I've been enjoying this forum for a few days now while I awaited the arrival of my CPAP and gear. I received my Respironics M Series Basic CPAP with a Breeze headgear and three nasal pillow sizes. I settled on the medium nasal pillows, and used the halo straps to stabilize the Breeze. I hooked everything up without the heated humidifier (quite humid here already!). Then tested the whole setup for a few minutes while lying down in different positions.
I noticed that the Breeze ejects exhaled air quite rapidly from the vent hole, and it hit my arm. I'm hoping that this doesn't bother me at night. The headgear spine was grabbing my hair and pulling it as I adjusted everything. Not too big of a deal, but it should be designed to guard against that. I can't imagine it being stable without the straps either.
I now realize what you all mean about hose management. I'll have to settle with the hose just lying there behind me for tonight, and possibly get a hook for the wall tomorrow (I don't have a headboard). The unit and mask seem quiet enough, plus I always wear ear plugs.
The basic CPAP does make it difficult to exhale, so I'll have to ask my provider what I can do to exchange it for one of the "flex" models. It does come with the ramp feature, which is great. My pressure is 10, and the ramp starts at 4. I stopped it around 5.5, so I hope that it's still comfortable once it reaches 10 tonight.
Anyway, that's my first setup and test of everything. I'm glad that everything came in a handy case since I'm leaving for the weekend. What's weird is that my cat wasn't even afraid of seeing me with the headgear on; he didn't even flinch. I guess all he cares about is where my feet are, since I stepped on his paw last week.
I'll continue this post with first night review. Until then, has anyone negotiated a CPAP exchange with your provider?
/Sam
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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, breeze, humidifier, hose, nasal pillow, CPAP, Ramp, Nasal Pillows
My first newbie introduction + First night
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My first newbie introduction + First night
Last edited by samofny on Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: My first official newbie introduction
[quote="samofny"]I've been enjoying this forum for a few days now while I awaited the arrival of my CPAP and gear. I received my Respironics M Series Basic CPAP with a Breeze headgear and three nasal pillow sizes. I settled on the medium nasal pillows, and used the halo straps to stabilize the Breeze. I hooked everything up without the heated humidifier (quite humid here already!). Then tested the whole setup for a few minutes while lying down in different positions.
I noticed that the Breeze ejects exhaled air quite rapidly from the vent hole, and it hit my arm. I'm hoping that this doesn't bother me at night. The headgear spine was grabbing my hair and pulling it as I adjusted everything. Not too big of a deal, but it should be designed to guard against that. I can't imagine it being stable without the straps either.
I now realize what you all mean about hose management. I'll have to settle with the hose just lying there behind me for tonight, and possibly get a hook for the wall tomorrow (I don't have a headboard). The unit and mask seem quiet enough, plus I always wear ear plugs.
The basic CPAP does make it difficult to exhale, so I'll have to ask my provider what I can do to exchange it for one of the "flex" models. It does come with the ramp feature, which is great. My pressure is 10, and the ramp starts at 4. I stopped it around 5.5, so I hope that it's still comfortable once it reaches 10 tonight.
Anyway, that's my first setup and test of everything. I'm glad that everything came in a handy case since I'm leaving for the weekend. What's weird is that my cat wasn't even afraid of seeing me with the headgear on; he didn't even flinch. I guess all he cares about is where my feet are, since I stepped on his paw last week.
I'll continue this post with first night review. Until then, has anyone negotiated a CPAP exchange with your provider?
/Sam
I noticed that the Breeze ejects exhaled air quite rapidly from the vent hole, and it hit my arm. I'm hoping that this doesn't bother me at night. The headgear spine was grabbing my hair and pulling it as I adjusted everything. Not too big of a deal, but it should be designed to guard against that. I can't imagine it being stable without the straps either.
I now realize what you all mean about hose management. I'll have to settle with the hose just lying there behind me for tonight, and possibly get a hook for the wall tomorrow (I don't have a headboard). The unit and mask seem quiet enough, plus I always wear ear plugs.
The basic CPAP does make it difficult to exhale, so I'll have to ask my provider what I can do to exchange it for one of the "flex" models. It does come with the ramp feature, which is great. My pressure is 10, and the ramp starts at 4. I stopped it around 5.5, so I hope that it's still comfortable once it reaches 10 tonight.
Anyway, that's my first setup and test of everything. I'm glad that everything came in a handy case since I'm leaving for the weekend. What's weird is that my cat wasn't even afraid of seeing me with the headgear on; he didn't even flinch. I guess all he cares about is where my feet are, since I stepped on his paw last week.
I'll continue this post with first night review. Until then, has anyone negotiated a CPAP exchange with your provider?
/Sam
_________________
| Mask | Humidifier | |||
 |  | |||
| Additional Comments: Pursleep, Padacheek, Regenesis™ Pillow, Neti Pot, Travel Buddy hose hanger | ||||
Welcome Samofny! Just a word of caution - keep an eye on the cat. Mine ignored my hose for weeks then all of a sudden pounced on it one morning, biting holes in it. I use a fleece cover now and he does'nt seem to even notice it. Take the fleece cover off though and he's ready to pounce again. I guess he thinks it's a snake or something. Best of luck to you!
"Kattitude"
"Kattitude"
Welcome Samofny! Yes, people do change the cpap model with their DME. Do it as soon as possible. Some people have fired their DME's and gone to new ones. There is usually a rental period, so you can do this.
What is your out of pocket cost after copays and deductibles? If it's high, you should look at prices on cpaps at cpap.com and see if they are lower. Because of the huge markeups charged by most DME's, it may be cheaper to get it from a reputable online provider like cpap.com. Then you won't have the hassle. Some insurance companies might reimburse you for equipment you buy out of pocket, but this varies considerably.
You will want to locate a place where they let you try on various masks. At least 2 hospital sleep labs within an hour's drive of me have this service. Not all will, though, so you have to call around. Then you can order your mask online, too. You can also buy mask return insurance from cpap.com.
It sounds like you are off to a good start.
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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap.com, CPAP, DME
What is your out of pocket cost after copays and deductibles? If it's high, you should look at prices on cpaps at cpap.com and see if they are lower. Because of the huge markeups charged by most DME's, it may be cheaper to get it from a reputable online provider like cpap.com. Then you won't have the hassle. Some insurance companies might reimburse you for equipment you buy out of pocket, but this varies considerably.
You will want to locate a place where they let you try on various masks. At least 2 hospital sleep labs within an hour's drive of me have this service. Not all will, though, so you have to call around. Then you can order your mask online, too. You can also buy mask return insurance from cpap.com.
It sounds like you are off to a good start.
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap.com, CPAP, DME
- Rose
Thread on how I overcame aerophagia
http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t3383 ... hagia.html
Thread on my TAP III experience
http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t3705 ... ges--.html
Thread on how I overcame aerophagia
http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t3383 ... hagia.html
Thread on my TAP III experience
http://www.cpaptalk.com/viewtopic/t3705 ... ges--.html
Update on first night
Well, I just had my first night with a basic CPAP and Breeze head gear with nasal pillows. I used the ramp feature, which was OK, but I failed to test everything at full strength first (10 cm). The max pressure had me make adjustments after I was already dozing off.
The greatest annoyance was noise. Although the machine is very quiet, the mask was not. I think what made it worse is the fact that I was wearing ear plugs. This caused some kind of internal swooshing sound with every breath I took (kind of like waves at the beach). Not too bad since it's kind of like white noise. There was some whistling that woke me up a few times; I'm not sure where that was coming from. It may have been a leak from my nasal pillow, so I might try the bigger ones tonight. I sleep on my stomach, so this mask was great for that. However, the vent hole blows air out in a stream-like fashion, so that made noise when hitting the pillow, or annoyed me when hitting my arm. Too bad it's not diffused.
I'm definitely inquiring about C-Flex or A-Flex. I felt like I was exhaling through a straw.
I will be hooking up the humidifier tonight. Even though it was humid here, my mouth was getting dried out. I was a little sore between my nares, but that's only if I touched there, and it went away after an hour or so.
I do feel better today, but I woke up multiple times for various reasons (hose, whistles, dry mouth, etc.). I'm happy about my first night experience, and it will hopefully get better with the adjustments that I will make.
The weirdest part is that my dream involved me wearing a CPAP mask. I was a guest at someone's house and was making an effort to hide the fact that I had to wear the gear while I slept.
Sam
The greatest annoyance was noise. Although the machine is very quiet, the mask was not. I think what made it worse is the fact that I was wearing ear plugs. This caused some kind of internal swooshing sound with every breath I took (kind of like waves at the beach). Not too bad since it's kind of like white noise. There was some whistling that woke me up a few times; I'm not sure where that was coming from. It may have been a leak from my nasal pillow, so I might try the bigger ones tonight. I sleep on my stomach, so this mask was great for that. However, the vent hole blows air out in a stream-like fashion, so that made noise when hitting the pillow, or annoyed me when hitting my arm. Too bad it's not diffused.
I'm definitely inquiring about C-Flex or A-Flex. I felt like I was exhaling through a straw.
I will be hooking up the humidifier tonight. Even though it was humid here, my mouth was getting dried out. I was a little sore between my nares, but that's only if I touched there, and it went away after an hour or so.
I do feel better today, but I woke up multiple times for various reasons (hose, whistles, dry mouth, etc.). I'm happy about my first night experience, and it will hopefully get better with the adjustments that I will make.
The weirdest part is that my dream involved me wearing a CPAP mask. I was a guest at someone's house and was making an effort to hide the fact that I had to wear the gear while I slept.
Sam
Re: Update on first night
I don't think the C-Flex offers exhalation relief like the A-Flex does. However, the A-Flex can be set to C-Flex mode - so it's the best of both.samofny wrote:...I'm definitely inquiring about C-Flex or A-Flex. I felt like I was exhaling through a straw. ...
I will be hooking up the humidifier tonight. Even though it was humid here, my mouth was getting dried out. I was a little sore between my nares, but that's only if I touched there, and it went away after an hour or so.
If you have problems with water in your tube, put a ResMed Hose Buddy or other make of cover on it.
Glad your first night wasn't too bad. Yeah!
_________________
| Mask | Humidifier | |||
| | |||
| Additional Comments: Pursleep, Padacheek, Regenesis™ Pillow, Neti Pot, Travel Buddy hose hanger | ||||
If you had a dry mouth you may be leaking air out your mouth. Need to try taping or chinstrap or both.
On the comment above about the DME having to provide Aflex ifi your doc orders I feel the need to comment.
A DME must provide what the doc orders if someone is going to pay. If your insurance says no, and the DME also says no, you the patient will need to be responsible for the bill if you want more than your insurance will pay for.
Many times the DME will bill the same code for CPAP, or APAP and the insurance is none the wiser. That is fine if that is what happens.
In the case of my insurance, the insurance company views APAP as a deluxe item. They have their own doc who reviews the "need for that machine" and can overrule your doc. Sad but true. In my case I hounded the DME and got them to bill the cpap code. So I got lucky. But a DME is under no obligation to provide a machine to someone where there isn't a party who is signing up to pay the bill.
If this ends up being the case and your really can't get insurance to approve and DME holds the line, then one is better off buying online as the prices are much more palitable.
On the comment above about the DME having to provide Aflex ifi your doc orders I feel the need to comment.
A DME must provide what the doc orders if someone is going to pay. If your insurance says no, and the DME also says no, you the patient will need to be responsible for the bill if you want more than your insurance will pay for.
Many times the DME will bill the same code for CPAP, or APAP and the insurance is none the wiser. That is fine if that is what happens.
In the case of my insurance, the insurance company views APAP as a deluxe item. They have their own doc who reviews the "need for that machine" and can overrule your doc. Sad but true. In my case I hounded the DME and got them to bill the cpap code. So I got lucky. But a DME is under no obligation to provide a machine to someone where there isn't a party who is signing up to pay the bill.
If this ends up being the case and your really can't get insurance to approve and DME holds the line, then one is better off buying online as the prices are much more palitable.
7 posts
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