Got my RX

[charpentierlady]

Well I got my RX yesterday for my CPAP machine and since I have medicaid it will probably take 2 weeks before I get it. It sucks. But Im just glad I got it in the process of getting it to my house....lol.
But now I have a cold and Im sneezing and coughing and everytime I do either one I pee a little! Im too young for that!!

[charpentierlady]

I took my prescription to the ONLY DME I could find around here and they said that it takes about 2 1/2 weeks for ne to get my CPAP machine. Since Im on medicaid with me only having 8.5 episodes an hour I dont qualify for a machine and I was thinkin if I dont qualify then why the heck does my doc think I need one. But then the DME said there is other criteria that can be used as well such as insomnia, hypertension, daytime sleepiness...etc. Well I have have 2 of the 3 so we will go from there. They also told me that they need ALL of the paperwork from the the referring doc, the sleep doc and the reports of my sleep study. Even all the graphs about how long I stop breathing, how far my oxygen goes down, and so on and so forth. I was thinking that was a lot, but do what you do...I want my machine! I want to feel better. I want to have energy and to lose weight and I want to be able to have a baby.

I also went to the doc today. I have a cold...duh...and an upper respiratory infection. Got meds for that! Yay! Not!!

[BlackSpinner]

Yes AHI is only one of the things they look at.

Read the wiki (Light bulb) at the top of the page and get your self familiarized with the terminology. You also want to make sure you have / keep a copy of your prescription and your sleep study, this is in case there are any problems.

You want to get a machine with data - one which shows your AHI and leak rates. Do not accept a Resmed with the term "Escape" in the name.

[LSAT]

Guidlines normally are if you have over 5 valid episodes per hour and your O2 drops below 88, you qualify for CPAP therapy. With 8 you should qualify. 5-15 episodes are considered mild.

[Julie]

And I have an idea for you - first of all, make every effort (like using a foam body length pillow or wedge) to keep yourself off your back when asleep - makes a big difference to # of apneas. And get yourself (at the drugstore) a soft cervical collar (a soft and smaller version of what you might wear for whiplash). Wear it (on your side only) for a week or so then get tested again and see if you have any apneas to speak of as it helps to just keep your head from bending too far towards your chest and therefore helps keep your airway open... it's very possible you might not.

If you PM me, I'll send you a fairly long thread of a couple of yrs ago from someone who also had a low test reading - and who now no longer needs or uses Cpap at all (but determined that with a new sleep study.. not something you can just 'do' on your own.

[greatunclebill]

all of the data you mention is required by insurance. normally, the dme requests it from the doc and forwards it to insurance behind the scenes.