Newbie with Questions

[FLJim0121]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I like this forum very much already.

I've been through two sleep studies (one intial sudy and one with CPAP) and I'm still waiting the call from the sleep doctor for me to come in and discuss the results of the second test, and hopefully to place an order for my own CPAP.

On my second study I slept with a nasal pillow and woke up feeling like a new man. I felt alert that next day and didn't even need to nap during my lunch hour, which is a minor miracle!

I have several questions though:

1) Will that great feeling I had after the second study continue when I get my own CPAP?

2) Once the order was placed, how long did it take to actually receive your own machine?

I live in Miami, FL and hopefully being in a big city won't delay my order, but I won't jump to conclusions either.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

[oldgearhead]

The answer to most of your questions depend on if you are going to try to go through your insurance company for the equipment, or not. If you are going the insurance route, your insurance company will want you to get your equipment through a local DME. If that is the case, you are on DME time.
On the other hand, if you are going to be on your own, as soon as you get the script, order it from cpap dot com.

I like the ComfortLite 2 for a nasal pillow mask. However, many of us who use nasal pillow masks, tape our mouths shut at night.

Will that great feeling I had after the second study continue when I get my own CPAP?

Yes you should continue to feel good, until good is normal.

[Offerocker]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and I like this forum very much already.

Great! That's why we're here. In a few months, you'll be able to add your experiences to a 'Newbies' also!

I've been through two sleep studies (one intial sudy and one with CPAP) and I'm still waiting the call from the sleep doctor for me to come in and discuss the results of the second test, and hopefully to place an order for my own CPAP.

On my second study I slept with a nasal pillow and woke up feeling like a new man. I felt alert that next day and didn't even need to nap during my lunch hour, which is a minor miracle!

Great feeling, as we all know! You'll most likely have more energy also.

I have several questions though:

1) Will that great feeling I had after the second study continue when I get my own CPAP?

No reason why not, you'll be using essentially the same equipment, and their 'findings' will dictate what type of machine you will receive. Be sure to get a heated humidifier (MY opinion). I'd suggest that you go to cpap.com and look at all the different cpap machines and get familiar with what is available, so that you are better able to communicate with your doctor. SOME 'dictate' what you need, when actually another kind would be better suited *in the long run* Many of us have eventually chosen the APAP, an auto-titrating cpap machine. Also, some have found that one with C-flex (help with exhaling) is an added advantage. There are 'integrated humidifiers', and separate humidifiers; each having different advantages. sometimes the cost is a 'break even'.

2) Once the order was placed, how long did it take to actually receive your own machine?

That depends on many things...what kind of insurance you have, if you 'rent-to-own', or just purchase one yourself. Do a search here on "DME", and that may help; also, with 'insurance'.

I live in Miami, FL and hopefully being in a big city won't delay my order, but I won't jump to conclusions either.

A larger city certainly has its advantages, mostly being CHOICE.

Good luck in everything! Keep researching, and asking questions - the more you learn, the more questions you'll ask, and there are MANY people here who are 'walking encyclopedias' of knowlege and experience who will be able to help you when and if you need it.

[FLJim0121]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I can't wait to get my own CPAP. I feel like a zombie all day and I'm ready to feel like a human being again, and looking back I think i've dealt with some type of sleeping disorder my whole life.

Not only do I feel lousy during the day, I feel like my sleepiness is affecting my job performance. I'm an accountant and I find it difficult to concentrate and have almost no motivation to do anything. All I can think about all day is sleep!

I've been at my current job now for about eight months and I feel like my relationship with my boss is deteriorating due to some of the mistakes I've made. Not only do i hope that I'll feel more alert at work but I also hope that my job performance will improve.

Any thoughts?

[JP]

I've been on my APAP machine two weeks now and I've noticed my concentration has improved and my short-term memory has gotten better - before I'd grab my palm pilot to make a note to myself, and sometimes when I got it fired up I couldn't remember what I was going to write down!

The machine takes some getting used to. I did a split sleep test with 2.5 hours off the machine (lots of nice apneas for them to graph) and then 5.5 hours with a CPAP w/nasal pillows. I was so dead tired when they put the thing on me I barely noticed and was out again in minutes. I felt terrific the next morning.

A few weeks later I got my home machine, and it's a little different. Getting to sleep from scratch the first night with the thing on took me almost two hours. But I found some solutions here for the annoyances (hose gets in the way, nasal pillows are irritating) and by the end of the first week I had that down to under 30 minutes, about how long it'd take me without the mask.

I've still got some mask problems I'm working on (back head strap on the Swift rides up and the buckle is irritating) but I've got some ideas for those. My biggest problem now is that I can't yet convince my body to get 8 hours of sleep. Just about 6 hours after going to sleep with the mask I'm awake and fairly alert and have trouble getting back to sleep again. Maybe it's because I've been used to getting 8 crummy hours for so long that 6 hours of good sleep is all my body figures it needs. But me and the body are working on that too, it let me get back to sleep last night and get another 1.5 hours of snoozing in. I'm hoping in a couple weeks that'll be the rule rather than the exception.

I figure the thing is to stick with it. There are going to be good nights and bad nights, and the more time and effort/motivation I put in to it the more good nights and fewer bad nights there's going to be.

[Offerocker]

<snip>
I've been at my current job now for about eight months and I feel like my relationship with my boss is deteriorating due to some of the mistakes I've made. Not only do i hope that I'll feel more alert at work but I also hope that my job performance will improve.

Any thoughts?

This has happened to other people; do a search on 'employment' as a first idea.
How WAS your relationship with your supervisor? Does he/she have an open-door policy? It "MAY" be worth it to advise him of your recent diagnosis and treatment, and educate that person some on the effects of sleep apnea. Stress that you've recently been diagnosed of this PROBLEM, and that you are progressing towards 'being an integral employee". Also, if you have a Human Resources department, inform them - just in case your supervisor tries to 'use this information against you'. Primarily, keep on good terms w/your supervisor by being honest. Let him/her know, once in awhile, how you're doing - 'assume' he cares about you. Might be worth a try. I may be wrong; there will be others to also provide advice on this subject. Use whatever applies best to you and your situation. And good luck! Take work home if you can, in order to 'keep up'.

[Offerocker]

I've been on my APAP machine two weeks now and I've noticed my concentration has improved and my short-term memory has gotten better - before I'd grab my palm pilot to make a note to myself, and sometimes when I got it fired up I couldn't remember what I was going to write down!

I STILL have THAT problem, but most everything else has falled back into place , especially increased energy.

I figure the thing is to stick with it. There are going to be good nights and bad nights, and the more time and effort/motivation I put in to it the more good nights and fewer bad nights there's going to be.

You are so right-on! That can be a life-long motto, as there may continue to be good/bad/OK/could be better...nights. The good-bad ratio DOES improve.

GOOD ATTITUDE .

[snoregirl]

As stated in a post above, time for equipment to arrive can be various.

Also type of equipment varies.

Do research the CPAP.com web site and get familiar with the different machines and options. Figure out ahead what you think you would like. Options like CFLEX, Data collection capabiliity, APAP vs. CPAP etc. Check online prices. This will allow you to know if you are being stuck at the local DME with the cheapest thing on the market. The DME gets the same money from insurance for any CPAP machine.

Get the heated humidifier make sure it is on the prescription. If your prescription is for APAP you need a range of pressure (don't start at 4 most can't breath at 4, I recommend 6 as a min).

Get your preseciption and copies of you sleep studies to hold. Don't go for the "we will fax to the DME and they will contact you". Who you deal with is your choice not your doc's. THE dme is a misnomer. Most insurance companies have multiple in network DMEs.

For insurance questions, don't rely on what DME tells you. It is your insurance call them yourself if you have questions.

Get all the stuff that comes with your machine if you go local (filters, all mask parts like multiple pillows, extra seals etc. If you go online it should all be in the sealed box.

If you want a different brand than what the DME is pushing hold out. They should be able to order just about anything.

[FLJim0121]

<snip>
I've been at my current job now for about eight months and I feel like my relationship with my boss is deteriorating due to some of the mistakes I've made. Not only do i hope that I'll feel more alert at work but I also hope that my job performance will improve.

Any thoughts?

This has happened to other people; do a search on 'employment' as a first idea.
How WAS your relationship with your supervisor? Does he/she have an open-door policy? It "MAY" be worth it to advise him of your recent diagnosis and treatment, and educate that person some on the effects of sleep apnea. Stress that you've recently been diagnosed of this PROBLEM, and that you are progressing towards 'being an integral employee". Also, if you have a Human Resources department, inform them - just in case your supervisor tries to 'use this information against you'. Primarily, keep on good terms w/your supervisor by being honest. Let him/her know, once in awhile, how you're doing - 'assume' he cares about you. Might be worth a try. I may be wrong; there will be others to also provide advice on this subject. Use whatever applies best to you and your situation. And good luck! Take work home if you can, in order to 'keep up'.

I had a meeting with our HR manager last week and he requested some info from my sleep doc on sleep apnea and he was very agreeable about my situation. The problem is that the damage is done with my boss and she's already 'demoted' me by giving me much less challenging work which I think was an overreaction. I hope that I'm wrong and that things will improve once I'm on CPAP and I'll be more alert.

[Offerocker]

I had a meeting with our HR manager last week and he requested some info from my sleep doc on sleep apnea and he was very agreeable about my situation. The problem is that the damage is done with my boss and she's already 'demoted' me by giving me much less challenging work which I think was an overreaction. I hope that I'm wrong and that things will improve once I'm on CPAP and I'll be more alert.

Could you give it your "all" for a few weeks, then go back to HR manager and ask if your progress could be readdressed with your supervisor? Or maybe you don't want to get HR involved in THAT meeting, but try to find out if any discussion has been made/could be made between the two of them. HR has a way of being able to do those things 'accidentally'.

Consider this as temporary, and I am sure that you will be back in the good graces of your supervisor within a few months at most - just be sure to keep the "door open", and KEEP SMILING! Gotta let her know you "understand the "why"", ...and all that jazz. Then, when you feel the time is right, have a talk w/her about reinstating you to former position. Let your performance and attitude speak for itself. Good luck! I believe you can do it!