully, the Bravo is working great, so it's not like I wasted my $96 getting it from cpap.com. But the fact of the matter is, I've met my deductible for the year, meaning the Bravo would've been dirt cheap. Oh well, yet another case of Apria failing to give me a bottle of lube before giving me the business.

[luneman]

I would go ahead and get the Bravo from the DME and stash it untill you need it!

[RosemaryB]

[quote="ejdischer"]Hilarious, is all I can say about this. About two weeks ago I called Apria to see about getting a Bravo. They tell me they can't get it(documented in another post). Anyway, I go and buy it from Cpap.com, which I obviously don't mind doing, but hey, if I can get it from Apria, the insurance covers it. So today I get a phone call from Jenna from Apria. She leaves me a message telling me that the Bravo has come in and could I please call her so I she knows what to do with the mask. Oh how bad I wanted to tell her exactly what she could do with it. This is exactly what's wrong with their company. Half of the morons who work there don't know their ass from their elbow, or a full face mask from nasal pillows. Thankfully, the Bravo is working great, so it's not like I wasted my $96 getting it from cpap.com. But the fact of the matter is, I've met my deductible for the year, meaning the Bravo would've been dirt cheap. Oh well, yet another case of Apria failing to give me a bottle of lube before giving me the business.

[Sergey45]

Yes,
Just accept things as they are. We are not going to change Apria or any other DME in that matter. Thinking of Apria during the day (especially after noon) is not among good sleeping habits, same as cup of coffee after dinner or horror movie at bed time.
Just take mask from them and have it as a back up if you like Bravo.

[Guest]

EJdischer: it IS a shame you have to deal with people like that...I wish it weren't the case. Hopefully you'll do well with your machine and mask and get a good night's sleep soon!

[ejdischer]

I tried the Bravo because as much as the Optilife worked for me, it had some weird fitting problems. As you can see from my avatar pic, I have quite a huge melon. IT'S LIKE AN ORANGE ON A TOOTHPICK!(said in my best brogue) Anyway, the optilife's back strap would slip off the back of my head, and the chin support would pull on the chin hair. My only complaint thus far about the bravo is that the bottom two hoses are quite bulky, but I don't rout them over my head so it's all good.

I ended up buying a new version of encore pro. I sold mine on here a few months ago because my wife's laptop broke and I use a mac. Anyway, she got a new one from work, so I figured I'd use that. Numbers have stayed pretty much the same. I'm on APAP, 90% pressure ranges between 11.5-14. AHI has been between 2 and 2.5. So the nasal pillow masks have actually improved things from the Hybrid and Soyala FF. With those my AHI was around 3.5-4.5.

Dish

[geoDoug]

If I'm understanding the situation right, our experiences were similar. When I decided to upgrade machines, Apria told me that insurance wouldn't cover a humidifier for the new machine. So I purchased and received a humidifier for the new machine from cpap.com. Naturally, I excitedly opened my new toy. Then I met with Apria and...lo and behold, a new humidifier was included! So now I had two identical humidifiers. Grrr...

No analogy is perfect, since masks are more disposable than humidifiers, but this may help: I called cpap.com. I explained the situation and that humidifier from them hadn't been used, but I had opened it. They said return it and gave me a return number/address. They told me to include a letter with that number and the reason why I was returning it. Even though the policy on their site says that they don't accept returns on humidifiers and on opened items, I got a credit on my credit card for almost the entire amount. (Great example of, "It can never hurt to ask.")

Yes, I had to pay a small "restocking fee" and shipping. But it was still a great contrast in what good customer service is all about. I learned a lot about them. I'm seriously impressed by cpap.com's customer service.

Doug.

[lvwildcat]

Doug- a friend of mine here in Vegas is using Apria . He was told that his insurance denied need for humidifier(helllo this is the desert!!!) So we came up with Plan B- he's going to have nasal surgery soon and he wants an Oracle during that time. The information insert for the Oracle has a WARNING in BIG LETTERS. MUST BE USED WITH A HUMIDIFIER !!!!!!!!!
So I think his insurance will have to approve humidifier- his choice of mask makes it a necessity. I'm interested in seeing if our little plan will work

[Wulfman...]

Doug- a friend of mine here in Vegas is using Apria . He was told that his insurance denied need for humidifier(helllo this is the desert!!!) So we came up with Plan B- he's going to have nasal surgery soon and he wants an Oracle during that time. The information insert for the Oracle has a WARNING in BIG LETTERS. MUST BE USED WITH A HUMIDIFIER !!!!!!!!!
So I think his insurance will have to approve humidifier- his choice of mask makes it a necessity. I'm interested in seeing if our little plan will work

Wouldn't it just be easier (and less painful) to get the doctor to write a letter of medical necessity?

Most insurance companies have recognized the importance of humidification to the compliance and success of this therapy.

Den

[geoDoug]

Doug- a friend of mine here in Vegas is using Apria . He was told that his insurance denied need for humidifier(helllo this is the desert!!!) So we came up with Plan B- he's going to have nasal surgery soon and he wants an Oracle during that time. The information insert for the Oracle has a WARNING in BIG LETTERS. MUST BE USED WITH A HUMIDIFIER !!!!!!!!!
So I think his insurance will have to approve humidifier- his choice of mask makes it a necessity. I'm interested in seeing if our little plan will work

What Den said. If you've got a doctor who will oblige, get them to write a letter of necessity.

(...on a side note...you live in Las Vegas? I'm sorry. I lived there for ten years and I'll never go back. I've had enough "dry heat" to last me several lifetimes, thankyouverymuch!)

Doug.

[lvwildcat]

His primary MD left current practice. I told him to call the pulmonologist who interpreted his study(I know him I'm an ICU charge RN). I think he'll do it-this guy is very educated and did his homework before his titration study. He is VERY upbeat and has a positive attitude. I'm sure it'll work out.

FYI Doug-it's been a DRY 110+ for over a month now!!! As I see it only about 6-8 weeks more of triple digit temps.
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[geoDoug]

FYI Doug-it's been a DRY 110+ for over a month now!!! As I see it only about 6-8 weeks more of triple digit temps.

Well, at least it's a dry heat. When I lived there, we didn't have central air conditioning. It wasn't pretty.

Doug.

[lvwildcat]

No central air???-OMG!!!!! A/C died on my '03 car 4 weeks ago;hubby ordered part (waited 2 weeks to get here) and I no longer have to drive with windows and moon roof open(worst day was a whooping 117) Oh yea did I mention the car has BLACK LEATHER seats??? I borrowed my 19 year olds '96 Buick quite a few days!!

[geoDoug]

Oh yea did I mention the car has BLACK LEATHER seats??? I borrowed my 19 year olds '96 Buick quite a few days!!

That sounds familiar. We had a Silver Mazda with black vinyl seats. Pure hell in the summer, since it's was so hot all you were naturally wearing shorts everywhere. My parents bought this car while in Las Vegas. What were they thinking??? (I was a kid. We got out of that hell-hole when I was 10.) I think we've gone a bit off topic here...

Doug.

[Bookbear]

Hilarious, is all I can say about this. Oh well, yet another case of Apria failing to give me a bottle of lube before giving me the business.

LOL!! VERY descriptive (I wonder if KY or Wet are on the formulary?)

Seriously, if you've met your deductable for the year, DO get the mask for a backup and get pillows, and headgear before the end of the contract year; that way, you'll have spares ready for when they say, "Order? What order? And what's a 'Bravo'?"