I have reason to believe I have Sleepapnea.

Yes, absolutely, but it still assumes she has apnea to aggravate (by reflux) and that has not been proven at all. Plus she still hasn't listed any symptoms of apnea, only that she wakes up.

undeadmerc3 wrote:

palerider wrote:

Julie wrote:I would not try to buy a machine until you've got better answers to your problems... they're expensive, even 2nd hand, and you'd need some idea of a diagnosis because there are different machines for different diagnoses

I have to disagree, picking up a good, data capable, preferably auto machine, used, can tell far more than a brief sleep study, and if it's not the right machine for the issue, can be turned around and sold at very little loss.

Trouble is that i've been told that the only way to get a prescription is via sleep study. I really wish I could just rent one to figure out what the results would be.

well, what you've been told isn't true. anybody that can write a prescription, can write a prescription for a cpap, even your dentist.

and if you buy a used machine, you'll get data that you could take to your regular doctor, or dentist, or whatever, and use that to get them to write you a prescription, if you want it, so you could buy masks easier.. (which is really the only reason that a prescription is useful.)

you certainly wouldn't be the only person self treating without a prescription.

Julie, I have made no assumptions about HER. I just explained that there is a connection between reflux and sleep apnea.

In my case, when I first suspected I may have sleep apnea, I discovered that it was much less expensive and involved much less aggravation just to get a cpap machine and see if that helped me, which it did. Even my doctors told me that. I probably could not have slept through a sleep study anyway.

PEF wrote:Julie, I have made no assumptions about HER. I just explained that there is a connection between reflux and sleep apnea.

In my case, when I first suspected I may have sleep apnea, I discovered that it was much less expensive and involved much less aggravation just to get a cpap machine and see if that helped me, which it did. Even my doctors told me that. I probably could not have slept through a sleep study anyway.

PEF; If you should ever decide to get a sleep study, my sleep tech told me that 90 minutes of data is sufficient.

Thanks, Sylvia. I did not realize that. I could get a few hours in a sleep lab. One question: I would probably need either Klonipen or another Benzo to get to sleep in a lab, I don't need them at home. Do you think this would have a big effect on the sleep study? I am thinking about scheduling one for the next time I go to the US for a visit. I would like to have some sort of baseline study to work off of. My 2 different machines report very different results.

PEF wrote:"My doctor says that there's a good chance I have sleepapna which prevents me from staying asleep. I'm not sure how Night Eating Syndrome creates sleepapna or if there's a connection, but what do I know? "


There is a connection between nighttime eating and sleep apnea. Dr. Steven parks says that when you have eaten within 3 to 4 hours of when you go to sleep, there is more of a chance for you to experience reflux of stomach acid into your breathing apparatus. This will worsen sleep apnea. Sleep breathing disorders can actually cause reflux from the stomach into the throat. When you have eaten recently, there will be more acid in your stomach in addition to all the other stuff, like bacteria, bile and pepsin. The actual mechanics of it is complex.

Interesting claim. While eating makes it easier for me to fall asleep(it takes usually an hour or an hour and a half for me to fall asleep without eating) there have been a few times when I forgot to eat(when I go to bed I wait 30 to 45 minutes before getting up to eat) where i've awakened few times throughout the night. The reason why I don't avoid eating as often is that whenever I don't eat before going to bed i'm usually only able to fall asleep for 30 minutes before awakening, after which my brain is on auto pilot and gets something to eat. That's why I think this problem goes beyond Night Eating Syndrome and may involve some degree of sleep apnea.

Your whole focus has been on eating/not eating and waking up, but you still haven't said anything about actual symptoms of apnea, and right now this is starting to sound more like an eating disorder problem than one about apnea.

undeadmerc3 wrote:

PEF wrote:"My doctor says that there's a good chance I have sleepapna which prevents me from staying asleep. I'm not sure how Night Eating Syndrome creates sleepapna or if there's a connection, but what do I know? "


There is a connection between nighttime eating and sleep apnea. Dr. Steven parks says that when you have eaten within 3 to 4 hours of when you go to sleep, there is more of a chance for you to experience reflux of stomach acid into your breathing apparatus. This will worsen sleep apnea. Sleep breathing disorders can actually cause reflux from the stomach into the throat. When you have eaten recently, there will be more acid in your stomach in addition to all the other stuff, like bacteria, bile and pepsin. The actual mechanics of it is complex.

Interesting claim. While eating makes it easier for me to fall asleep(it takes usually an hour or an hour and a half for me to fall asleep without eating) there have been a few times when I forgot to eat(when I go to bed I wait 30 to 45 minutes before getting up to eat) where i've awakened few times throughout the night. The reason why I don't avoid eating as often is that whenever I don't eat before going to bed i'm usually only able to fall asleep for 30 minutes before awakening, after which my brain is on auto pilot and gets something to eat. That's why I think this problem goes beyond Night Eating Syndrome and may involve some degree of sleep apnea.

I may suffer from Sleep Apnea, (I don't Suffer, I XPAP), so in the past i've killed off my share of brain cells, but never enough I forget to eat before bed. I check my Blood Sugar, shoot up with insulin, have a bowl of Chile, get in bed and out like a light. Without a snack, I don't do as well. Jim

palerider wrote:

undeadmerc3 wrote:

palerider wrote:

Julie wrote:I would not try to buy a machine until you've got better answers to your problems... they're expensive, even 2nd hand, and you'd need some idea of a diagnosis because there are different machines for different diagnoses

I have to disagree, picking up a good, data capable, preferably auto machine, used, can tell far more than a brief sleep study, and if it's not the right machine for the issue, can be turned around and sold at very little loss.

Trouble is that i've been told that the only way to get a prescription is via sleep study. I really wish I could just rent one to figure out what the results would be.

well, what you've been told isn't true. anybody that can write a prescription, can write a prescription for a cpap, even your dentist.

and if you buy a used machine, you'll get data that you could take to your regular doctor, or dentist, or whatever, and use that to get them to write you a prescription, if you want it, so you could buy masks easier.. (which is really the only reason that a prescription is useful.)

you certainly wouldn't be the only person self treating without a prescription.

That's nice to hear. The question is, how do I rent a CPAP machine without a sleep study? I live in Florida and the laws might be different from where you live. I went to a CPAP store and they told me the only way to get a prescription is via sleep study. Though my mind was a bit foggy at the time. perhaps there was something I missed.

You don't 'rent' one (unless you can) but buy them secondhand from a place like Secondwindcpap.com who may let you do that without a script.

undeadmerc3 wrote:

palerider wrote:

undeadmerc3 wrote:

palerider wrote:

Julie wrote:I would not try to buy a machine until you've got better answers to your problems... they're expensive, even 2nd hand, and you'd need some idea of a diagnosis because there are different machines for different diagnoses

I have to disagree, picking up a good, data capable, preferably auto machine, used, can tell far more than a brief sleep study, and if it's not the right machine for the issue, can be turned around and sold at very little loss.

Trouble is that i've been told that the only way to get a prescription is via sleep study. I really wish I could just rent one to figure out what the results would be.

well, what you've been told isn't true. anybody that can write a prescription, can write a prescription for a cpap, even your dentist.

and if you buy a used machine, you'll get data that you could take to your regular doctor, or dentist, or whatever, and use that to get them to write you a prescription, if you want it, so you could buy masks easier.. (which is really the only reason that a prescription is useful.)

you certainly wouldn't be the only person self treating without a prescription.

That's nice to hear. The question is, how do I rent a CPAP machine without a sleep study? I live in Florida and the laws might be different from where you live. I went to a CPAP store and they told me the only way to get a prescription is via sleep study. Though my mind was a bit foggy at the time. perhaps there was something I missed.

If you have your heart set on trying a cpap machine, I would follow PRs advice about buying one on Craig's List and then reselling it if you find it doesn't apply to your situation. But if you find something that looks interesting, post a link to it on this site so the experts can tell you whether it is a good machine at a good price. They can also advise you on the chances of getting your money back if you decide apnea isn't an issue.

I still feel you have given no indication of having sleep apnea and agree with Julie's advice to get further evaluated for your problems. But if you are determined to obtain a machine, without a prescription, getting one on Craig's list is your best option.

49er

Secondwindcpap.com will most likely require a RX to be on file for a US buyer.
International buyers...not so much.

Without a RX from a doctor you aren't going to be able to buy a machine from a regular source.
Now sometimes people can sweet talk their regular doctor (or anyone who can legally write a RX) into writing the RX without a sleep study but insurance is unlikely to pay for it in this situation without a documented for real diagnosis which pretty much means a sleep study is needed.

That said...there are ways around the RX requirement if you want to go that route.
A forum member just a few days ago offered a S9 AutoSet for $209 which is a fair price.

Also...masks also require a RX but there are ways around that too. You can build a complete mask from replacement parts which don't require a RX and I have seen a few cpap masks on Amazon that apparently don't need a RX.

undeadmerc3 wrote: I live in Florida and the laws might be different from where you live. I went to a CPAP store and they told me the only way to get a prescription is via sleep study.

the federal laws in texas are pretty much the same as in florida.

they lied to you, you can get a prescription from anybody able to write one that you can convince to write one for you.

however, as has been stated, craigslist or asking around here, sending a note to grayghost4, etc. you can get machines without pesky prescriptions.

I live in Florida too. My doctor was taking too get me my actual prescription. I walked into a local DME and bought my machine without a script. However, you will need the prescription if you are looking for the insurance company to pay/reimburse costs. My insurance does not cover DME, so no script was needed.

PEF wrote:Thanks, Sylvia. I did not realize that. I could get a few hours in a sleep lab. One question: I would probably need either Klonipen or another Benzo to get to sleep in a lab, I don't need them at home. Do you think this would have a big effect on the sleep study? I am thinking about scheduling one for the next time I go to the US for a visit. I would like to have some sort of baseline study to work off of. My 2 different machines report very different results.

Klonipen and Benzo. What are those. Are they medicine?