New member saying Hello

Hi All - signed up recently, thought I'd drop a quick line to give a little background, I notice it's helpful to the guru's here.

57 yo male. I have a beard that I've always kept trimmed short. Initially sought treatment for very loud persistent snoring. Asked my doc what i could do at my yearly physical. He asked me some questions and referred me to a sleep doctor. At this point, my wife and I had been sleeping in separate rooms for around 6 months.

Had the sleep study, AHI 25, got prescribed CPAP and went back for the night where they figure out the pressures. Is this the "titration study"? Went back a week later to pick up / get educated on the machine and fitted with mask. Prescribed pressure of 5-12, was changed to 5-13 at my 30 day followup. I started using the machine on 04/24 this year.

As far as the experience goes - I'd say going well. My first mask REALLY disagreed with the bridge of my nose, and I was having leaking. When I touched the bridge of my nose one morning and came up with a little blood on my finger, I figured it was time to see if I could get a different mask. Went in and tried on all the FFM's they had, and got the one listed in my profile. It's working out good. Allowed me to tighten it up to fix leaks - without shredding the bridge of my nose. I had a couple of panic wake-ups during the 1st few weeks - felt like I couldn't breathe. Scared me to death, but it appears to be over. I've always been a heavy sleeper, and I have no problem sleeping through the night using the device.

Best part - my wife and i are sleeping together again - and I feel better! So treatment is far exceeding the initial goal. Didn't even realize that I wasn't "feeling well" before treatment. I figured that it was just the novelty in the beginning, but so far it *looks* like "feeling better" is here to stay (Yes, I realize that I'm still very early in this journey). I definitely look forward to putting the mask on at night. And it's led to some pretty comical interactions with my wife

My AHI average over the past 30 days is 3.9 - bounces around for no reason that I can determine. Probably a pressure increase in my future.

I've been using the Resmed site to monitor my progress so far. Kicking around the idea of doing the Sleepyhead thing. I'm a data junkie, and if I have all that data I''ll spend WAY too much time analyzing it. Question: if I were to pop an SD card in the machine, is there any action required on my part to enable data transfer? If the card gets full, will old data be overwritten, or does the machine simply stop writing to the card?

Feel like I'm off to a good start.

Welcome!

Do you have the AirSense 10 listed in your profile or the AirSense 10 AutoSet? Look on the front of the machine. I do not think the regular AirSense 10 is a full data machine.
I read somewhere that ResMed machines keep 360 days of data with the older data getting overwritten after that time.

Based on the observation that you have two numbers set, I think that the last poster is correct; you have the wrong machine listed in your profile.

Please correct it.

It does appear that you are getting good service, as you were titrated, and "educated," and had no problem changing the mask. It seems like you were well educated, as you knew to ask for a different mask.

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:29 pm

Welcome!

Do you have the AirSense 10 listed in your profile or the AirSense 10 AutoSet? Look on the front of the machine. I do not think the regular AirSense 10 is a full data machine.
I read somewhere that ResMed machines keep 360 days of data with the older data getting overwritten after that time.

You're correct, it's an AutoSet. I've updated my profile - thanks!

Thanks for the info about storage. Makes perfect sense.

D.H. wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:45 pm

It does appear that you are getting good service, as you were titrated, and "educated," and had no problem changing the mask. It seems like you were well educated, as you knew to ask for a different mask.

I do feel like I'm getting good service. I didn't mention that the switch was free of charge as it was within 30 days. Sleep is all this doctor does, so I'd expect that they would be good at it. And this operation is very busy. Always a few people in the waiting area, and 2 of 3 bedrooms in use for both my overnight stays. I really appreciate that they "prescribed" a top of the line machine. I know that all the comfort features have made this much easier for me.

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 22, 2018 3:29 pm

I read somewhere that ResMed machines keep 360 days of data with the older data getting overwritten after that time.

The SD card will store a lot of information. I have over three years data on my card, and it is still writing to it.

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Having a good DME that will work with you is very good. When I first started, I had a local DME that was very good. However, they lost their Medicare contract, so I use a supplier that is not so good to work with.

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Okie bipap wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:13 pm

The SD card will store a lot of information. I have over three years data on my card, and it is still writing to it.

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Having a good DME that will work with you is very good. When I first started, I had a local DME that was very good. However, they lost their Medicare contract, so I use a supplier that is not so good to work with.

If I've dealt with a DME, it's been totally transparent to me. Every interaction I've had to date has been with the doctor's staff. Either at the office, or on the phone. I haven't spoken with any 3rd party. I picked my machine up and got fitted at the doctor's office.

After reading some DME related threads here, I'm counting myself extremely lucky.

djams wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 23, 2018 7:45 am

[

Okie bipap wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:13 pm

The SD card will store a lot of information. I have over three years data on my card, and it is still writing to it.

Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Having a good DME that will work with you is very good. When I first started, I had a local DME that was very good. However, they lost their Medicare contract, so I use a supplier that is not so good to work with.

If I've dealt with a DME, it's been totally transparent to me. Every interaction I've had to date has been with the doctor's staff. Either at the office, or on the phone. I haven't spoken with any 3rd party. I picked my machine up and got fitted at the doctor's office.

After reading some DME related threads here, I'm counting myself extremely lucky.

Regarding the underlined statements above. I got an e-mail yesterday from the person I've been referring to as "the tech" at my sleep dr's office. It was informing me that per my insurance coverage, I'm eligible for the following supply re-fills. Picked my stuff up today.

But what's pertinent is that in her e-mail signature, her title is "DME coordinator". I asked, and she confirmed that she's employed by the doctor. So, her job (part of it anyways), is to make the process of dealing with the DME transparent to the patient. Boy, is this nice. My PCP referred me to a first rate operation. I'll have to thank him for it at my next visit. She's also the person I called when having trouble in the first few weeks. Knowledgeable, and she talked me down off the ledge at one point early on.

So, I finally understand why I didn't hear from a DME provider.

My former DME (Apria) *really* went out of their way to try and send me whatever supplies insurance would cover even though I would need to pay 20%.

The first month, they even sent me a new humidifier chamber because my insurance covers it "as needed".

You do not necessarily need everything insurance will cover, especially if you have a co-pay.

prodigyplace wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:51 pm

My former DME (Apria) *really* went out of their way to try and send me whatever supplies insurance would cover even though I would need to pay 20%.

The first month, they even sent me a new humidifier chamber because my insurance covers it "as needed".

You do not necessarily need everything insurance will cover, especially if you have a co-pay.

So pretty much going the extra mile at your expense. Not cool.

The way this works with the docs office is, they send me notification that I'm eligible to refill stuff, and list what the items are. I reply back, letting them know what I want. If I don't reply, I get nothing.

Since my deductible is met, I got a backup heated hose, and needed air filters and mask cushion. $14.42

I like the way it works. I'll be price shopping in the new year when I'll be paying full price Until then, I'll be stockpiling everything I can. Except humidifier tanks. ,One backup will be plenty.

i ended up switching my DME to Roberts Medical Supply. Apparently they send to ship 3 months of supplies at once. I told them what I wanted and they shipped it. No muss. no fuss, no begging to order more.