Taking control!

[chearyshe]

Well, I've started the ball rolling on finding all about this BiPap I have. I called the Importer and got really loud that I can't access the information about how I'm sleeping, how many apneas, etc etc.....without taling the whole machine to the sleep clinic. I want a smart card (there's a slot for that). Before telling me that I can order a smart card and their tech guy will install it and show me how to use it, she refered me back to the "place" where I got the loaner machine.

What really has me up in arms is the fact that the people in charge don't think that a person like me has the right to see stats on a daily basis! We're not talking rocket science here! That tech that set up my machine, brought it, attached the mask to the machine, showed me how to start and stop and seemed PEEVED when I started asking questions. He told me how to put the mask on, yanked up the straps so much that it stopped the circulation in my face (that's okay, it stops the leaks, says he) ahhhh, mask questions? they way he showed me how to get the mask on you have to be as stong and nimble as Superman to get it on! And how about checking said mask while I'm in a prone position...no need (says he) what's he afraid of? A 70 y/o lady whose 45 y/o daughter is sitting there? Silly man! there's a huge difference between upright and supine...oh, and no measuring to see what size mask I need. He knows by just looking at my beautiful face.
The first mask he brought me (the ONLY one) was Large...and not SilkGel...when he returned this week, he had a Large and Medium with him. Lo and Behold! I needed the Medium! What does he think I am, some kind of person who'll just accept machine and mask and say okay......bye!

When he came back this week, he brough a carry bag for the machine...I had asked him: What, there isn't a bag...no need, this is a biPAP. Stupid,( I almost said) and what happens when I want to go to sleep at my son's house? I won't have apnea and TBM when outside my home?

And no explanation on how I'm supposed to feel or breathe or adjust to the BiPAP.

So my first step is getting a Smart Card......but I need to get approval from whoever it is that's supposed to approve it! (it's a long story)

END OF RANT ( for now)
cheary

[nanwilson]

Morning
No you do not need approval to get or use a smart card, its your choice...and a good one . As to a travel bag, if I'm going by car I just use a plastic tub, if by plane I then use the bag it came in. The bag that comes with the machine is actually too small to keep too much in it. I always take an extension cord, extra mask, etc, so need a bit larger bag than the original one. If you are only on a rental program they probably just kept the bag to sell to someone else If you are on a rental to purchase program, I would insist that I get a carry bag.....its part of the purchase. The tech that came out to fit you sounds like one from the "old" school..."women should NOT be heard" Next time tell the DME that you don't want him...that they should send another tech We old ladies have to assert ourselves, we are not invisible .
Good luck to you.

[ozij]

I bet you half the techs you meet don't even know enough English (or Swedish...) to read the patient's instruction manual, let alone the clinical manual. Of course they're peeved when you ask questions!
O.