hello from jondough

well it was 20 + years of mysterious lost weekends and weeks on a 3-6 week schedule. as i also have blood cancer [WM] for at least eight to ten years [ dx 01] that was blamed. adrenelin has kept me going for years and then I would crash, mostly on weekends enough to go back to work, but sometimes for a week or more, fluish fatigue, delirium, and need to sleep all to many hours a day. Was dx as flu countless times, even by an emergency ward, but never had fever, congestion or digestive symptoms.
so one day i took myself to a neurologist because i felt that there was something wrong with my nervous/brain systems. in five minutes i had a dx of apnea, and a sleep study a week later prescribed a bipap, i was 10% low on oxygen, hmmm, could that cause problems, i think so....
so i found a provider, started lurking on this and other boards, got a B*P*P pro2/heatHum/breeze and have put over 800 hours in in less than four months,
no more delirium, no more lost saturdays. I sleep more, better, fall asleep faster [most of the time]. i am a restless, active sleeper and find the breeze unbelievably good.
when i found out my monthly was going to be $60/ i commited to buying my own which i have done via internet searching for a good deal on a new one. i also checked with aetna about splitting the cost on a new one but they said they would only rent to never own. so i boxed up my used one and gave it back.
fortunately my cancer is in some remission so i probably feel better than i have in over ten years. Hooooray!
So hello to everyone who helped me learn how to make good decisions and THANKS!
michael

Glad you're getting some good results at last. How many of us have suffered for years and been misdiagnosed and absolutely ignored other times and written off as neurotic. I noticed you said that you tried to deal with Aetna to split the cost with them but they would only rent. What kind of policy did you have with Aetna? I had Aetna HMO Texas and I only had to rent for one month and they bought mine outright and paid $920 for a new one (allthough it is a straight cpap--that may be the reason. I didn't even know any other kind existed at the time or I would have argued for an autopap. I'm just greatful to have one.). I just had to use one of their authorized DME's. $920 is a ridiculous price to pay for what I got but they wouldn't pay anything on anything bought online. I really don't understand why. I guess they just like overpaying for some stuff! My husband just changed jobs this year and we're going with a new insurance company. I hope it's as good as the last one. I hope you continue to improve and get the equipment that you need.