Finally my insurance is kicked in!

[lazer]

Appointment at the DME this morning to officially get me started on insurance compliance and coverage for Apap and supplies. They traded out my loaner machine as per my sig. for a new PR System One Auto Model 550P (I believe this is the same machine). After some discussion with the respiratory therapist about my mouth breathing concerns and failures with chinstraps, we decided to go with a FFM as a trial. (It is covered under the 30 day replacement plan...)

I chose the Quatro FX as it seemed most comfortable without that damn center forehead brace thing and I actually got fitted to a (Large) which surprised me as it's usually been (Medium) with the pillows and other masks I've tried along my journey.

So It's supposed to be a rent to own in like 90 days (I think) or 6 months - not positive yet.

Concerns on how this is going to pan out with the end of the year coming and not even sure that my company will keep with HMBCBS PPO or go with Assurance again as they seem to trade off between the two and then how things will work.

Oh well, at least my journey thus far has come to a positive conclusion regarding the insurance & DME and down the road, my supplies should fall under my coverage now!

PS: Another cool thing is I don't have to repeatedly go in to have them read my card. I will get mailed a pre-paid envelope every 90 days to send in the old SDcard and receive a new one. And one thing I wasn't too crazy about is they changed my pressure back to 8cm to 20cm from 8.5cm to 20cm as per the script my doctor wrote most current so I'll likely be seeing how the data looks in the coming weeks on this FFM and may need to "tweak" things a bit , although the DME obviously showed me what little I can change as a patient as in Humidity, CFlex setting, and ... oh I think that's about it.

[Pachyderm's Nose]

Congratulations! And yeah, there's nothin else you can change as a no-nothin patient. Heh, guess they don't know you have connections!

[Bon Bon]

Congratulations!!!

Although I'm pretty new around here, I've read many of your posts so I have some idea how much this means to you. I enjoyed reading your posts because you haven't been hesitant to ask many of the same questions I've had over the last several months, so I was able to learn a lot from your threads. Thank you!

I have the Quattro FX and have really struggled with the leaks, but the mask is so comfortable I've been determined to make it work. The mask liner from pad-a-cheek.com really made a difference in eliminating the leaks, except for one pesky spot on the bridge of my nose. I need to get back with Karen and see if she can brainstorm a solution for that area. If you have leak problems with this mask, don't give up on it without at least trying this liner first.

I think I've told you how much I hate chinstraps? Well, a couple of nights ago I finally talked myself into taping my mouth. I've been very hesitant to take this approach but....wow! What a difference! I slept last night with a taped mouth and my new bella loops and couldn't tell I had a thing on. It was so comfortable! And the taping worked so much better at KEEPING my mouth closed all night, while being so much more comfortable. I don't want to talk anyone into this, and I know you have the facial hair thing to deal with, but I'm just saying...... It might be worth a try. Those mouthguards didn't work worth a darn for me - too big.

Best of luck to you!
Bonny

[TalonNYC]

Great to see things are going well! It's always much easier when you don't have to do as much work (or pay as much cash) just to get some form of life-saving therapy.

[lazer]

Thanks all for the comments and Bon Bon, yea I immediately took to the comfort of the Quattro FX. At least it felt good at the DME office and once she adjusted the straps which surprisingly didn't need much tension to seal the mask well. My only fear is I'm a side sleeper so hoping the pillow doesn't interfere with things but the mask did not feel all that bad and I still have my Swift FX pillows & SleepWeaver Elan to turn back to if things get too tough.

Just glad to finally have an official "Coverage with insurance" worked out.

Oh, I didn't even mention my intentions to possibly change pressures on my own so I'll be just playing dumb down the road about that and I do plan on collecting some good data in the coming weeks and then tweaking a bit from there.

[sleeptimeinNY]

Congrats on the insurance. I, too, have the Quattro FX and have a pad-a-cheek liner (couldn't imagine using it without it)... but I struggle with leaks, but I figure if my events are low, I'll just go with it.
I am a side and stomach sleeper and I use a very squishy down pillow and it seems to work. Good luck.

[Bon Bon]

My only fear is I'm a side sleeper so hoping the pillow doesn't interfere with things but the mask did not feel all that bad and I still have my Swift FX pillows & SleepWeaver Elan to turn back to if things get too tough.

I'm a side sleeper, too. With the liner I don't have any problems sleeping on my side in the Quattro FX any more than in my Swift FX or my nasal mask. One thing that has really helped me to be able to keep side sleeping (with any mask) is the Regenesis buckwheat pillow from Pur-Sleep. My feather pillow kept bumping into the masks just enough to break the seal and start leaks.

[lazer]

I'll have to check into those liners. Thanks for the heads-up!

I ordered a couple of those pillows via a link from Dori a few weeks ago - Now I forget what exactly they were composed of but sounded decent. It was a Buy one get one free just with shipping or something. I'll have to dig up the info.

Believe me, I know some of the biggest struggles in this is finding the right mask and then pillow combination. That is at least 90% of the battle.

[nanwilson]

Lazer
Whoot whoot and yipeeeeeee! Ya made it bud...now you can settle in and get things done.
Congrats
Nan
swat swat
swat....swat....
swat..swat.....swat.....SWAT..aha got it

[Starlette]

Oh, I didn't even mention my intentions to possibly change pressures on my own so I'll be just playing dumb down the road about that and I do plan on collecting some good data in the coming weeks and then tweaking a bit from there.

Be careful Lazer, you do know Big Brother is watching right?

Regarding pillows, what kind are you considering getting? I feel guilty in saying this. We spend $100 for the pillows that came with the temperpedic bed.
However, I'd be interested in getting one that will especially work better with a CPAP.

And yes, congrats to finding your way to CPAP nervana

Starlette

[lazer]

........Regarding pillows, what kind are you considering getting? I feel guilty in saying this. We spend $100 for the pillows that came with the temperpedic bed.
However, I'd be interested in getting one that will especially work better with a CPAP.

And yes, congrats to finding your way to CPAP nervana

Starlette

See here: viewtopic/t83513/The-Sobakaw-Cloud-Pill ... -ship.html

I ordered the Sobakawa® Cloud Pillow (Standard Size) and went for the "Receive a 2nd pillow for $7.95" deal but I'm still awaiting there arrival