New to this. My experiences...

No fun?

It sounded like it was a blast ... making them squirm and glare as if you knew more about their business than they did.


Well, you have a great strategy in just using them to cover your periodic insurance claims ... you are way better off getting actual treatment help from this forum.

DreamStalker wrote:It sounded like it was a blast

I just generally don't like conflict. I'm sure someone who does would have loved it though.

I'll see how my new mask does tonight.

"mask refitting" appointment with the DME

When you find this kind of attitude from the people who deal directly with the customer, you usually can find a management orientation that fosters it. I am trying to say the really bad guys are not dealing with you but instead are sitting in their cushy offices.

I am still digesting your great story from the previous page.

Ok, you say they don't rent, just loan free for a couple months. Very strange, what happens if you walk before the purchase and go buy your own elsewhere?

I assume they charged you for the mask (at least the Activa?). Humidifier? Hose??

Please keep us up to date as the story is very interesting.

Blarg, You weren't around for my story, but to make a long story short, the tech set mine for split night (wrong), ignored the fine filter. When I called him on it he said "no one uses that one", I said "I intend to, may I have them please", never asked what I wanted for humidifier settings, or cflex even though I had already told him I had used a machine before.... I made him reset to cflex of 1 and humidifier of 3.

Then he ran the machine with the hose off which the instruction booklet says not to do. I asked him not to and he did it again. I turned it off for the second time and said "look, the instructions say not to. I am the one who will own this machine and be responsible for repairs in 3 months, I prefer you don't do that." Finally got his attention and he glared at me and didn't turn it on again. If he had done it again, I would have said, get me a new one please I don't want this one that you may have damaged. If he refused I would have walked.

Keep chugging.

snoregirl wrote:I assume they charged you for the mask (at least the Activa?). Humidifier? Hose??

I haven't yet paid a cent, paid a copay, or been billed. I got a "for my records" invoice thing from the sleep study. It had a note that insurance already paid for it. And I've been told numerous times now that I can try whatever masks I want in the first 90 days "for free". Insurance would rather make my adjustment to CPAP pleasant than face the consequences of untreated OSA later apparently. It's my dad's insurance as well, so it's insurance from a national hospital company to cover their own families. It's quite full fledged. The distinct impression I get is that we may fight over CPAP vs APAP, but they're going to cover all of one or the other. I'll update when the fallout happens.

Update: The nurse practicioner just called. Apparently the tech came in and bothered her while she was with a patient to ask about everything. So, she came to the conclusion that I had given up on CPAP and was calling to convince me to reconsider. (LOL)

After I told her that she could only have the machine back if she pried it from my cold dead fingers, she asked me about the appointment. Her comment was "Every one of my patients that works in computers fiddles with their equipment. I don't know why she thought it was such a big deal."

So apparently, she has only ordered the auto for a 3 week trial thus far. She asked me when I wanted to give it up. I said I didn't. She said, "Ok, I'll put in an order for the APAP permanently and we'll let insurance object if they have a problem with it."

blarg wrote:I just know that today's appointment was no fun.

LOL!! Well, it sure was a fun read, blarg! You told it so well.

Wonder if whoever installed Encore Pro on their office computers had already set their computer to "Don't Erase blah blah.reg"? If not then she inadvertently deleted the data when she got in a snit, grabbed your card and took off to the back with it for a download. ROTFL!!

Her biggest disappointment of the day was not being able to come back and chew you out -- you've ruined your card, and now you can't prove "compliance" (I detest that word), and insurance isn't going to pay, and it's patients like you that.... yadda, yadda.

That demi-god stuff wears thin rather quickly, doesn't it?


Just now read what you wrote about the sensible nurse practitioner. Sounds like a good one.

As for try as many masks as you want for 90 days....if they don't have nasal pillows masks and mean "try the only 4 masks we carry"...darn.

rested gal wrote:That demi-god stuff wears thin rather quickly, doesn't it?

Especially when they're there to "help" you. I did have the thought play through my head when she did the "Let's start over" that went something like this:

"I'm sick and tired of health care professionals such as yourself assuming that patients are stupid. Granted, many are, but just because I'm 23 does NOT give you the right to treat me like I'm in elementary school."

I nixed that plan because I wanted her to be as agreeable as possible and making a scene is not a skill of mine. Sometimes I'm soooo tempted though.

rested gal wrote:As for try as many masks as you want for 90 days....if they don't have nasal pillows masks and mean "try the only 4 masks we carry"...darn.

The original tech that got me installed had a swift with him. I know they have them, I just need to pretend like I'm an idiot and not go to the specific place you're supposed to be refit. That or find a more helpful tech (possibly the guy that installed me). They have a supply store closer to here that has all the masks and whatnot (I saw them last time I was there), I just have to convince them to give me one without going through the refit. I'm going to give it a few weeks though so I can credibly claim ignorance.