DME Equipment Cost to Me ???

[herefishy]

I think when we hear so much about the evil dme's, we forget that they do a lot more than dispense cpap equipment, and the people who we deal with have to be knowledgeable about all aspects of the "durable medical equipment" business. I took my card to my respiratory therapist to see if she could decipher it and she knew less about the stats than I did, and that was practically zip. So a lot of the problem is ignorance, not all greed. Especially at the level where they give us equipment.

[Sheffey]

Sorry Pugsy, my mistake.

give a hoot about monitoring their own therapy. Don't have a clue and really don't want to put forth any effort to learn.

I have only met one other person (in real life) who monitors the software. This was years ago at an AWAKE meeting. He is a member here but it has so many years I don't remember his name. Maybe he did not even tell me his cpaptalk profile name.

Once I looked at the software I had to have it! (Thankfully a DME gave me an illegal copy but warned me never to say it came from them. They could lose their license.)

I don't see how people keep a low AHI without the software.

[Pugsy]

I don't see how people keep a low AHI without the software.

They can easily enough if the titration was spot on and things go well. They just don't have any way to know for sure.
My titration study wasn't spot on. My OSA is worse in REM sleep and during my titration study (nightmare from hell) I got 6 minutes of REM sleep...it's no wonder it wasn't a good RX. I need more pressure during REM sleep.
At the prescribe RX of 8 cm my AHI was running 10 to 12 which was a whole lot better than without the machine but I felt like total crap...not one tiny bit of improvement. It wasn't till I got it below 3 consistently (mainly to break up the REM clusters) that I felt any improvement and the headaches went away along with the nocturia. If I hadn't known about software and all the stuff I learned here.....that machine would have ended up in the closest and I would have been one of those people who said "it didn't help at all".

My step sister has been on the cpap machine (yep a brick) for many years...always at at pressure of 13 cm straight cpap with a nasal mask that routinely decimated her nose to the point she would just quick wearing the mask until it healed. Her DME just said "that's the way it is"...isn't that sad.
So when I started therapy and told her about nasal pillow masks and data she didn't have a clue about the options out there.
Still wouldn't put forth any effort to change anything though...went on another couple of years like that until her machine died. I had to nearly twist her arm off to get her to listen to me and get a machine that would let us know what was going on and get her a mask that wouldn't tear her nose up.

I found her a used S9 Autoset on the forum here...got her the Swift FX for her with Bella loops and she made a 5 hour drive to my house and she got an education. Come to find out she can use the Autoset in apap mode with pressure range of 8 to 12 and it rarely goes above 9. She was probably having a nice low AHI at pressure of 13 cm but gosh, that's a lot more than she needed. Have no idea how they came up with that number...if anything she gained a little weight over the years.

She opted to try the Bella Loops...absolutely loves them and hasn't missed a night on the machine in over 2 years now.
Checks her data every now and then but it is rather boring and she is sleeping well and feeling great.
Says she wished she had listened to me sooner.

There are a lot of people like her out there...just going along thinking that "this is what I have to accept" and finding any excuse in the world to leave the machine off or at home on a trip.
Her old machine was noisy...even to her husband who would say "are you bringing the leaf blower" when they were going on a trip. He never complained but it bothered his sleep.
Now it isn't an option...he says he can't hear a thing and won't let her go without the machine.

Full data machines...not critical for optimal therapy but I think it is a shame that those who are stuck with them and are having problems don't have the option for just a little common sense evaluation...like leak data. They may not need to see the data but it should be there easily available just in case it is needed.
Instead they go back to the Sleep Doctor and he says "let's get another sleep study" so he makes money reading it and if the sleep lab is his..he makes money on the sleep study and if a new machine is needed the DME gets to make more money again with a new machine. So lots of dollars involved just because a person didn't have a machine that offered any useful data and would have cost the DME maybe $100 more.

And with that I am climbing down off my soap box...
I understand the money aspect from a DME perspective but I don't like it and I encourage everyone to get a machine that offers full data...just in case it is ever needed.