Time for a new machine * Need Advice *

[Guest]

I'm in Quebec and had no trouble purchasing an M Series Aflex machine from Vitale Aire. they have offices through Canda. So I'm not exactly sure what this approval by the Ministry is. they would not be seeling it if t was not. Yeah, it cost a bunch but insurance paid the majority.

the company I've been dealing with is, Restassure and they were recommended by the sleep clinic, but the way they have dealt with me, my gut feeling tells me its time to look elsewhere.

Now did you have to provide any documents to Vitale Aire??

[jskinner]

Would love to hear from other Canadian members and get their opinion.

Policies on how much the government will pay and how often you can get a new machine vary from province to province.

[Hawthorne]

Try everything you can to get your hands on your old prescription! If you are willing to pay out of pocket online, you can use that old prescription and get a Remstar Auto with A-Flex from cpap.com. My prescription was from 2002 and it said just "cpap". That will get you an auto online. That's what I got and it's a great machine.
With a lot of help from some great people on this forum and the software and reader which I also purchased online, I have a great machine which allows me to monitor my own therapy. Prices have gone up since I got mine but, if you go to cpap.com and ask about their pricing, you will get it for less. I'll bet it will be a lot less than in Canada. You won't be able to get any Provincial Government help or extended health help if you do that but you will have a great machine.

[Analog-X]

I was off work yesterday to get an allergy test, and took the opportunity to get some answers. So here goes.

1. To get a new CPAP Unit from CPAP Provider, I need to get Retested at Sleep Clinic.

2. To get Retested at Sleep Clinic, I need a new referral from my Family doctor because Canadian law says if you dont see a specialist for over 1 year, you need to get a new referral.

3. To get referral, I need to book an appointment with my Family Doctor...

See whats happening here?? A lot of running around and wasted time. I'm currently at work as I type this. It was a big hassle to get time off yesterday let alone multiple times.

Anyways to continue the story, I drove to Vitale Aire which happened to be nearby where I was getting my allergy test done. I walked in and asked some questions and they were much more professional than Restassure.

1. If I go through the proper channels, I cannot buy any kind of AUTO CPAP Machine... Canadian government is strict to who gets an Auto CPAP Machine... apperantly I need to be at least 10CM or higher and that does not guarantee that I will qualify. I'm currently at 7CM.

2. Proper Channels:
- Get Referal from Family doctor to see Sleep Specialist.
- Sleep Specialist setups sleep study.
- CPAP Machine is assigned.
- Government Pays $738 and Patient pays the rest.

But Wait a minute?? What do I mean buy $738 dollars?? You can buy machines from CPAP.com for under $400.

3. Vitale Aire told me I can do a PERSONAL Purchase of any CPAP Machine I want but the entire fee would be out of my pocket and the government wont pay for it.

Guess how much they want for the Remstar Auto Flex machine?? $2500!!!!

You dont want to know how pissed off I was.. THATS A RIP OFF!!

Conclusion:

I went to my family doctors office and told them my machine is broken and I cant wait 2 months to get an appointment all I need is the referral.. So they agreed to fax the referral right away.

Now I'm thinking I will either 1. Get re-tested, get my perscreption and order from Cpap.com or Skip the re-testing and ask for my oldl perscreption and order from CPAP.com


I wish I knew about CPAP.com years ago, I wouldnt have paid $300 for a mask where you can get the same thing for $75[/u]

[Wulfman]

Skip the re-testing and ask for my oldl perscreption and order from CPAP.com

This would be (and I believe it was) my advice. It would save a LOT of time and $$$.

Good luck.

Den

[Hawthorne]

Canadian prices are a rip-off! You do have to jump through lots of hoops to get the ADP help in Ontario. The time frame to get anything done - referral, seeing specialist, getting a sleep study, having the followup to get a prescription can take a year or more! The prices are at least 3 or 4 times higher than online. I got my old Remstar 6 years ago, in Canada (Ontario). It was $1600 then! I did get the ADP help then and my extended health covered the rest. You're right. The whole thing is ridiculous. I wish I had known about cpap.com years ago as well. I have a new M Series Auto with A-Flex ( bought it online in Febraury). I also got the software and reader. It's great! I paid for it all myself but it's not that much when you think about it and compare it to Canadain prices. I buy my masks on cpap.com now as well. A mask that cost just under $300 from my DME here cost about $100 on cpap.com! It's just ridiculous. I had this same rant in my last post! Sorry but it really gets to me!

[Hawthorne]

P.S. - If you are NOT having any particular problems and just need a new machine because yours is about shot, buy online for sure -but buy an auto and get the software and reader. The people here on the forum can help you get everything set up so you get great therapy.

[Analog-X]

P.S. - If you are NOT having any particular problems and just need a new machine because yours is about shot, buy online for sure -but buy an auto and get the software and reader. The people here on the forum can help you get everything set up so you get great therapy.

I'd like to thank everyone for the great advice... and No I'm not havingn any particular problems... the machine itself is not pumping air like it used to, when I first got my Remstar with the mask off you could hear how much airflow there was, and with it on.. if not seated properly.. my eyes would burn and get dry from the air.

Now, its like 25% of what is used to be and I've always replaced the filter in the back.

Its almost 7 years old.

Yes I have aged 7 years since I got my machine, but health wise and weight wise I've maintained the same as I was 7 years ago.

So I dont think another sleep study will have another benefit.

And I dont see the rationalizations that only people with 10CM and above should quality for an Auto System. If My current setting is 7cm.. I dont see why I couldnt buy an Auto one and set it to 4-7 or 4-9CM.

Our body's fluctuate day to day...so I'd like to think an auto system should be beneficial for me.

[Hawthorne]

Analog-X- I agree with you totally! With no other medical problems or possible other sleep problems (you would probably be aware of something if there was another possible problem) get your own and get an auto. It can also be run in cpap mode. I'm sure you know that. You've been doing your homework!
I agree with your reasoning for an auto. A pressure of 10 cm is a ridiculously arbitrary number for getting an auto! People do fluctuate during the night even if their pressure is lower than 10. I personally think that evryone should have an auto because it can be used in straight cpap mode too and some people do better at a straight cpap setting but why not prescribe a machine that is more versitile for everyone???
Like you, my old machine was 6 years old and had been repaired once already.

[Analog-X]

Here is a small quick update:

I got booked for a new sleep study test Tomorrow Aug 5th.

and an Appointment to see the doctor on 16 Sept.

I dont know if I get my prescription after my test or on the 16th to see the Doctor.. which is over a month away.

I'm going to first make sure I get my hands on my prescription for this new test.. after that I'm going to start asking some questions and possibly raise some hell.

[pianomagoo]

Too me sounds like I'd have to go through too much hastle to get my machine, I dont mind paying $$$ out of my pocket to get the machine that is best for me rather than decided for me, because that is what the government is willing to cover.

Analog-x

I am from Ontario and I also asked for an auto titrating machine but was told the government wouldn't pay for it. I was told they are only for those whose pressures are over 13cm and have a range of 4? Anyhow, I asked what the difference in price was of the S8 Elite and a resmed auto titrating machine? I was told the difference, if I wanted to buy it from the dme, would be 750.00. The S8 Elite straight cpap was covered.

I am wondering what happens if you need an auto titrating machine to control your apneas? My AI goes from 2 to as much as 13 from one day to the next and back. I wonder if an auto titrating machine would level that out? If it could, would I be able to exchange my cpap for an auto titrating machine (with prescription?) at no extra cost????

I hope you are able to get the machine you want. I think having the software is crucial to knowing what is going on and tracking your progress.

Best to you,

Anne

[Analog-X]

I hope you are able to get the machine you want. I think having the software is crucial to knowing what is going on and tracking your progress.

Best to you,

Now this is the tricky part, which I may or may not raise hell about.

I drove to Vitale Aire in Mississauga, Ontario and asked about purchasing a machine and basically they told me that only special people get the Auto CPAP they have to qualify and they need to be 13CM and up etc..

So I said ok.. Forget about the government. What if I want to buy the Machine out of my own pocket as a personal purchase.

They told me the REMStar Auto CPAP A-Flex was $2500.

This is the part I'm going to raise hell over!!!

My question will be... How come I can shop around get a Brand New RemStar A-Flex for $600-$700 U.S. and they want to charge me $2500. I want to know why the drastic difference in Price.

Oh and the kicker to all this is... The REMStar A-Flex can as well run like a standard non AUTO Flex machine.

I'm going to do my best to get my prescription in hand.. I have a feeling they wont give it to me easily.

With my First CPAP I didnt see any prescription, they automatically assigned a CPAP Equipment selling company to me. This was all before I knew any better.

Once I get the prescription in hand, I will have more freedom.

[DreamStalker]

I hope you are able to get the machine you want. I think having the software is crucial to knowing what is going on and tracking your progress.

Best to you,

Now this is the tricky part, which I may or may not raise hell about.

I drove to Vitale Aire in Mississauga, Ontario and asked about purchasing a machine and basically they told me that only special people get the Auto CPAP they have to qualify and they need to be 13CM and up etc..

So I said ok.. Forget about the government. What if I want to buy the Machine out of my own pocket as a personal purchase.

They told me the REMStar Auto CPAP A-Flex was $2500.

This is the part I'm going to raise hell over!!!

My question will be... How come I can shop around get a Brand New RemStar A-Flex for $600-$700 U.S. and they want to charge me $2500. I want to know why the drastic difference in Price.

Oh and the kicker to all this is... The REMStar A-Flex can as well run like a standard non AUTO Flex machine.

I'm going to do my best to get my prescription in hand.. I have a feeling they wont give it to me easily.

With my First CPAP I didnt see any prescription, they automatically assigned a CPAP Equipment selling company to me. This was all before I knew any better.

Once I get the prescription in hand, I will have more freedom.

Just my opinion ... but raising hell is wasted energy you could use instead to treat your apnea. Just get your Rx in hand and shop online and leave those people to suck off of somebody elses life.

[jnk]

Then again, there IS something to be said for raising heck! Sometimes it can really energize you!

Only kidding. What I meant was: 'Yeah, what DreamStalker just said.'

jnk

[Analog-X]

Just my opinion ... but raising hell is wasted energy you could use instead to treat your apnea. Just get your Rx in hand and shop online and leave those people to suck off of somebody elses life.

As long as they co-operate with me and give me my Rx I'll be fine, I'm always nice and calm... even when I raise hell I got about it in a calm manner.

The point of this, is to get the best possible treatment for my Apnea, and that includes best equipment possible.

If I have to pay $700-$1000+ out of my pocket ontop of what the Government covers which is around $738

I rather pay $600-$700 out of my pocket, and this way I can get my own software etc.. and monitor myself.

I've been using my CPAP for the past 6-7 years... In that period of time, I have no idea what my progress was like. The providers wont talk about getting your own software or be able to any kind of settings. Which does make sense because there will always be some irresponsible people out there using the machine in a non-proper manner.