Newbie

[mike291068]

I am anticipating some blowback from my sleep doc when he finds out I "hacked" the whole system rather than wait for my scheduled appt in December to review progress. I am wondering if anyone has dealt with this and any advice would be welcome. I don't really know what I am doing but I do know I am not going to wait for their timeline to get better. I will figure it out one way or another. I am on my way to living again and very excited/borderline impatient with this whole process. I do have a call into him but who knows how long it will take for him to get back to me. Thanks

[Julie]

Mike, it would really be helpful if you posted this in your previous thread so people would know what you're talking about.

[Janknitz]

He works for you, not the other way around. Nobody cares more about your health than you do.

If his ego is so big he doesn't want you to be an active participant in your own treatment, then he's a jerk and not in it to help you. He just wants to be in charge.

But give him a chance. Maybe he is used to the usual sheepish patient who is only passively involved in their medical treatment. Some are dumber than posts, they don't understand how the CPAP works or what its value is. Others are just used to taking orders from people they think are smarter than they are.

Give him a chance, he might be pleasantly surprised to have an active, involved patient. But if he's a jerk it's YOUR body and YOUR treatment. Fire him and find a better team member, not a dictator, to help you with your treatment.

[ragtopcircus]

If what you are doing is succeeding, he has little to complain about. If you are not getting good results and you need his help, it gets more complicated.

I mostly cooperated until my one month followup, but did switch to an auto machine on weekends. The provided machine was a Dreamstation Pro CPAP. The auto machine was a Dreamstation Go. Respironics supported both in the Clinician version of Dreammapper that the Sleep Lab / DME was using. For the last few days before the appt, I used Resmed instead to show better numbers. However, the Sleep Lab doe snot support Resmed at all, even from the SD card.

Since my numbers were good, the doc told me that was fine and to keep doing what I'm doing. I returned the Dreamstation Pro the following Monday. The respiratory tech I had been working with seemed sullen and had someone else do the return paperwork, so I don't expect a fun evening if I ever need an in-lab study, but I don't see any need for that.

I plan to print a report with Oscar for my one year followup.

[chunkyfrog]

Go for it. It is YOUR health.
As long as they are making you wait, they should not be surprised.
Or annoyed.
They are lucky to have your business, and should know who is the boss --NOW.

[mike291068]

Mike, it would really be helpful if you posted this in your previous thread so people would know what you're talking about.

Hey Julie! no one was responding to other thread lol. Not complaining just trying to make my way around here without ruffling any feathers. I didn't want to keep posting to myself on other thread and piss someone off there . I understand the experts are busy and am not being critical but thanks for the tip...I think

[mike291068]

Appreciate the responses. I am just uncertain how it works with my insurance and all. I don't want to make an "enemy" unnecessarily. I know he is busy and I know I am impatient. The response times are unacceptable especially with all the info that is available at my fingertips. I just wonder when/if I go over the line.

[chunkyfrog]

Appreciate the responses. I am just uncertain how it works with my insurance and all. I don't want to make an "enemy" unnecessarily. I know he is busy and I know I am impatient. The response times are unacceptable especially with all the info that is available at my fingertips. I just wonder when/if I go over the line.

As long as they have decided you can wait--that is THEIR choice--not yours.
You are obviously eager to get rolling, and you deserve to get your treatment optimized.
If you are worried about their feelings, don't tell them. Remember, they made you wait.
Smart docs will welcome your initiative.
If they throw a hissy--just don't make any more appointments.

[slowriter]

Appreciate the responses. I am just uncertain how it works with my insurance and all. I don't want to make an "enemy" unnecessarily. I know he is busy and I know I am impatient. The response times are unacceptable especially with all the info that is available at my fingertips. I just wonder when/if I go over the line.

I think just say that politely.

Particularly if you can demonstrate progress with your numbers and such, I can't see that the doc would be that annoyed.

[D.H.]

In my case, I did not explicitly mention that I had changed the settings or enabled auto. I figured he would know from the report, and if he would raise objections, I would deal with it then. He didn't have any problem with it

This was a replacement machine for a brick that I had from ancient times (same doc and lab from the beginning).

Of course, this was not a change of machines (like your case), so it was not "in his face."

[D.H.]

Post removed (it was a duplicate).

[Dog Slobber]

Learn as much as you can so you can speak intelligently about the changes that were made, why they were changed and what the positive outcomes were to the change.

I really like my Sleep Dr., She was supportive of me managing my device and we discussed the changes I made. She did tell me she prefers that I keep the machine in CPAP mode. I shared why I was in APAP mode and then politely, but firmly told her, when my machine was being managed by the Sleep Clinic my AHI was 3.5, since I optimized it myself, it's under 1.

[babydinosnoreless]

My sleep doc had a printout from the dme. He said oh good your wearing 6 hours a night your 100% compliant. Good job. He never even noticed I had changed my settings. Lol

[palerider]

. She did tell me she prefers that I keep the machine in CPAP mode. I shared why I was in APAP mode and then politely, but firmly told her, when my machine was being managed by the Sleep Clinic my AHI was 3.5, since I optimized it myself, it's under 1.

My only guess is that some doctors prefer CPAP mode because they don't understand APAP mode... and how it can benefit many, if not most, people.

[Brounmoney]

. She did tell me she prefers that I keep the machine in CPAP mode. I shared why I was in APAP mode and then politely, but firmly told her, when my machine was being managed by the Sleep Clinic my AHI was 3.5, since I optimized it myself, it's under 1.

My only guess is that some doctors prefer CPAP mode because they don't understand APAP mode... and how it can benefit many, if not most, people.

I have changed mine from CPAP to APAP. The fixed pressure was not working, and I am getting great results. I don’t see how that’s an issue. Shouldn’t it be about me getting good results? I would think so.

Just curious what the benefits are of using APAP? I know I get better results with little to no leaks and leave the mask on longer, and feel so much better.