First Visit to DME and First night on CPAP

[bsclarks]

I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and knowledge on this forum. I had two weeks from the time I met with the doctor after my study until the time that I met with me DME and was able to gather enough knowledge to have a pretty basic understanding as I met with my DME.

First of all my DME is Apria and is the only one my insurance is contracted with in my area. After reading some of the experiences others had with them I was a little concerned but decided to move forward with them and at least give them a shot. I was comfortable with this knowing I had other options via the internet.

I started off by requesting that my doctor write my prescription for the RESMED S9 Autoset which he wrote in as the patient preference. I had a few conversations with the DME prior to going in to ensure I would be getting that machine and they ensured me if that was what was written on my prescription that is what I would get. I went into an office to wait for the RT and when she walks in she is carrying some respironics machine. I quickly told her that was not the machine I was supposed to receive and she began in as nice a manner as possible to question why I wanted the RESMED. I told her because I liked the interface and the data I could get from it. Her response was that it was her job to look at the data and that the detailed information could only be seen by her with her software. I did not further question her on this and simply stated that if I did not get the machine that was written on my prescription that I would simply get one off of the internet where they are readily available. She then said she would look to see if they had one in the office. When she came back in she had one with her and that although this one was more expensive for them her supervisor had authorized giving it to me. I am not sure if the RT gets some sort of commission for pushing a certain machine but once we were passed this obstacle she did a great job of walking me thru everything and I genuinely felt like she was there to help me. I had to laugh because she took the machine out of the room to program my settings and told me I would not be able to make any changes. Apparently these DME’s have no clue about how much information is out there for the end user.

Now on to my first night. I brought the machine home and set it up and wore it for a half an hour or so while I watched TV just trying to get used to it. This was direction I received from the DME. I went to bed later on and slept fairly well. I think I slept with it for about 7 ½ hours but more importantly my AHI was 0.26 and my leakage was around 8.4. My AHI from my sleep study was 69. I did not feel a great state of restfulness but I did feel pretty good. Overall I am pretty pleased with my first night and hope for better days ahead.

Once again thank you all for your very valuable input.

Blake

[msradar65]

Wooot!!! Sounds like you are off to a good start. Yes, its amazing the DMEs and they desire to control the patient!

I was lucky my DME And RT encouraged me to track my data and they offer only Autosets as they know patients change.

I wish there were more good DMEs out there.

[Janknitz]

Excellent job there! Good job advocating for yourself.

I'm sure you did, but you did check to make sure it's the autoset, not the Escape Auto, right? (You I trust, the DME not so much).

[zoocrewphoto]

Great job getting the machine you wanted. I am not sure, but I think my doctor specifically requested the S9 for me. I know he mentioned in the office that he prefers Resmed, and there were two computers in the exam room. I'm guessing that this allows him to view the data and discuss it with the patient at the same time. I go back for my followup in June, and I will ask for a copy of my prescription so that I have it while traveling. The DME already had the S9 set up for me, and it happened to be one of two that I liked when I was looking at models online, so I was happy. He also got the mask I asked for. And last week, I asked how soon I could get another as I wanted to try another model, but did not want to return the one I have, which I really do like. They checked my insurance and scheduled me for an appointment the next day. The rep didn't think it would fit me as I am apparently small in the face and head size. The mask fit great, and the headgear is barely small enough. I will need to add some velcro as it stretches over time.

Here's the funny part. After the first day, I checked my onscreen data, and it shows only 0.6 hours. I spent the day wondering what was wrong, and how fast could I get it fixed as I need compliance data for my insurance to pay for it. I finally realized that 0.6 would make sense if the machine changed days at noon. As a severe night owl, I sleep past noon, and that day, I slept until 12:40pm. 40 minutes equals 0.6 of an hour. The obvious solution was to change the time of the machine so that it would think that noon is later in the day. It took me less than 5 minutes to find the instructions to go in and change the time setting. A couple days later, my mom went in to get a new mask, like I had, and she had the same rep. He asked if we were related and asked how I was doing. She told him I had already mastered changing the time. She said he didn't really say anything but looked very surprised. He didn't mention it when I was in this week to get the second mask. He did do a quick look through the settings. Not sure if he was looking for something specifically or just checked to see what all I had changed. I only changed the time and the humidifier settings as it was originally in auto mode, and I changed to to manual so that I could find the best setting for me. Oh, I also quit using the ramp feature, but that was already available to me to change.

[tigrpal]

I had to laugh because she took the machine out of the room to program my settings and told me I would not be able to make any changes. Apparently these DME’s have no clue about how much information is out there for the end user.

It is funny. My DME tech hid the machine from me also when she set it up. I actually chuckled out loud. Let's see there's two buttons. It's either press and hold one, press and hold the other, or press and hold both at the same time. Not too difficult.