Venting a Little and a Question

[Sheriff Buford]

My primary care doctor died a while back (RIP). I was toodlin' along just fine... then he had to up and die! Anyway, I see a young fella' in the practice that "bought" his practice. My S9 Autoset bit the dust last Thursday, so I made an appointment to get the young fella' to write me a prescription for a new AirSense. Bless his heart, I tried unsuccessfully to "impress" him with my knowledge of sleep apnea, and I realized he knew enough to be dangerous. The guy says that he wanted me to take a new sleep study to see if my pressure settings have changed since my one and only sleep test back in 2010. Yes... I tried to tell him that an Autoset will use whatever pressure it needs to treat the apnea, and I have the upper setting set at 18 cmH2O, and the highest it has ever seen was a 17 one night, but averages around a 13. It didn't work. He says he'll let the sleep center write me a script because they have "new machines and new masks". That scared the crap outta me because of the wait. I told him I need a machine NOW. I am using my Vpap now and have my settings cranked down, but it is driving me nuts. The mask osculates up and down at night. He relented and wrote me a script, but still want's new sleep study done.

Question.. what can a sleep study tell me that I don't already know? My original study showed I had a AHI of 70 and needed a pressure of 15 cmH2O to treat my apnea. That has worked for me since I now get an average of .3 AHI. Will a new test tell me if I have Cheyanne strokes or some other issue that I don't know? I don't mind taking another study, but I am bringing my own mask. Any thoughts?

Sheriff

[LSAT]

My primary care doctor died a while back (RIP). I was toodlin' along just fine... then he had to up and die! Anyway, I see a young fella' in the practice that "bought" his practice. My S9 Autoset bit the dust last Thursday, so I made an appointment to get the young fella' to write me a prescription for a new AirSense. Bless his heart, I tried unsuccessfully to "impress" him with my knowledge of sleep apnea, and I realized he knew enough to be dangerous. The guy says that he wanted me to take a new sleep study to see if my pressure settings have changed since my one and only sleep test back in 2010. Yes... I tried to tell him that an Autoset will use whatever pressure it needs to treat the apnea, and I have the upper setting set at 18 cmH2O, and the highest it has ever seen was a 17 one night, but averages around a 13. It didn't work. He says he'll let the sleep center write me a script because they have "new machines and new masks". That scared the crap outta me because of the wait. I told him I need a machine NOW. I am using my Vpap now and have my settings cranked down, but it is driving me nuts. The mask osculates up and down at night. He relented and wrote me a script, but still want's new sleep study done.

Question.. what can a sleep study tell me that I don't already know? My original study showed I had a AHI of 70 and needed a pressure of 15 cmH2O to treat my apnea. That has worked for me since I now get an average of .3 AHI. Will a new test tell me if I have Cheyanne strokes or some other issue that I don't know? I don't mind taking another study, but I am bringing my own mask. Any thoughts?

Sheriff

You've heard this before sheriff.....to me, it sounds like the doctor and sleep center have a relationship. The fact that the sleep center is supplying the prescription and equipment would worry me. Is there a need for you to see this doctor? You can have your medical records transferred to any MD. If you have your original prescription a DME may accept it.

[ChicagoGranny]

what can a sleep study tell me that I don't already know?

Only that your new doc will be able to make another payment on his yacht.

[Pugsy]

If the difference between inhale and exhale on the VPAP is causing mask occillation and it bugs you..you can set the VPAP Auto so that it functions like your APAP.
Just set PS to 0 and the machine won't do the 2 separate pressure thing. It will work like your APAP.
Set the minimum EPAP to whatever your minimum on the apap is...then set PS to 0...then set your max IPAP to whatever max you are using on the APAP.
The VPAP will then function and feel like the APAP .

[avi123]

Question.. what can a sleep study tell me that I don't already know? My original study showed I had a AHI of 70 and needed a pressure of 15 cmH2O to treat my apnea. That has worked for me since I now get an average of .3 AHI. Will a new test tell me if I have Cheyanne strokes or some other issue that I don't know? I don't mind taking another study, but I am bringing my own mask. Any thoughts?

Sheriff

A new sleep study could tell the doctor and you what has changed. For example what is your situation about REMs? Besides, the new Doc wants to be covered legally.

[chunkyfrog]

Sheriff, I'm sure you've heard this before; but
if this doctor is a royal PITA, you can find another.
With the "cozy" situation between doc, lab, and DME,
I would hop away so fast it would blow your hat off.

[Jay Aitchsee]

As others have said, I doubt a new study will tell you much. In most cases, as you've implied, an autoset will be sufficient. If you were feeling OK and had a low AHI, I wouldn't worry about a new study. That said, the other half of that is insurance. If you need insurance coverage you may have to get a new study to get someone to write an order or insurance may question an order without a new study. If you don't need coverage, many online DME like CPAP.com will accept your old prescription regardless of age, I think. Additionally, we have a couple reputable sellers on the forum that could probably find you a new S9 or Airsense at a bargain price, no script required.

[DreamStalker]

Check your original script. Mine says it is good for 99 years ... which for me is until death.

[Bobby269]

Check with your insurance see what they say. I am with Aetna medicare advantage and my machine is over 5 years old. They said that I won't need a sleep study. But I will have to pay on it for 13 months and than it becomes mine.
You have a prescription from him, use it and later on find a new Doctor.

[ChicagoGranny]

Check your original script. Mine says it is good for 99 years ... which for me is until death.

That doesn't work with Medicare. Everything has to be documented anew each year.

[DreamStalker]

Check your original script. Mine says it is good for 99 years ... which for me is until death.

That doesn't work with Medicare. Everything has to be documented anew each year.

[Wulfman...]

My primary care doctor died a while back (RIP). I was toodlin' along just fine... then he had to up and die! Anyway, I see a young fella' in the practice that "bought" his practice. My S9 Autoset bit the dust last Thursday, so I made an appointment to get the young fella' to write me a prescription for a new AirSense. Bless his heart, I tried unsuccessfully to "impress" him with my knowledge of sleep apnea, and I realized he knew enough to be dangerous. The guy says that he wanted me to take a new sleep study to see if my pressure settings have changed since my one and only sleep test back in 2010. Yes... I tried to tell him that an Autoset will use whatever pressure it needs to treat the apnea, and I have the upper setting set at 18 cmH2O, and the highest it has ever seen was a 17 one night, but averages around a 13. It didn't work. He says he'll let the sleep center write me a script because they have "new machines and new masks". That scared the crap outta me because of the wait. I told him I need a machine NOW. I am using my Vpap now and have my settings cranked down, but it is driving me nuts. The mask osculates up and down at night. He relented and wrote me a script, but still want's new sleep study done.

Question.. what can a sleep study tell me that I don't already know? My original study showed I had a AHI of 70 and needed a pressure of 15 cmH2O to treat my apnea. That has worked for me since I now get an average of .3 AHI. Will a new test tell me if I have Cheyanne strokes or some other issue that I don't know? I don't mind taking another study, but I am bringing my own mask. Any thoughts?

Sheriff

Categorically:
From what you've said........"nothing".

If you had issues with Centrals or Cheyne-Stokes, I doubt that your AHI would be that low and I'm sure you would see evidence in your reports of "something out of the ordinary".

So, if your events are just the "garden variety" ones, I wouldn't bother with the sleep study (to help your new sleep doctor with the payments on his toys). That's what it sounds like to me.

Did you already have a prescription? Is this new one non-expiring?
Do you need insurance to help buy your equipment? If the answer if "no", just file the prescription and buy all the equipment you want out-of-pocket and bypass the insurance. There are lots of them for sale at very reasonable prices (new or used) that can be bought without a prescription.

What's wrong with your S9? You may inquire with http://www.acbio.com and see what it might cost to have it fixed.

Good luck.

Den

Edit to add: I haven't asked Medicare to help me pay for anything since I went on it almost 4 years ago.

.

[palerider]

Sheriff, do what Pugsy says. the resmed vauto is nothing more than a fancy autoset with more capability, it can pretend to be an autoset with setting like she mentioned.

[Hannibal 2]

viewtopic/t114603/For-sale--Resmed-S9-w ... ition.html

Any good for you?

[Sheriff Buford]

Thanks for your responses. I got the prescription and I had to re-fax it twice to Care centrix twice today before they said they "got it." Now I get to deal with Crapria. Yipee I'll re-check the CPAP settings tonight.

Sheriff