I feel like the floor has just dropped out from under me

[Catalytic]

I just picked up a nice supply of new ResMed Swift FX nasal pillows from an internet CPAP supplier at twelve bucks each... they paid shipping, plus the tax was included.

Who? Who?

Yeah...who? Who?

[logicalditz]

Thanks Everyone. I REALLY mean it! This has all been extremely overwhelming and emotional. I am having a really hard time concentrating tonight. Every time I try to get on my computer my husband asks me to come and be with him. Poor guy is really upset & feeling very betrayed. I am hoping he will have a new job soon.

ANYWAYS

The tip about checking with family paid off, my brother-in-law has a barely used (tried it 2 nights then never messed with it again) 6 yr old machine I can BORROW until something works out and I can buy my own. He wants to keep the machine in case he "starts feeling bad". The deals from Mcdover & STLmark sound awesome. I will have to call the sleep center and see if the doctor has reviewed the titration study yet. I feel like I am waiting on molasses to ooze down a 10 story building in the middle of the summer in Arizona. I know I really need this. My parents both commented after my titration study about how much better I sounded and looked. I think my mom almost cried. I felt different, but was still exhaust.

I am optimistic about the swift fx pillows. I picked them because they were only mask type that I felt comfortable with and can easily manage my glasses. The sleep tech said he was shocked that he didn't have to add a chin strap and that I had no mouth leaking at all with the swift fx and I didn't need apap or bipap just a cpap (he wouldn't tell me the the pressure just that he was surprised it wasn't higher with and ahi over 100). I really really hope nothing changes with that when I actually start using the cpap at home.

Catalytic, I am very happy to say that I quit smoking 2.5 years ago. =) My husband smokes but is banned from doing so inside or in the cars. I quit because I was waking up gasping for air and choking... wonder why? heh. I quit smoking and thought I got better. I guess I did, just not all the way and temporarily. Thanks for the offer on the machine, though.

this is long enough for now. and I am super sleepy. Thanks all again!

[Sir NoddinOff]

I just picked up a nice supply of new ResMed Swift FX nasal pillows from an internet CPAP supplier at twelve bucks each... they paid shipping, plus the tax was included.

Who? Who?

I don't want to mention in public a competitor of the hosts of this website. PM me and I'll tell you.

[dos coyotes]

I would echo the other posts re: machines available thru forum members. I'm self employed and because of pre-existing conditions, have no health insurance. Yet I've been able to very successfully self-treat my apnea even without the benefit of the sleep study you've already had done.

It isn't easy but it can be done, and presumably you'll have one advantage that I don't so far --- a prescription. While I bought one of the best auto machines, the ResMed S9 (used) I also just purchased a F&P Icon Auto from mcdover - as the earlier post mentioned - for $120 including shipping. I got it to serve as a backup in the event my S9 should ever malfunction and as a travel machine. As previous post said, it's probably not a first choice machine, BUT it is data capable, has built in humidifier, and I tried it out upon receipt and found my numbers on it to be right in line with those on my S9. It seems a very capable machine at a very economical cost - given that new they sell for about $1,000.

As for masks, you'll find this forum very helpful. I've found members here very open and eager to help by giving, trading or selling very reasonably.

The insurance issues you face can be resolved, even if you have to do it yourself as I do. I can only hope your husband's employment situation will be resolved rapidly with a happy ending.

[idamtnboy]

Thanks Everyone. I REALLY mean it! This has all been extremely overwhelming and emotional. I am having a really hard time concentrating tonight. Every time I try to get on my computer my husband asks me to come and be with him. Poor guy is really upset & feeling very betrayed. I am hoping he will have a new job soon.

Please forgive me for tooting my own horn, but I just feel I must.

At the top of the forum index page is the announcements section. The first topic there is one I initiated two years ago for the purpose of sharing my experience and training with regard to dealing with change. I also incorporated some very helpful comments from forum members. I encourage you to read the paper that is linked there. It will be be good for both you and hubby, for you because it it written specifically for newbie CPAP users, and for hubby for similar reasons. In the paper I discuss the phases one goes through when confronted with a dramatic change. Those emotional turmoils are basically the same regardless of the specific change. All the anger, bewilderment, frustration, sense of loss, and on and on, that your husband is dealing with now are totally and perfectly normal. As you read the paper you can quite easily substitute "losing your job" for "being diagnosed with OSA." Not much else in the paper would need to be changed. Again, I encourage you and him to read it. More than anything else you will be assured that you really are reacting normally, regardless of how much you may think otherwise.

Best wishes, and God bless.

[logicalditz]

Dos Coyotes, thanks for the info and reassurance. I guess if we were able to manage my husband's type 1 diabetes for years without insurance we can handle this no matter which way things go.

Idamtnboy, I had actually already skimmed though that. I will have to go back and read more carefully and print it out for my husband to read. Thanks for the heads up and reassurance that we are not just doing the crazy dance! If you have something good, why not point people towards it?

[MagsterMile]

I frequently hear, "COBRA is so expensive." The reality is that COBRA is just a right to continue on the company's plan for a set period of time. The cost is whatever the employer had negotiated with the insurer. Our PPO plan rates are quite high. I don't want to give you any figures because the only number you need is the actual cost from the COBRA administrator for his plan.[/quote]

When I first lost my job several years ago, I ended up getting COBRA for a month or two while I did research online for coverage.. It was very expensive IMO and it was for an individual only. The cost for family coverage is probably very high. One thing to remember about health insurance coverage, try not to go more than 60 days without some sort of health coverage. I researched the internet and got coverage to cover the bare essentials and hoped for the best. I just didn't want to go past 60 days so I wouldn't be hit with the 'no coverage for over 60 days clause' which would cause current health conditions to not be covered. I don't know how the Health Care Reform Act deals with loss of ins coverage due to job loss.

[RandyJ]

An employer is required according to COBRA law to offer coverage at the full premium they are paying for that employee.

If you are a single person and currently share the cost of your coverage with your employer at 50% and you pay $55 a week (deducted from your check), your premium would likely be around $473 a month under COBRA. (In order to compute what an employee will have deducted from his paycheck for medical insurance, the standard formula for a 50% copayment would be: (Full premium divided by 2) divided by 4.3 (4.3 accounts for months that have more than 4 pay periods if the employee is paid weekly). The employer side of payroll and health insurance is part of my job...

If you have coverage for yourself and a spouse or child, often employers do not make you pay the full 50% of your premium (if you are sharing at 50%), but under COBRA they are required to offer the insurance to you at the full price, so this can account for sticker shock by some when they get the COBRA paperwork, since they were unaware that the employer was subsidizing their coverage with their +1 to such a degree.

An additional consideration - when you are employed and have a medical insurance weekly deduction, the employer usually has a cafeteria 125 plan which means that the amount deducted from your gross pay is taken in pre-tax dollars (which reduce your taxable gross). When you make a COBRA payment, you are not doing so with pre-tax dollars.