Needs advice, Insurance approved a new machine purchase!

joeyv20 · Post by **joeyv20** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:40 pm

I was in contact with my insurance provider today and I now meet the conditions needed to purchase new equipment. I have used a VpapIII for some time now in the beginning I did well with it then, something changed and I began to have troubles with it. I had my sleep study redone and the techs had difficulty regulating things, they eventually put me on cpap and got me to sleep some, enough to complete the study. My body is not compatible with cpap, this has already been proven . After a night on cpap, I wake up looking like I am ready to make my way down the street in the Thanksgiving day parade as one of those big balloons! It is extremely uncomfortable and unpleasant. The doc I wound up seeing, a board certified sleep doc, seemed to understand the issue . He has worked with me to adjust the vpapIII to make me more comfortable. I was up again in the middle of the night last night and I can say with certainty that I sleep better some nights than others but it's been a long while since I have slept well, I sure do miss it. I know the doc wanted to write an rx for a new machine when I saw him months ago, he did not as he was fairly certain the insurance company would not pay for it. I know that I have another appointment in December. With this new bit of info, that my Ins. will pay for a new machine, I have a call into him to see if he will write an Rx based on the previous visit or, do I need to return to the office. In the meantime I am trying to find out what I can about the autopap machines to try and figure out what would be the best choice for me. Are they pretty much the same or, do they vary a good bit? What is c-flex? Is it the same as Autopap? I would like to have the flexibility of a software package of some sort so that I can track my sleep experiences and provide this data to myself and my physicians. I would like to be able to discuss it with the doc if the opportunity arises. Right now I'm a little dumb on the subject and don't know how to ask for what I need.

If anyone here has sage (and constructive) advice, it will be welcomed. If you have suggestions for reading material (perhaps there is a comparison chart somewhere?) I am very interested. I want to get the best I can, the most flexible system that I can get so that I can manage this sleep apnea better in the future. Clearly the answer is not paying for another sleep study, at least not for me in this area, I really feel they totally let me down on my return.

Thanks in advance!

Joey

VpapIII, Comfortlite and swift headgear (I'm sure this is formatted incorrectly - hope I get some credit for trying to get it right

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:11 pm

With being on a VPAPIII... that's a bipap. Are you needing to stay on bipap?

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 9:49 pm

On the insurance thing. You first need to understand (from your insurance company) what your copay is and what deductable you will be responsible for.

Rule of thumb is about 30% copay and deductable already satisfied then you are a wash between buying online for APAP.

If your copay is more you may well be better just buying cash online and forgetting about insurance and DMEs etc.

Those numbers could change for BiPap, so you need to work with real numbers.

If you buy without insurance you can get the machine the doc recommends as soon as you have the prescription.

I think if you go bipap many here would recommend the auto bipap for flexibility.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:27 pm

joeyv20 wrote:I want to get the best I can, the most flexible system that I can get so that I can manage this sleep apnea better in the future.

If I were you, I'd get the Respironics BiPAP Auto with Bi-Flex. It's a bi-level machine that can have auto-titration turned on so that it operates not only as a bipap but also like an autopap at the same time. Or, it can be used as just a bipap. Very flexible.

C-Flex does not mean "autopap." C-flex is Respironics' trademark name for pressure relief feature to soften the pressure some at the beginning of each exhale in some of their cpap and autopap machines.

Bi-flex is a trademark name for a feature Respironics puts in its bi-level machines. It's similar to C-flex in that Bi-Flex drops pressure some at the beginning of the already lower EPAP (exhale) pressure...icing on the cake comfort, imho. Bi-flex also smooths the transitions between exhale/inhale.

Please check your Private Messages, Joey...the button at top right of this webpage.