Do I need a doctor to use a cpap

[jtarpley]

Hello eveybody,

I am 34 years old and have lost my job due to economy so I have no insurance. I have gone back to school and this December will have my new degree so hopefully that will help me to gain employment. Anyway I do not have insurance, but got a cpap machine from a friend who's father past away. Anyway I need one I know I need one, but I do not know how to calibrate it. It is a Fisher & Paykel Sleep style 200. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks in advance for any help.

[moresleep]

Discussion on that here:

viewtopic/t21023/How-to-adjust-pressure ... -200-.html

[LSAT]

Hello eveybody,

I am 34 years old and have lost my job due to economy so I have no insurance. I have gone back to school and this December will have my new degree so hopefully that will help me to gain employment. Anyway I do not have insurance, but got a cpap machine from a friend who's father past away. Anyway I need one I know I need one, but I do not know how to calibrate it. It is a Fisher & Paykel Sleep style 200. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks in advance for any help.

You really don't KNOW that you need one unless you have had a sleep study. You may be guessing that you need one. What are your symptoms?
The CPAP will not measure your oxygen saturation and the model you have will not give you any data. You cannot 'calibrate' this machine.

[GumbyCT]

Hello eveybody,

I am 34 years old and have lost my job due to economy so I have no insurance. I have gone back to school and this December will have my new degree so hopefully that will help me to gain employment. Anyway I do not have insurance, but got a cpap machine from a friend who's father past away. Anyway I need one I know I need one, but I do not know how to calibrate it. It is a Fisher & Paykel Sleep style 200. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks in advance for any help.

You need to spend some time here reading and learning what you need to do for what you want to do. It can be done but there is a steep learning curve. Everything you need to know is here.

[purple]

In some areas there are a very few sleep clinics which might give you a sleep test, and a titration (which tells you which settings you need) for free. I know everyone here likes to rag on the sleep industry as being profit motivated, and nearly always it is, however, politeness and desperation have been known to open doors.

Focus on finding a Sleep clinic associated with a teaching hospital. Be prepared to jump through some bureaucratic stuff. Like if you call the clinic, frankly tell them that you are sure you need the treatment, and tell them why (which you have not made clear to us) and that you do not have money for the study, or insurance. Then they might ask you to call/meet a Social Worker who will ask you to fill out a bunch of papers so that they can get credit, and to protect themselves from fraud. They may suggest some other place to go, who might be helpful.

I think some clinics have so many slots a month for charity patients, and all should have.

The official line of everyone in the medical biz is that you should only get and use a machine under their guidance and approval.

A lot here on the forum would say that if you get the correct machine, an auto adjusting machine that has full data capability and you get the right computer software that tells you what is happening at night, then you could begin to treat yourself. It is a difficult road. Keep in mind many, who have the help of professionals, quit treatment because of the frustration of finding the right mask and . . . Your road would be more difficult and frustrating than theirs.

If you will register on the forum, it is free, so folks could send you PM's, and tell us what part of the country you live in, then maybe someone here knows of a sleep clinic near you, or a resource of a better machine.

[Guest]

Thanks everybody I will register and hangout here and learn what I can. My wife says and I do know I stop breathing in the middle of the night and it does effect my sleep and my energy the next day. I also snore loud enough to rattle walls. I am hopping once I get this working wright I will wake up feeling better.

[moresleep]

For patients in reasonable health with uncomplicated OSA, studies say it is possible to do quite nicely without a laboratory sleep study and professional titration. One study showing that OSA sufferers can do just about as well adjusting their machines themselves is at http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/conte ... /167/5/716. You'll also find discussions here, if you use the search function on terms such as "self titration," etc.

[Mary Z]

I admire you for taking the horse by the reins, but don't put the cart before the horse for too long. You may do fine on CPAP, but there are many types of sleep disordered breathing which can only be diagnosed in the lab or with a home sleep study. I hope when you get insurance you will follow through on getting testing. Right now, unless you have a sympathtic GP you cannot even get a prescription for new tubing or masks.
Still, I hope the CPAP solves your problems, keep us posted. Good luck.
Oh, and no, you don't need a doc to use the thing, as suggested read up on self tritration, or start at a relatively low number such as 8.

[purple]

Some say if one's machine is not working, then an individual can try to sleep sitting up. Might help you to catch up on a bit of sleep.

[rested gal]

guest-jtarpley, given your circumstances, I think you're absolutely doing the right thing for yourself.

Mary Z, moresleep, and GumbyCT are telling you right.

purple's suggestion of trying to find a sleep clinic that will test you free is worth pursuing.

In the meantime, do use the CPAP you've acquired. I'm not a doctor, but if I were going to set the pressure on a CPAP for myself and had no idea at all about what pressure I might need, I'd start my experimental journey by setting it at 10.


My story - How I got started on "cpap":
Jan 25, 2005 subject: not diagnosed yet, many ? brand new here
viewtopic.php?p=5977#p5977
note: Poisson's reply had good reasons why a PSG sleep study is important. My post contains a link to a PSG study I eventually got.

_______________________________________________

Link to a study that concluded, "yes."
"Can Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Titrate Their Own Continuous Positive Airway Pressure?"
http://www.tnlc.com/Lara/laura/osa/CanP ... wnCPAP.pdf

Link to a Powerpoint presentation by board certified pulmonolgist/sleep doctor (Dr. Barbara Phillips) at a meeting of the American Lung Association of the Central Coast - November 2004:
"Not Every Patient Needs to Go to the Sleep Lab"
http://www.tnlc.com/Lara/laura/osa/Barb ... t_0830.pdf

[moresleep]

And, if we didn't mentione it, your Fisher & Paykel Sleep style 200 will probably work just fine for you. Most sleep apnea sufferers do not need anything more than a basic Cpap. Do a search, and you'll find that others here have used that machine successfully, and have information on how to adjust the pressure, etc. As you'll find from the literature, someone with your symptoms most likely needs Cpap; and, with a little luck, you will hopefully find that sleeping with the Cpap makes a huge and positive difference. You may need a prescription to buy masks from venders such as Cpap.com (ask); but would not need it for vendors on Craigslist and Ebay (because of Ebay's policy, there, parts are sold that you put together

[nichola]

While I think that people who HAVE sleep apnea should take a role in their own sleep apnea I believe that you should be monitored by a doctor.

There ARE side affects to using a CPAP machine, and while most are not dangerous, some do cause issues. Not to mention many SA suffers also have other medical conditions as a result of or along side their SA which need to be monitored.

And more important than any of this is you dont KNOW you have sleep apnea yet, you may have all the symptoms and have another sleep disorder... or none at all (other conditions can cause similar symptoms to sleep apnea).

You NEED a sleep study before you start playing around with a CPAP machine. These machines are prescription only for a reason.

[nichola]

Just a bit more on the side effects, while rare Severe side effects may include heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias), severe nose bleeding, and air pockets in the skull.

I just wanted to outline what the severe side effects can be because i have read several times on this board about self medicating with CPAP and it is a little concerning to me.

I do believe we should be actively involved in our treatment.,.. and hell even change our own pressures.. BUT we should be also reguarly monitored.

[rested gal]

You NEED a sleep study before you start playing around with a CPAP machine.

That's not necessarily true for every person.

Did you watch the presentation in my link above?

Link to a Powerpoint presentation by board certified pulmonolgist/sleep doctor (Dr. Barbara Phillips) at a meeting of the American Lung Association of the Central Coast - November 2004:
"Not Every Patient Needs to Go to the Sleep Lab"
http://www.tnlc.com/Lara/laura/osa/Barb ... t_0830.pdf

Dr. Barbara Phillips is board certified in both pulmonology and sleep medicine.

Of course it would be better for everyone to have a full attended PSG sleep study in a sleep lab. A PSG sleep study can uncover other sleep disorders besides plain Obstructive Sleep Apnea. But a sleep study or screening of any kind can be completely out of the question financially for quite a few people who are unemployed and/or have no medical insurance. If a person in that kind of situation strongly suspects he/she has obstructive sleep apnea and desperately wants to try CPAP, I say, "go for it." But I'm not a doctor. I'm simply a self diagnosed, well treated cpap user...for seven years now.

[chunkyfrog]

I second RG's comments.
Top end first-aid kits have needles and suture thread--if needed, any one can sew up a gash.
CPAP with no medical coverage--totally doable--just call it an emergency--it may very well be.
When a life is on the line, you do not wimp out. Just do it.