get this!

[sleepie]

my wifes uncle{73} has been on cpap since 91,,he is the one that told me i needed it and so i did,,ok on with the story---his first pressure was 13,,,five years ago he tells the dr,,that hes been feeling sleepie lately,,so with nothing the dr says go have the pressure turned up to 15,,so he does and go's on with life---last week he see's the dr and tells him that breathing against the pressure is bothering him,,my thinking here is he will get a bipap machine---instead the dr say's ,,go and have them lower the pressure to 14,,,,i think WHAT!,,, ok i lend him on an xtra auto i have for backup with data for the past 2 weeks,,and he leaks like crazy,,,and get this ,,he can sleep through a 2 hr large leak,,i think he's been leaking a long time,,well after many discussions we got the leaks down,,he's doing great and feeling great now---my question is do dr's generally move pressure up and down without any data?---pat

[dudley_doright]

A good doctor won't just changed the pressure without doing a study first.
Tell him to get a new doctor.

[DreamStalker]

my wifes uncle{73} has been on cpap since 91,,he is the one that told me i needed it and so i did,,ok on with the story---his first pressure was 13,,,five years ago he tells the dr,,that hes been feeling sleepie lately,,so with nothing the dr says go have the pressure turned up to 15,,so he does and go's on with life---last week he see's the dr and tells him that breathing against the pressure is bothering him,,my thinking here is he will get a bipap machine---instead the dr say's ,,go and have them lower the pressure to 14,,,,i think WHAT!,,, ok i lend him on an xtra auto i have for backup with data for the past 2 weeks,,and he leaks like crazy,,,and get this ,,he can sleep through a 2 hr large leak,,i think he's been leaking a long time,,well after many discussions we got the leaks down,,he's doing great and feeling great now---my question is do dr's generally move pressure up and down without any data?---pat

Yes, but only after they have collected the office visit payment.

[Slinky]

Yup. Many of them don't even look at downloaded data even if you provide it and personally hand it to them during your visit!

[hobbs]

Ask what his doctor charges and tell him he only owes 1/2 as much!

[Nodzy]

Sheesh.... that all sounds familiar.

YES, many RT's, DME's and doctors will "adjust pressure" without visual data to judge from. Truth be known, many of them are not proficient with interpreting the data if it’s in front of them, or knowing the various machine models and particular functionalities of each machine. And few of them interpret excessive, repeat leakage as a major hindrance to effective therapy. .

Though, some med-types are truly professional, adept and "patient oriented" in treating OSA. Too few of them…. is the dilemma.

Nodzy

[Wulfman]

DreamStalker beat me to it.

I've read it many times on the forum. They crank up the pressures without any data to back it up.
In my opinion, the vast majority of users who are having problems with their therapy are leaking air out their mouths. We see it on the forums on practically a daily basis. The thing that bugs me is that on SOME forums (but not this one), the members just tell the user to "go back to your doctor"......and they're clueless because the low-end machines they were given don't give any data......so they just order the pressure adjustments.

And then the "naysayers" have the nerve to tell us not to mess with our own pressures???

Den

[DreamStalker]

DreamStalker beat me to it.

I've read it many times on the forum. They crank up the pressures without any data to back it up.
In my opinion, the vast majority of users who are having problems with their therapy are leaking air out their mouths. We see it on the forums on practically a daily basis. The thing that bugs me is that on SOME forums (but not this one), the members just tell the user to "go back to your doctor"......and they're clueless because the low-end machines they were given don't give any data......so they just order the pressure adjustments.

And then the "naysayers" have the nerve to tell us not to mess with our own pressures???

Den

"naysayers"? ... where's that stupid Guest?

[TuckNRoll]

[quote="sleepie"]my wifes uncle{73} has been on cpap since 91,,he is the one that told me i needed it and so i did,,ok on with the story---his first pressure was 13,,,five years ago he tells the dr,,that hes been feeling sleepie lately,,so with nothing the dr says go have the pressure turned up to 15,,so he does and go's on with life---last week he see's the dr and tells him that breathing against the pressure is bothering him,,my thinking here is he will get a bipap machine---instead the dr say's ,,go and have them lower the pressure to 14,,,,i think WHAT!,,, ok i lend him on an xtra auto i have for backup with data for the past 2 weeks,,and he leaks like crazy,,,and get this ,,he can sleep through a 2 hr large leak,,i think he's been leaking a long time,,well after many discussions we got the leaks down,,he's doing great and feeling great now---my question is do dr's generally move pressure up and down without any data?---pat

_________________

Just as an FYI Nodsy, NO DME (regardless of how "truly professional, adept and "patient oriented"" they may be, should change any pressures without a doctor ordering it. If you know of one that is doing so, then they are certainly NOT doing the "Right thing".

[Nodzy]

Just as an FYI Nodsy, NO DME (regardless of how "truly professional, adept and "patient oriented"" they may be, should change any pressures without a doctor ordering it. If you know of one that is doing so, then they are certainly NOT doing the "Right thing".

Yep, I agree.... but it is done. And not only with 'scrips lacking specific pressures. These eyes saw it happen.

Maybe I should seek witness protection.... but I hear they place the witness too far from decent restaurants and take-out joints.

Nodzy

[roster]

---my question is do dr's generally move pressure up and down without any data?[/url]

There are two ways that doctors get the patient's pressure wrong:
1)Setting it without any data.
2)Setting it with data.

[allen476]

We are from the same neck of the woods. It isn't the large pulmonary practice near AO Hospital is it?

Allen

[dlgreatsleep]

[quote="sleepie"]my wifes uncle{73} has been on cpap since 91,,he is the one that told me i needed it and so i did,,ok on with the story---his first pressure was 13,,,five years ago he tells the dr,,that hes been feeling sleepie lately,,so with nothing the dr says go have the pressure turned up to 15,,so he does and go's on with life---last week he see's the dr and tells him that breathing against the pressure is bothering him,,my thinking here is he will get a bipap machine---instead the dr say's ,,go and have them lower the pressure to 14,,,,i think WHAT!,,, ok i lend him on an xtra auto i have for backup with data for the past 2 weeks,,and he leaks like crazy,,,and get this ,,he can sleep through a 2 hr large leak,,i think he's been leaking a long time,,well after many discussions we got the leaks down,,he's doing great and feeling great now---my question is do dr's generally move pressure up and down without any data?---pat

[irritatedRPSGT]

Your wife's uncle should really consider a second opinion. Please seek out a/another Dr. who is Board Certified in Sleep.

Like everyone else said, yes, it's done. Should it be, NO.

We would like to see pts get re-evaluated every year or so for maintenance. This will help avoid going back for 2 studies later on and help staying on top of your sleep!!!

[sparky2]

I just had a visit with the Dr that initially told me to get hooked up with a sleep clinic. She was one of the members of the American Board of Sleep Medicine back in 1978 when it was first founded, but does little in the area of titration and such nowadays.

She was not overly thrilled with my tweaking of my system, but neither was she upset. She did say that, since I had another sleep doc that was overseeing my case, that she was not going to interfere by adding her opinions. She did mention that I should not become overly worried about the numbers (I can't believe she actually said that), but she also said that her number one piece of advice is to get to become friends with my tech at the DME. She said that they know more about how to setup, adjust, and tweak than the sleep docs do.

This is a bit contrary to what has been mentioned earlier in this thread - that RTs should not change prescriptions, but perhaps some do "give advice" even though they are not supposed to.


Sparky2