Just titrated. Pressure and C-Flex effectivness questions.

Stinkfoot · Post by **Stinkfoot** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:04 pm

My new wife has been nagging me about my snoring so I made an appointment to get it checked out. My sleep study was a month ago and I had an AHI of 68 and 63% oxygen saturation in my blood.

Monday night was my titration. I'm a mouth breather with chronic sinus problems so the sleep tech gave me a full face mask. I didn't have any problems falling asleep or with physical comfort or air leaks, but partway through the night the tech had ramped up the pressure to the degree that it was very difficult to exhale. So much so that I was beginning to freak out. I had to fight the urge to rip the mask off my face. I called for the tech to reduce pressure which he did, but a the same thing happened several more times during the night.

I'm not normally a panicky person, not claustrophobic and I'm used to wearing face masks after many years of DIY home improvements, so that doesn't bother me. But I don't see how I can possibly sleep with the pressure I experienced at the titration. I asked the tech what pressures I was experiencing but he was coy and said I'd have to wait for the doctor's analysis.

How effective is C-Flex at reducing the exhalation effort? Can I demand a C-Flex from the DME or am I just stuck with whatever they give me? CPAP.com doesn't take my insurance so I'll be stuck with my local DME.

I've always been healthy and I've never had to deal with the medical bureaucracy before, but I'm willing to fight for C-Flex if it's effective and if I have a snowballs change in Hell of actually getting one. Should I concentrate my efforts on my Doctor or with the DME? Will Doctor's write prescriptions for a specific machine?

Thanks for any info you can share.

_________________

CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): cpap.com, C-FLEX, Titration, DME, AHI

Bamalady · Post by **Bamalady** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:02 pm

Hi and welcome.

Yes, the CFLEX works well, but the AFLEX works better! If you need a very high pressure, you may need to get a BiPAP, which has one pressure for inhale and another for exhale.

Your best bet is to have the Doc specify exactly what kind of machine to get. It leaves the DMEs less wiggle room when it comes to filling the Order.

Try to let folks here know what your pressure needs are before you get the machine. Someone is sure to help.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:19 pm

C-Flex can make it feel like "natural" breathing......or about as near to it as you can get. It also depends on what pressure you're prescribed. A humidifier also adds to the comfort.

As far as CPAP.COM goes......no, THEY don't take insurance, but one of their other companies may be able to help you......BILLMYINSURANCE.COM.
Another option might be to contact your insurance provider and see is they'll reimburse you for out-of-pocket purchases for your equipment. This is how I purchased mine. I purchased what I wanted from CPAP.COM and then submitted an invoice to my insurance provider. I was the billing party and they were the party being billed. They reimbursed me for 80% of my costs of the equipment. Saved both of us money.

All you need is your prescription.

As far as getting what you want through your doctor and a local DME.....you can TRY, but there are no guarantees. You SHOULD be able to get what you want......after all, it's YOUR therapy.
One of the only fortunate things that MY sleep doctor did was to write "C-Flex" on my prescription.

Den

Kharris · Post by **Kharris** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 8:34 am

My pressure is 16, I keep the c-flex on 3. That is as high as mine can be
set. I also changed from a small-wide mask to a medium size. This seemed
to " soften" the incoming air, and made it easier to breath, in and out.
For me it was a matter of getting used to breathing into the mask. The
c-flex seems to sense when you exhale, and reduces the pressure of
the incoming air. Otherwise the flow of air stays the same. If you hold your
breath the inflow never changes. My wife says the sound of the machine
changes tone when I exhale. I have gotten used to the pressure enough
that I very seldom even use the ramp feature anymore.
You didn't mention how high your pressure is going to be set. There can
be alot to get used to. I have only been on the hose for 2 months, and
have been pretty lucky.
There is a lot of good info on this site.

WNJ · Post by **WNJ** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:04 pm

Another choice you have . . . Ask your insurance company if you can buy the equipment yourself and have them reimburse you. That’s what I did.

The receipt you get from cpap.com includes all the codes your insurance company may require.

Wayne

Perchancetodream · Post by **Perchancetodream** » Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:23 pm

Hi Stinkfoot, and welcome to the forum.

You may very well be prescribed a BiPAP machine it you had that much trouble breathing against the pressure that was used in your titration. Either way, you can ask your doctor to prescribe a specific machine for you. Doctors tend to be more willing to allow you an upgraded machine since it doesn't really cost them anything. The DME, on the other hand, will only get paid a fixed amount for your machine (BiPAP or CPAP are the only two insurance classifications) regardless of the features.

If I were you I would study the different capabilities of the various machines before you see your doctor. In addition to exhalation relief you may want to request a fully data capable machine (one that records more than simple compliance data).

Good luck,
Susan