CPAPtalk.com

Update:

2 days ago I got a call from Nucara saying to come get my machine...well A machine. I have central apnea and my insurance won’t pay for the ASV before I fail both cpap/apAp, and a certain type of bilevel machine so I’ve got an AIrsense 10.

I’m having no problems with the mask or sleeping with however the DME set my machine off. If anything I sometimes pull the mask or fun a mask fit because I can’t feel anything working, but it always is. I slept like 14.5 hours yesterday and 9.5 hours so far today so it’s all working out fine except my ahi is in the 20s both days so far. My ahi wasn’t even that bad during my sleep study.

Anyway when I get my Ed card and figure out how to do OsCAR I’ll post here in this thread if anyone wants to see what it looks like to fail an apAp / have central’s and be on the wrong machine.

But I am happy I at least got a machine at all!

I hope you can cycle quickly through the trials with PAP and bi-level to get you to the ASV you probably need. Meanwhile, please do post an Oscar chart once you get that going. It'd be great if you'd keep that in this same thread.

Good luck. Keep us posted. You'll be sleeping great eventually and won't even remember all this challenges.

Thanks y’all!

I should get my sd card today and am interested in seeing the OSCAR data from tonight onward. My ahi for the past three days was 28, 17 and 71. Yes, 71 last night! I can’t wait till I can actually see what was going on during the night because the rescan is I totally pointless app.

Question: When taking a nap during the day for let’s say 3ish hours long, are y’all’s AHI’s nearing 100 (94,97.1,etc)?

During the night with an average of 11 hours of sleep the AHI will end up in the 30’s, average overall. Is that normal?

Higher AHI during naps--yeah, it's a thing.
Why?--damifino . . .

Thank you Chunky for always checking in on my thread and answering my questions. I really appreciate it

ANOTHER QUESTION: how many hours would you expect or accept from a machine given to you by the DME aka new?

I just got into clinical mode yesterday and today it has 605 hours on it which is about 75 eight hour nights. This is night 6 I believe for me having it. I didn’t bother to check it (although looking at it I could tell it wasn’t new) because I’m expecting to need an ASV machine and figured I could just rack up my hours getting there on a used machine anyways but I’d like my ASV machine to be reasonably new.

So I guess I’ll just write to myself in this thread about my journey but I just left a message with my doctor asking is something is off with having a 16 AHI at my initial sleep study and then now WAY higher numbers. Then Nucara called and said they’d call my doctor but first said it might be from a bad fitting mask. I actually tried last night and it was still high like it had been on my dreamwear nasal small/small.

Also in this clinicians menu the AHI is total apnea (central and out obstructive) and hypopnea. Then AI would be just apnea’s (be out central or obstructive) so mine being the same number means I didn’t have hypopneas. Then the Central AI would just be centrals meaing I had 79 of those and 16.4 obstructive apnea s? Is that all right?

New2me123 wrote: ↑

Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:47 pm

Also in this clinicians menu the AHI is total apnea (central and out obstructive) and hypopnea. Then AI would be just apnea’s (be out central or obstructive) so mine being the same number means I didn’t have hypopneas. Then the Central AI would just be centrals meaing I had 79 of those and 16.4 obstructive apnea s? Is that all right?

That's about right...and that number is PER HOUR AVERAGE and not over the entire sleep session.

AI....is the apnea index which is composed of central apnea index (average per hour) and the obstructive apnea index.

AHI is the AI plus the Hyponea index. They never tell you the hyponea index but you can usually figure it out by backing out the AI from the AHI.

This is of course a totally inappropriate machine to be used for someone with primarily central apnea....doesn't surprise me one bit you have horrible results. I know you have to "fail" it first to move on to next machine....shouldn't take them long to figure out you are failing it big time and don't let them blame it on leaks because the leak isn't all that bad and has nothing to do with it anyway.

I wouldn't worry about this being a "used" machine....it won't be your forever machine.

Thank Pugsy! Yeah I didn’t bother even asking when I first saw it and could tell it was used because I knew I’d be giving it back so anyhow so why not just add my hours to an already used machine, ya know?

For my ASV machine though what amount of hours should I be looking for when picking up my forever machine? Under 100? Or should I only accept new new like 2 hours Max?


Oh ps: Pugsy I called Lincare today and they have Bleep! I’m gonna getaway newmask for naps at nucara but then switch to Lincare for the bleep. I’m already sick of how the dream wear is pressed all Around my face and dealing with my hair so I’m excited about this news

All of my new machines had ZERO hours.
Anything more is USED.
That is OK for a trial, travel, or temporary use, like during service on your good machine.
"New" is also what the insurance payment is based upon.

Okay thank you!

I’m not obsessed with being the only user of something or worried about conspiracy theories about DMEs resetting the total run time lol but I didn’t know where the line was on what is new and what is used. Like if I bought a car off the lot I wouldn’t worry about 16 miles on it but might say something at say 50 mi.

New vs used from a DME....unless they give me a dollar amount discount for used then I expect a brand new 0 hour machine from them because they are charging my insurance full price for a "new" machine.
BUT....sometimes insurance companies don't really care if a machine is zero hour or used with whatever hours on it.
IMHO...I am the one using it so I get a vote.

That said...95% of all my machines over the years have been used but then I paid for them myself out of my own pocket and my insurance has never actually bought me a machine. I find deals where the cost is essentially what my co pay would be if I used insurance (and sometimes even less) and I don't have big brother looking over my shoulder about my machine use.

So I saw my doctor and to get an ASV machine I have to do yet another sleep study which is already scheduled but in the mean time insurance has approved me moving from my CPAP to bilevel (not exactly sure which one).

Should I insist on a new machine since this one might end up working for me? I dont want to make them put hours on a new machine and then not have it work for me and another new one is ruined from being new again. I also don’t want to have a used smelling water tank (moldy and stale)... maybe I could use a used one to see if it works and if it does trade it for a new machine?? I feel bad about requesting a new one for some reason 0.o

If what they are giving you is an ASV machine then zero hours.